Covid-19 at Usc

AILY ROJAN DMONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2020 | STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THET UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SINCE 1912 | VOL. 201, NO. 15 Trojan Vision takes on virtual semester Away from the studio, the Mazzella has volunteered with is what we are going to be doing television station maintains Trojan Vision since her freshman this fall and it was a huge, huge year. Now a general manager for adjustment.” production efforts from home. Trojan Vision, she started “Campus Traditionally, Trojan Vision has Vision” this semester to highlight eight to 10 shows that run each By FRANCESCA DE NES different campus organizations in semester, including talk show Staff Writer five-minute episodes. Creating the “The Morning Brew,” sports show Normally at 9 a.m. on web series has helped Mazzella “Water Cooler” and cooking show Wednesday, Sophia Mazzella can stay connected with the campus “Delish.” Normally, each section be found running around the set community and Trojan Vision of CTPR 409 is assigned a show to of “The Morning Brew,” clipboard while classes remain online. work on for the semester, but this in hand, checking in with the crew “I feel like we’re trying to keep semester, students produce their and ensuring that the show is that community together, and own segments as well as crew on ready for its 10 a.m. premiere. I think that now we’ve come up other students’ projects. But this year, rather than with a lot of ways to do that,” The crew is made up of the 409 meeting with her team in the Mazzella said. “I’m excited about class and remains on StreamYard studio each week, she has adapted new people coming in and trying — the platform they record on to pre-production Zoom meetings out Trojan Vision hopefully next — as well as on Zoom, where the to virtually pull off her new semester, because I think that crew communicates so the cast Trojan Vision show, “Campus when this first happened we were does not hear them. Meanwhile, Vision.” Mazzella, who is now a like, ‘How do we keep this going?’ the host and guest are only on junior studying cinema media But we kind of figured that out now StreamYard. studies, adapted quickly to the and I think that our community is Paulina Suarez, a fourth-year online setting in order to book coming back together in a really architecture student in Dowdey’s Photo courtesy of JUST US interesting guests and produce a exciting way.” course, said that although remote JUST US allows users to record encounters with police and alert show that audiences on campus Kathleen Dowdey is a CTPR 409 learning was challenging at first, designated contacts by using voice commands. and around Los Angeles would instructor as well as the faculty faculty were able to weave students want to watch. coordinator for Trojan Vision. into the new system so that they Trojan Vision, a student-run Over the summer, Dowdey and could continue producing from School of Cinematic Arts television other course instructors searched home. IYA grad student creates station, has shifted its production for the appropriate software for Normally, students in the to a virtual setting because of students to produce shows from course assist showrunners and coronavirus restrictions put in home. producers, but Suarez said the community activism app place for the fall semester. The instructors decided on isolated virtual semester pushed Before USC transitioned to an StreamYard, a live streaming students to spearhead their own Candace Walker worked with With this in mind, Davis online environment, Trojan Vision studio that works with social segments. approached Candace Walker, a a team to create ‘JUST US’ to graduate student in the Iovine students who were enrolled in media platforms like Facebook. “And then, in our segment, we record encounters with police. CTPR 409 managed, produced and StreamYard has been an efficient write it, come up with ideas and and Young Academy. After crewed the shows from studios on tool used to create virtual themes,” Suarez said. “We find almost a year of market research the Robert Zemeckis Center for segments and helped Trojan our host, actors and actresses and By MIRANDA HACK and product development in the Digital Arts. Their shows, now Vision reach its audience, Dowdey then we help each other with the Staff Writer Academy’s Integrated Project Lab, JUST US was released in aired on Facebook, normally run said. different positions that we need JUST US, an app which helps on a cable channel that would “[After going through lockdown help with, like the cast. So basically August. Davis and Walker — people live stream interactions who was recently nominated for broadcast to more than 700,000 in the spring, the faculty decided] you’re like your own director, with law enforcement, began people on campus and in the L.A. that if we were really going to be producer and scriptwriter, which a dot.LA Social Justice Award out of necessity for co-founder for her work on JUST US — area. in lockdown again through the is pretty cool.” Charmine Davis. With a son Trojan Vision hopes to keep fall that we had to keep producing The cast usually consists of ultimately aimed to create a tool nearing driving age, Davis was for community activism against viewership consistent with pre- the shows because that’s what School of Cinematic Arts students overwhelmed by the reality pandemic numbers through we are: a practicum in television or people who have previously police brutality. that one in 1,000 Black men “The most significant aspect efforts with marketing, alumni production,” Dowdey said. “This hosted Trojan Vision. To choose in the United States are killed and industry contacts, campus was a way that we could produce who she wants to cast, Suarez of this app is that a mom can feel by the police. Giving her son connected to her child,” Davis outreach and external outreach to shows virtually and then stream finds audition tapes on the School independence as a mother meant other stations and schools. them on Facebook Live, which said. “If her child is in trouble | see BROADCAST, page 2 | living with that fear. | see APP, page 2 | COVID-19 AT USC — October 4—10 Over the week of Oct. 4—10, the test positivity rate for exposed/symptomatic testing was 0.9% and for surveillance population testing was 0.1% among students. CURRENT TESTING NUMBERS EXPOSED/ SYMPTOMATIC TESTING SURVEILLANCE POPULATION TESTING STUDENTS STUDENTS EMPLOYEES EMPLOYEES NEGATIVE: 109 NEGATIVE: 12 NEGATIVE: 3,152 NEGATIVE: 358 POSITIVE: 1 POSITIVE: 2 POSITIVE: 3 POSITIVE: 0 Design by Samantha deNicola and Claire Wong | Daily Trojan INDEX 2 · News 3 · Opinion 4 · A & E 5 · Sudoku 6 · Classifieds 8 · Sports DAILYTROJAN.COM DAILYTROJAN PAGE 2 OCTOBER 19, 2020 | WWW.DAILYTROJAN.COM NEWS APP | Users document police interactions | continued from page 1 | is safe. Initiating the Heads Up in Ukraine, JUST US became a mother would fly across the feature starts a livestream and, available for purchase on Aug. earth to get to her child … It’s a for users who have subscribed, 28 — the anniversary of Martin mother’s biggest fear that their shares their location with a list of Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” child would be hurt, and they pre-selected contacts. If users feel speech. didn’t hear them.” they are in immediate danger, the From the initial pitch to JUST This idea was crucial to the ‘Help’ feature alerts all JUST US US’s release, the supportive users in a two mile radius of the development of JUST US. The app, atmosphere within the Academy they knew, could give mothers situation. These functionalities are a was essential to the success of the peace of mind — both by creating result of multiple iterations of app, Walker and Clewis said. a network of active bystanders market research and product “It gives students who are very and increasing accountability testing in the lab. The lab team, passionate, very socially aware from law enforcement. It was key, which Walker led starting in and want to have a positive social though, that the app be simple December 2019, ultimately impact — it gives them a really to use and easy to access. Jay aimed to equip Black and brown safe space to explore ideas,” Clewis, the professor who led the communities with the tools and Clewis said. “You can validate Daily Trojan team in the Integrated Project Vincent Leo | information to affect change and ideas before you spend a lot of Trojan Vision team members now have the ability to spearhead Lab, emphasized the importance increase accountability from law time, effort and money building and produce their own segments from their respective homes. of user experience in developing enforcement. something.” JUST US. “That’s really the goal — to “Here’s the situation — I’m get our kids home safe, to get our Having just been released BROADCAST sitting in a car, I’m nervous,” loved ones home safe,” Walker for download in August, Clewis | New format Clewis said. “You don’t have said. “To basically be able to believes that JUST US still has the time and awareness to grab live without the fear, knowing room to grow and hopes that allows for more creativity a phone and open an app and whether or not we’ll make it back user feedback will allow the team go through some complicated home.” to further the app’s potential. | continued from page 2 | process. It had to be really simple The team looked at hard For Davis, the release of the app engaged.

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