USC community feeling swept away by recent weather conditions

Huge gusts of wind left vendors at the Trojan Farmers Market holding on for dear life. Over the last few days, the USC community has had to adjust to the unusual winter for Los Angeles that has brought in strong winds and heavy rainstorms.

The farmers market runs on campus every Wednesday, and this week vendors have felt the effects of the unusual weather with signs, clothes, and other items being knocked over. Vendors including Esteban Aldana, a small business owner who sells tamales, were surprised by the impact of the unusual cold and rainy weather.

“Every year we try to prepare a little for the slow season,” Aldana said. “This year did hit us kind of unexpectedly. As far as preparations go, we didn’t know the rain and wind would be so heavy.”

Aldana has been operating his tamale business “Me Gusta Gourmet Tamales” at USC for around six years with the goal of providing students with unique-tasting tamales. Aldana has been in business since 1995 and when he is not at USC, he sets up shop in San Fernando.

The weather dampened student turnout, making it tougher for businesses to serve enough customers to turn a profit.

“Food traffic is very important for a business like ours,” Aldana said. “At the farmers market, we want as many people and as many eyes as possible, not to necessarily buy at first glance, but to provide variety and something that students are not used to.”

The farmers market wasn’t the only thing affected by the rain. Animation activities that take place at the School of Cinematic Arts have become more difficult for Jones to attend because of the weather as well.

“I don’t have an umbrella, so it’s been a little rough on me,” Jones said. “When I have to walk across campus, I still end up kind of wet. So that’s kind of a bummer when that happens.”

Madeline Wu, also a senior animation student, said her health has been affected during this lengthy stretch of inclement weather.

“I have an umbrella, but it’s rusty and kind of broken so I don’t go outside very much,” Wu said. “I also got sick last week maybe because of the weather and stuff. I’ve been healthy for a while, but it’s just annoying.”

Despite the harsh weather conditions, Aldana still encourages people to go out if they are able to and support any small businesses they can.

“If you can, just get out there and enjoy the markets,” Aldana said. “The markets are a great time to get to know your vendors and have a good time.”

Austin Li, a student vendor at the market and arts and technology student, has also missed out on sales from low student turnout on the windy day.

Li’s business, Trojan Bins, sells affordable clothing that caps out at around $30 for students and visitors at the weekly market. Lately, the wind has been knocking over Li’s clothing racks and making it harder to keep his stall standing upright.

“People talk about the rain but they don’t talk about the wind,” Li said. “The wind is what’s knocking everything over. We try to have around two to three people set things up, but everything just falls apart. It’s just been difficult.”

Li has used tents to help with preventing items from being knocked over and even has to put out more clothes than usual to keep the tents up. Despite the difficulties, having multiple friends help Li run the business has made the process of adjusting to the weather easier.

“As soon as you have one or two teammates by your side, it clears the air,” Li said. “I think all it takes is just a little push to get things started.”