The USC Department of Facilities Planning and Management (FPM) released a statement to Annenberg Media on Monday saying McCarthy Quad will be closed until early April while it undergoes repairs.
“No events will take place in the area until that work is finished,” FPM said.
The damage was caused by “rain during the set-up of a large canopy in McCarthy Quad for New Student Convocation on Jan. 5,” according to the statement. As a result, gates were placed around the perimeter of the area, with the quad’s central path remaining open for passage.
The quad hosts a variety of popular USC events, from the weekly Trojan Farmers Market to concerts to tailgates, sure to be missed by the student population.
USC master’s student Annie Jia recalls her time spent on the quad from having fun at Conquest – one of the concerts held at McCarthy Quad – to a graduation ceremony she attended.
“There are not really a lot of spaces like this on USC’s campus. [USC is] not really big, and open spaces are even more limited. There is definitely going to be an impact,” Jia said.
Kylie Sabo, a junior majoring in health promotion and disease prevention studies, was initially surprised to hear the news about McCarthy Quad’s closure. “It’s definitely disappointing that the freshman won’t get to experience the McCarthy Quad, and hopefully they can find another space for those activities, especially the farmers market.”
Katlynn Thai, a freshman studying biomedical engineering, expressed a similar sentiment, saying new spring admits will especially lose out on getting to experience the farmers market.
On another hand, senior applied and computational mathematics major Eddie Sanchez raised safety concerns over the barricades surrounding the quad.
“There have been a few moments where the barricades are a little concerning. I have seen my fair share of accidents in person,” Sanchez said.
The FPM statement notes that they are currently replanting the grass on the quad, and events will be postponed until it has regrown.
“Once sod is planted, it will take about a month for the grass to take root and grow,” FPM said.