During just her second time on USC’s campus, incoming Annenberg masters student Breena Greenberg noticed the “purplish, pinkish little trees in front of the Bing theater.
“I think they are really pretty,” said Greenberg.
The month of April marks the celebration of Earth and Arbor day, which falls on April 25, and is focused on tree planting and conservation.
In order to celebrate the beauty of green on the campus, the USC Sustainability Hub’s Assignment: Earth is having a poll where students can vote on which trees they would like to see more of on campus!
Around USC, students are currently loving the green areas.
Natalie Heller, a sophomore majoring in Environmental studies, said, “We have a lot of green spaces comparative to where we are in LA.”
Alice Phung, a senior majoring in Health and Human Sciences, studying in front of DMC noticed the pink and blossomed flowers in the bushes.
“In comparison to other campuses, I feel like there’s a lot of green space around for people to hang out on,” said Phung.
For Rony Calderon, a third year studying accounting, there’s a particular hill on campus that stands out to him.
“The ones on McCarthy quad where people put their hammocks. Yeah I’ll say maybe those are cool to sit under,” said Calderon.
Kathrine Hodges, a senior studying human biology, enjoys the courtyard area near the Thorton music area.
“I’ve always liked them for my entire time here,” said Hodges.
In light of the tree contest, students like Heller and Calderon are wanting to see new trees on campus.
“I’ve always wished to have a cherry blossom tree on campus. Not sure if it’s very attainable, but that would be cool.”
Calderon agrees.
“I’m not sure if we have it but, I think it’d be cool if we had like some super old historic tree.”
Mingzuo Xiao, an intentional master student in electoral engineering from China, would really love to see more of the iconic California palm trees on campus.
“In my city, it is really hard to see the palm trees. And if you know, in California, palm trees are also like the symbol of California. So where I see the palm trees is like ”oh, wow, that’s California,” said Xiao.
Phung, who was studying near DMC, wants more greenery with convenience.
“Granted some of them are blocked off, like this one in Alumni park. I think having them be more open and accessible is just better because that’s the point of green space,” said Phung.
Students can input their opinion on what trees they would like to see using this link. Voting ends on Arbor Day, April 25, 2025, get in your votes before then.