by Tracy Lawrence

What comes to mind when you think of Downtown LA? Words like “grungy,” “poor,” and “ghettolicious” are common for USC students. But don’t we owe it to our alma mater and the community to break free from the dark cloud of the University of South Central? Luckily, we’ve got some venues that are helping us solve Downtown’s poor image—think LA Live, the new hub of dining and soon-to-be-hotel venues that surround the powerhouse of the Nokia Center. With a vision of Downtown as a place to take a leisurely stroll, the creators constructed a “Times Square of the West.” They even lobbied to repeal the “traffic-reducing” law forbidding taxis from being hailed on the sidewalk (which, one must admit, was not one of the smartest solutions to LA traffic).

We have other allies in the quest to make our downtown livable and lovable. The Historic Downtown District emphasizes the nostalgia of old Broadway, trendy bars, cafes, and museums that are centralized on Main and Spring Street—all within a five-minute drive of campus (www.historicdowntownla.com). The Downtown Art Walk takes place on the second Thursday of every month, attracting droves of people with free admission to art museums, galleries, and the nonprofit venues. They even have a complimentary Art Walk Shuttle to ferry participants to and from the 45 sites (downtownartwalk.com). And while this should be music to a Trojan’s ears, we might as well be deaf. In an informal-yet-sound survey of 15 students, all of them had been on outings to the Grove while less than half had been to LA Live (with some only having been to the Nokia Theatre, not daring to venture out to one of the 10 dining venues). Let’s do a comparison to see what makes sense here.