Informant: You might not be able to use this, but there’s like this—it’s not like an urban legend—but there are these two people having sex on a roof at USC and they got expelled. I’ve heard it from a few people.

Collector: Do you know what roof it was?!

Informant: I think it was one of the ones by where they had welcome week, back by the music buildings.

Collector: That’s crazy!

Collector’s Notes: This seemed more like an urban legend for the USC community.  It’s interesting that it was a story about sex, an inappropriate or taboo thing to talk about, and it was a story where the consequence of this taboo action was expulsion from school, a very severe and serious price to pay.  There were interesting and raised stakes because the sex was in a public place, and at school, where something adult like sex is even more inappropriate.  It seems that students at this age in their life are getting used to combining school life and adult life, because they’re on their own with responsibilities for the first time.  Addressing this in a funny way is a way of easing the tension of that reality.