Global Affairs Club attended a speaker event with former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso at Loyola High School, hosted by the Los Angeles World Affairs Council (LAWAC) on Oct. 16. Students had the opportunity to speak to members of LAWAC and other global affairs organizations and enjoy provided appetizers before hearing from Caruso himself. He then addressed the self-proposed question: “What can Southern California learn from cities around the world?” Later, he also opened the floor to answer questions offered by the audience.
This is the first event of many that the Global Affairs Club will participate in organized by LAWAC this year. Last year, the Global Affairs Club attended three LAWAC organized events, where they visited the LA Zoo to discuss climate change and environmental conversation, met Mayor Karen Bass as well as two American diplomats.
Caruso said other countries can learn from the amount of cultural diversity in LA as it is something that they often lack.
“I’m critical in the leadership of the city, but I still believe LA is the greatest city in the world by far,” Caruso said. “The fact that we have so many different communities with so many different cultures that all live and work together is incredible, and we should celebrate that. Other cities are very homogeneous, but LA is not. You go [to LA] for the Filipino community, the Black community, the Latino community, the Italian community and the Chinese community. And if you haven’t done it, you should definitely go around and see all of these communities because they really are spectacular.”
Caruso said there is a necessity for collaboration between cities in California, and that they should not be taking isolationist stances by only focusing on their own issues and goals. He said this has been a common mistake that cities have made and that it should be changed.
“Every city is very dependent on the state for many reasons,” Caruso said. “You incentivize the cities to build more housing or do what you believe is in the greater interest in California, and you share that equally among every city, rather than getting into local control and mandating changes in local zones. I think that all cities have a problem.”
Club member Joya Roy ’26 said she appreciated the opportunity to listen to Caruso and to speak with some members of the LAWAC.
“Getting to hear Rick Caruso speak was amazing, especially since I’m used to hearing him speak on TV,” Roy said. “So seeing and hearing him speak in person was really cool. I also enjoyed getting to talk to grown-ups who have jobs related to the city and global affairs.”
Club member Ryan Acosta ’26 said he noticed how Caruso compared the issues of other cities to LA, particularly ones that LA struggles with.
“Caruso provided examples of how other cities in America, specifically ones in Texas, dealt with issues in Los Angeles like homelessness and public safety,” Acosta said. “It was interesting how he mentioned how the city of Los Angeles can find inspiration from other cities, possibly those around the world.”
