Good morning. It’s Monday, and yes: It’s time for the first annual “USC Moron of the Year” poll. Candidates include President Carol Folt, Provost Andrew Guzman and the PR department.

Voting closes Thursday evening, and on Friday, I’ll announce the winner and custom order a plaque to mail to the winner. Vote anonymously here — and please share the link with all of your friends!

Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

USC student protesters again erected a “Gaza solidarity” encampment that the LAPD seemed poised to clear Saturday evening — until the legions of riot officers inexplicably left campus without confrontation. Other updates: President Folt finally broke her silence to antagonize protesters. Twice. Then declined to answer questions, and scurried away. Some protesters vandalized Tommy Trojan and other iconic USC landmarks. A DPS car nearly swerved into a student journalist. The student government is pissed. High-profile professors are pissed. Even pro-Israel groups are pissed. Notice a theme?

Staff / Daily Trojan

2.

Two speakers slated to address graduates of USC’s education school dropped out of the ceremony, citing, among other things, the university’s decision to call the LAPD to quell largely peaceful student protesters last week. The move came just days after USC canceled its mainstage graduation ceremony and casts uncertainty on the more than two dozen satellite ceremonies that are still set to run. “To speak at USC in this moment would betray not only our own values, but USC’s too,” the speakers wrote. 

Jaweed Kaleem / Los Angeles Times

3.

Other California colleges seem to be faring no better than USC — minus the self-immolation on the part of university leadership. Cal Poly Humboldt abruptly shut down its campus for the rest of the school year as students continue to occupy two buildings. School administrators said the cost of the protest is “in the millions” because of vandalism, theft and loss of revenue. Rival factions continue to clash violently at UCLA. Encampments at Stanford and UC Berkeley remain peaceful, though. 

Aidin Vaziri and August Linton / San Francisco Chronicle

4.

Some lighter news: A California mountaineer wants to change how people climb Mount Everest. Adrian Ballinger, an Olympic Valley-based mountain guide, is pioneering a technique that promises to cut the trip time in half. The catch: You have to sleep in a suffocating bag for months before your trip. A standard Everest climb can take up to two months as mountaineers adjust to the altitude, but by sleeping in so-called “hypoxic tents” that simulate a lack of oxygen, Ballinger’s clients can acclimate before they even leave their homes. 

Jack Dolan / Los Angeles Times

5.

California grizzly bears have long held a prominent place in the myth of the Western frontier: 19th century accounts alleged that the bears — now extinct in the state — were bigger, meaner and scarier than elsewhere. Turns out that’s just not true. A team of researchers analyzed grizzly bones in museums throughout California and found that the bears were the same height and weight on average as their relatives across the country. “Pretty much everything that I thought I knew about these animals turned out to be wrong,” one of the study’s authors said. 

Ian Rose / The Washington Post