Black at USC

[Awsi Dooger]

Lots of disturbing stories posted to Instagram regarding racial issues at USC. The Instagram page is not affiliated with USC but I only found out about it through alumni email within a message from USC president Carol Folt.

Here is the site followed by a portion of her email:

https://www.instagram.com/black_at_usc/

June 30, 2020

"Dear Trojan Community,

I am deeply moved and saddened by the many devastating stories and experiences of anti-Black racism at USC that our students and alumni are posting. It takes great courage and strength to share these stories publicly, and as President, I apologize for the pain you have suffered here.

I promise to keep listening to you, and to commit not just myself, but USC, to making lasting change to put an end to anti-Black and systemic racism.

Today, I am announcing new, additional actions to be led by Provost Professor Shaun Harper and researchers from the USC Race and Equity Center, in collaboration with Provost Charles Zukoski; our Senior Vice President for Human Resources, Felicia Washington; and our Vice President for Student Affairs, Winston Crisp.

These actions will supplement other ongoing initiatives, including the development of unconscious bias training and the work of the Campus Culture Commission, as well as partnering with the diversity liaisons and the schools and units across USC."


***

My era was decades ago but I have to say I don't remember one incident that would warrant inclusion with these

[Demovictory9]

1. k&r

[Mike 03]

2. Really unfortunate if true

One of the things I most loved about USC was the diverse student population and for the most part everybody getting along. At one point I had three roomates: one from Venezuela, one from the Philippines, a Chinese-American and when Konrad (the one from the Philippines) moved out a Japanese-American moved in. My freshman year, one of my best friends was an Iranian student.

I've tried to track down my Venezuelan roommate with no luck. He was absolutely one of the nicest people I've ever met, and with things going bad there I've often wondered about him. He was studying Veterinary medicine but left abruptly without explanation in his junior year.

It depended on the school you were attending. The business majors didn't have a very good reputation, some of them cheated and drank their way through USC. I had business major roommates at points and they were Frat Bros i didn't think much of. But if you went there to learn, you got out of it what you put into it.

My time at SC was four of the best years of my life.

[Awsi Dooger]

3. My experience was similar

Wonderfully diverse student body and great camaraderie on campus. I only had one foreign born roommate but got to know many others at the Daily Trojan.

In covering all the sports teams for that student newspaper I don't remember one incident of racial tension. I don't even remember one off color joke. Contrast to when I moved to Las Vegas and was immersed in a heavily southern non-educated crowd within the sportsbook scene. That was a stunning indoctrination to right wing fear fear and bigotry.

There were academic scandals when I was at USC. Professors were allowing athletes to do nothing and pass. I had one baseball player roommate who said on the first day of class his professor told all athletes to meet him outside in the hall. Once there he told them they wouldn't have to attend class at all. Just write one paper at term's end. Sure enough, my roommate blew off the entire semester until asking his girlfriend to help write the paper over the final weekend before it was due. They were copying sections from books word for word.

That scandal blew up so badly it received national attention circa 1980. One member of the track team received credit for supposedly attending two classes that were going on simultaneously. It led to probation for the football team. The following year I had two water polo roommates. The situation had over rotated so badly I actually felt sorry for them. The assistant water polo coach was calling them at all hours of the day to make sure they were attending class or studying.

But now we've had a recent water polo scandal. Folt has her hands full.

[Mike 03]

5. Thanks for sharing those memories.

It is life-changing if a person can make friends with people from other backgrounds and countries at an early age.

I even recall, at Orientation, being told that one of the goals of the dormitory program was to put people of different origins, ethnicities and nationalities together. It was not an issue, and I'm so thankful those people came into my life. It was the most wonderful experience. I think about the people I met there often.

I just wish I had made a better effort to keep up with them.

[Mike 03]

6. The last few years have brought scandal.

There was also a scandal with one of the higher ups in the Medical School.

The most embarrassing thing for me personally is that an important division in the school I attended was renamed after an alleged (but it was an open secret) pedophile who donated a huge sum of money to the school. Thankfully that was straightened out.

[Awsi Dooger]

4. Some members of the tennis team might be a bit nervous

That entry jumped out at me. One girl said she was called the N word by her roommate who is a tennis player, and later called the N word multiple times by a male tennis player.

That is not a large team. Seemingly not difficult to track down. Of course, it wasn't definitive they were members of the varsity team but I assumed that was the meaning.

[Tipperary]

7. California.

Again.