This letter is no longer accepting signatures. Please read and sign our April 2024 letter at bit.ly/divest-usc
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November 16, 2023
We, the undersigned alumni of the University of Southern California, write in support of students, professors, and staff members calling for Palestinian liberation, immediate ceasefire and justice reform on campus. We vehemently echo the Muslim Student Union’s calls for USC to take bold and immediate action against growing racist, Islamophobic, and anti-Arab sentiment on campus. Amid Israel’s ceaseless genocide of Palestinians, we stand with USC graduate students’ calls for President Carol Folt to condemn Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinians and call for an end to the occupation. USC must also publicly affirm its commitment to upholding free speech on campus and prohibiting censorship of and retaliation against anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian voices.
More than 11,000 Palestinians have been martyred in Gaza and the West Bank in the last 40 days, and more than 1.5 million Gazans have been forcefully displaced within their own land. Israel has dropped the equivalent of two nuclear bombs on Gaza. Hospital systems are shutting down, entire families are being wiped off the civil registry, and bodies line the streets of Gaza as rain pours down on survivors with no place to go. Thirty-six premature babies were taken off of oxygen after Israeli troops destroyed al-Shifa hospital four days ago. On Wednesday, soldiers laid siege to al-Shifa, trapping thousands of displaced Gazans, including 650 patients, in the building with no resources and a constant barrage of bombing and shooting. Thousands of Palestinians are being held without trial in Israeli prisons, Israel’s Defense Minister referred to Palestinians as “human animals,” and IDF soldiers have been filmed desecrating the dead bodies of Palestinians. This systemic and growing occupational violence by Israel with wholehearted support from the United States threatens the safety of Muslims, Arabs, Jews and, truthfully, all people from minority groups around the world.
USC has refused to stand up for its minority students in the most basic ways, instead acting in line with the Zionist lobby’s vicious censorship of Palestinian students and false accusations of anti-Semitism. The result is seen in the actions of Professor John Strauss, who was filmed on campus last week spewing violent anti-Palestinian hate speech and disrespecting a memorial. We demand that President Folt and the USC administration release a statement condemning Strauss’s actions and vowing unequivocal support for the university’s Muslim and Arab students, faculty and staff, and especially those that identify as Palestinian. The USC administration sent an email on Oct. 31 saying it is “more important than ever for us to model what civil disagreement and respectful debate looks like on campuses,” and insisting that “[h]ate speech is antithetical to our values and any threats of violence are unacceptable.” If that is true, now is the time to prove it. USC must provide resources (more than a website of platitudes) to those impacted by discrimination on campus and elsewhere, and prove that anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiment will not be tolerated under any circumstance. We, the alumni, are outraged that USC has made us ask in the first place.
USC’s emails ring even more hollow when they are compared to President Folt’s actions. On Nov. 6, the day Gaza’s death toll crossed 10,000, President Folt gave a speech at the Western Region Summit on Anti-Semitism in Higher Education. There, she detailed USC’s collaboration with several Zionist Jewish Organizations, including the ADL — which has called pro-Palestinians organizations “hate groups” — on USC’s first “Advisory Committee on Jewish Life,” whose stated mission is to “review a number of proposed actions to tangibly support Jewish and Zionist students, faculty, and staff.” USC is clear in its preference for Zionist students, and it shows in the staggering dissonance of USC’s response to the genocide in Gaza. This is unacceptable.
USC has a shameful history of ignoring Palestinian voices on campus to appease conservative Zionist donors and board members. Palestine was not even mentioned in the first two statements the university released after Oct. 7. Last July, USC reaffirmed its refusal to recognize the non-violent, Palestinian-led BDS movement, which calls on individuals and institutions to exercise their right to exert economic pressure to end the Israeli occupation, but is banned in 27 states as a result of the Israeli lobby’s stronghold on American politics. Experts call these bans a violation of the First Amendment, while USC maintains that BDS limits free speech. In reality, silencing BDS on campus itself restricts free speech. According to the California education code and the U.S. Civil Rights Act, USC is responsible for the safety, well-being, and equal treatment of ALL its students. Making Arab and Muslim students feel lesser than and not as important as other students is a violation of that code. USC must acknowledge and apologize for all previous instances of bias against Palestinian, Muslim and Arab students.
Publicly speaking out in support of Palestinian liberation — an end to the genocide and 75-year Israeli occupation — has been met with harassment, censorship and public doxxing at universities including Columbia, Harvard, and USC, where the administration has allegedly prohibited academic departments from expressing solidarity with the Palestinian cause, and professors have been verbally attacked for speaking factually about Palestine at campus events. On Nov. 10, before USC economics Professor John Strauss was filmed calling for the death of Palestinians at an installation honoring the martyrs in Gaza, a student reports,
“We were intimidated by Zionist students for the last two hours of the gathering. They had Israeli flags taped to themselves, took videos of and selfies with the names of martyrs while laughing, and took unsolicited pictures and videos of people reading the names, making them uncomfortable (as an intimidation tactic). They also incessantly waved the Israeli flag in front of us. I took video and pictures of them as well to document their intimidation tactics.
“DPS was watching the entire time, and because they weren't technically ‘instigating’ anything, nothing was ever said to them. In fact, [Erroll Southers, USC’s Associate Senior Vice President of safety and risk assurance] went up to those Zionist students after the Strauss incident and gave them his business card and talked to them (seemingly joyfully) for about 10-15 minutes.
“The anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian students of USC, like myself, have resorted to anonymity because we are rightfully terrified of these Zionist students.”
Professor Strauss maintains that saying “everyone should be killed” while knowingly standing in front of a memorial honoring 11,000 martyred Palestinians was not wrong, because he was only referring to Hamas. This was also after, as multiple students have confirmed, he stepped on the printed lists of names on the ground. The useless invocation of anti-terrorism in response to Palestinian loss of life is itself incredibly racist, and Professor Strauss’s reasoning does not change the fact that his comments made students feel unsafe. He is continuing to teach all of his classes over Zoom, while pro-Palestinian students and faculty can’t even reveal their identity to campus publications for fear of being targeted online.
USC has seen harassment, hate speech (including from USG senators) and doxxing leveled against anti-Zionist students in the past and has never taken proportionate action, nor publicly acknowledged that anti-Zionism is not the same as anti-Semitism. In fact, USC’s Advisory Committee on Jewish Life last year recommended that USC “acknowledge explicitly that anti-Zionism can sometimes be experienced as antisemitism,” while experts agree that anti-Zionism, and opposing the policies and occupation carried out by Israel, is not anti-Jewish sentiment. The university must not conflate Zionism and Judaism just as it must oppose the conflation of Muslims and Arabs with terrorism.
Advocacy for the safety of Jews on campus (by campus Zionist Jewish groups like Hillel and Chabad) nearly always excludes non-Zionist Jews from its scope, and the university must do more to protect its Jewish students who vocally oppose the Zionist occupation of Palestine. This problem also extends to professors, as 92NY recently canceled an event with USC’s Aerol Arnold chair of English, Viet Thanh Nguyen, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who had signed a letter criticizing Israel. USC has yet to voice support for Nguyen.
Tensions and fear on campus are high, which negatively affects students’ ability to learn. It is USC’s duty, by law, to ensure a safe and nondiscriminatory learning environment for all students. The fact that Professor Strauss was emboldened to act so hatefully indicates that the USC administration is not doing enough to protect students on campus. The university must significantly improve its reporting procedures for such incidents with input from vulnerable students. Furthermore, we demand that the university immediately remove Strauss from teaching students without pay until an investigation is complete.
As alumni, we stand in solidarity with and in awe of the students and faculty who put themselves in danger by advocating for their rights and their people in the face of repressive world powers and decades of anti-Arab as well as anti-Muslim propaganda. We are current and future donors to the university, and cannot in good conscience support our alma mater as long as it refuses to protect its most vulnerable community members and take a stand against genocide. We call on USC’s administration to immediately:
We demand that the university release a comprehensive statement accurately acknowledging the recent incident as Islamophobic and anti-Arab racism. The statement should emphatically express the university’s intolerance for such behaviors and affirm its commitment to fostering a safe environment for Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian community members, in addition to condemning all previous instances of anti-Arab and Islamaphobic hate on campus. The statement must also make clear that the university does not equate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, and voice support for Jewish students who do not associate themselves with Zionism.
USC must publicly address the ongoing genocide of Palestinians and the lives already lost, rather than vaguely referring to these human rights atrocities as “violence in Israel and Gaza” or a “tragic loss of life.” If the university can “condemn the terrorist attacks by Hamas and their brutal threats to execute kidnapped civilians and commit other atrocities,” it must also take a stance against the U.S.-funded genocide being committed by Israel, and acknowledge the extent of the damage already done. This includes condemning the brutal 75-year occupation of Palestine and Israel’s apartheid system that treats Palestinians as second-class citizens.
The university must re-evaluate and reform reporting procedures to instill trust among students. Substantive actions should be taken based on the concerns raised in these reports to ensure a responsive and accountable system.
We call for a thorough, transparent and independent investigation by both the university and the Dornsife School into Professor John Strauss and the incident described. Immediate action should be taken, including the removal of Professor Strauss from his position.
The administration should extend support to the victims of this incident and other Muslim/Arab students by providing specialized resources and institutional assistance. Because of USC’s reputation of ineffective Title IX investigations, students are understandably disillusioned with the current avenues for reporting harassment and discrimination. A link to the same mental health services in every statement is not enough. An example of genuine support would be a pledge that deans will write letters of recommendation for all students affected by targeted online harassment, and that USC will provide career support for students affected by smear campaigns.
We call on USC to implement tangible measures to ensure that all students can safely exercise their First Amendment rights without fearing physical or verbal retaliation. USC must commit to ensuring that students, professors and staff sharing anti-Zionist viewpoints will not be punished in any way. If they experience harassment, doxxing or retaliation, USC must promise to act swiftly and appropriately to protect them.
USC must publicly apologize to its Palestinian, Arab and Muslim community members for failing to name them in previous university communications, and commit to naming and actively protecting them going forward. USC must also apologize to the students who have been endangered by a campus environment that has encouraged harassment and threats against students, particularly against students of color and Muslim students.
We demand that USC disclose its financial involvement with all entities involved economically in the apartheid and the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.
We respectfully request an immediate response to our concerns.
USC Alumni
The following quotes come from signatories expressing their various reasons for signing this letter. These quotes do not indicate availability for interviews, and all statements unless otherwise specified are the opinions of the signatory and theirs alone.
“For as long as I’ve been a student at USC, I’ve seen the school fail to acknowledge and celebrate their Palestinian students. How long did it take for the school to fly the Palestine flag? To act accordingly when students made threats to Palestinian lives? You want our money but won’t protect us.” –A.M., Class of 2022
“To align with university values, significant effort is needed to make actionable differences in how issues of National and Global inequality and inequity are discussed and addressed. Allowing any type of mockery in this discussion only deepens seeds of unrest. USC should use this opportunity to take action and prove its values in dedication to navigating controversies that come with representing a multicultural institution. Adjusting for awareness of underrepresented voices in this experience will allow [the] administration to take actions in other areas of the university that are in desperate need of separating from colonialist origins of the higher education system.” –A.P. Class of 2021
“There is not a university system--or, frankly world-- I want to participate in that doesn’t include loving and honoring the inherent human rights of ALL human beings, being fiercely protective over combatting all forms of discrimination and ensuring the safety of all people. To me, love means to acknowledge and rectify real life harm that has been done unto others. That world, my personal world, has room to learn and grow and listen and cry and to hold space for all. It was once reprehensible to encourage desegregation in this county. It was once illegal to hide Jewish people in your home. One day, we will be saying it was once taboo to speak out for Palestinian freedom.” –Abeer Tijani, Keck School of Medicine Class of 2021
“From an anti-Zionist Jewish alum: You continue to disappoint me in both new and well-worn ways, USC. Free Palestine!” –Adrian Matias Bell, Dornsife Class of 2019
“I feel passionately about professors that are educating students to be held accountable when their views are in direct support of a genocidal regime.” –Adriana Cabrales, Dornsife Class of 2017
“As a Jewish person, I cannot stand by while the Israeli government senselessly destructs an entire community of people. This is not a Jewish value and this conflict actually has nothing to do with religion. This is a humanitarian issue. It is essential that we find a solution for peace and condemn using more violence to fight violence.
I believe it is not only possible but necessary as Jewish people to be vocal about what’s happening right now. It is possible to love both the land and the faith while condemning the people in charge. It is important to tell the world that state-sponsored widespread death and suffering of innocent civilians is not what Jewish people stand for. It should not be what USC stands for either. The university has a responsibility to protect and take care of ALL of its students. Silence and lack of consequence for a faculty member clearly bullying pro-Palestinian students and making violent remarks is not protection. Do not be complicit in this genocide. We need to fight for humanity, fight for goodness, fight for peace, fight for safety, safety for ALL people. and especially for Palestinians right now.” - Ali Appelbaum, School of Dramatic Arts Class of 2019
“It is beyond unconscionable to do land acknowledgments at home while staying silent on the genocide of Palestinians.” –Andie Ngeleka, School of Cinematic Arts Class of 2020
“If we can’t protect students on an administrative level, how can we protect students at all?” –Antoinette Ricchio, Schools of Dramatic Arts & Cinematic Arts Class of 2020
“It’s embarrassing, disheartening, and disgusting to see USC support people who are spewing hate speech. I’ve lost the pride I had from graduating from this university. The data shows that the average age of civilian deaths is 5 years old. FIVE! Can you tell me how Isr*el is targeting Hamas…? Do you think 5 year olds are a part of that organization? Carol you should be ashamed and embarrassed.” –Atieno Hope, Dornsife Class of 2023
“Free Palestine!! USC you have an obligation to publicly support the immediate stop of a genocide. USC is constantly on the wrong side of history (ie George Tyndall ) it is time to proactively defend peace and justice in the world.” - Austin Oriol, Marshall Class of 2016
“We cannot stay neutral in the eyes of oppression and genocide. If you truly care about the Palestinian students in your student body as well as upholding peace and justice as an institution, you will condemn the actions of Israel and their military forces in their brutalization of the people of Gaza and Palestine. Stand for something or fall for everything!” - Awo Jama, Annenberg Class of 2022
“For being a leading school, you need to be on the frontlines of social justice and empowering marginalized peoples and listening to them constructively. Palestinian students, and those against Zionism and settler colonialism should not feel fear or resistance against expressing their views.” - C.D., School of Cinematic Arts Class of 2015
“To continue paying a professor who believes that Palestinian students at USC should die is abhorrent and absolutely unacceptable. You are complicit in the US funded genocide of millions of people and we will never let you forget it.” - Caro Knapp, School of Cinematic Arts Class of 2022
“USC as an institution that prides itself on its diverse international student body has the opportunity to be a leader in standing on the right side of history.” –Chang Su, Viterbi Class of 2015
“Although I value my education at USC, I cannot help but remember all the times students and faculty were allowed to make xenophobic and demeaning comments to people of my community without consequences. This is THE opportunity for USC to begin showing and proving their solidarity with vulnerable populations, to do the right thing even when it is not the popular choice, and to be on the right side of history.” –Claudia F. Torres, Dornsife Class of 2021
“USC is a disgrace of an institution, it already funnels so much student tuition money into the US war machine, on top of heavily recruiting and grooming talent to go into defense contractors, to censor liberation messages is a true act of despicable cowardice. May all involved USC leaders will never know peace. Spineless losers!!” - E.J., School of Cinematic Arts Class of 2015
“If USC’s mission is to promote DEIB, then speaking out against systemic oppression and giving resources to students should be a priority for its administration.” - E.S., Dornsife Class of 2023
“The school has mistreated me as a Palestinian and other students from marginalized groups. The administration knows this, but cares more about their donations and the power they wield. Their souls will rot.” - Emad Askar, Price Class of 2021
“I have chosen to sign this letter because USC is making yet another mistake of not supporting vulnerable students. The professor's actions were unacceptable.” –Estephanie García, Price Class of 2023
“I am proud of the organizers of this letter and of my fellow student signatories. USC’s values and principles as an institution have always been exclusive, exclusionary and thus hollow. This university like all universities and institutions are microcosms of society and in of themselves reflect the many ills and oppressions that are present, but they can also be sights of resistance and transformation. We call on USC to show us that this place of learning can have true value and can protect and propel its students to act in a manner that speaks out against injustice and respects the lives and lived experience of all its members, as a community. In upholding this, we students have already done more than USC. We can only hope they can match our principles as we rise above theirs.” –Eziamaka Ogbuli, Keck School of Medicine Class of 2023
“I don't wear USC merchandise; it'd be shameful to do so. The university is racist, classist, and in need of a complete moral overhaul. What gives me hope? My college friends and other members of the "Trojan family" who preach that liberation for some is liberation for all. Stand up for what's right. Free Palestine!” –Fiona Pestana, Class of 2021
“This is important and students must be able to express their opinion. It is shameful otherwise. I care about Price and I believe silencing students and cancelling events is dangerous.” - George Z. Price Class of 2019
“Shame on you USC! A classist, elitist institution that supports genocide in Palestine. As alumni, we will not stay silent. Free Palestine!!” - Hannah Kim, Annenberg Class of 2015
“Palestinians have been heeding the whole world’s call to understand their struggle for liberation. Israel’s response since October 7 has been nothing less than inhumane. This occupation has gone on for decades, resulting in the displacement, discrimination, and murder of thousands of civilians. I urge the university administration to take a convicting position in this genocide. Calling for a free Palestine does not, in any way, condone anti-semitism. Let the university be on the right side of history. We will not forget how USC responds to this urgent matter.” –Hannah Tan, Annenberg Class of 2018
“The school that challenged me to be a bold thinker, a brave artist and to stand up for my values should have the courage to condemn what human rights organizations around the world have identified as a clearcut Genocide. It is a disgrace that my alma mater has taken this long to speak out, and each day proves further and further that USC is a cowardly institution. For shame.” –Ian Riley, School of Dramatic Arts Class of 2019
“My tremendous success will never represent USC for as long as it does not explicitly call for an end to the siege on Palestine.” - J.B., Class of 2014
“Being a student under the School of International Relations, it is my hope that our voice matters and that we as a community [are] documented on being on the right side of history, Standing with humanity, and the responsibility to protect innocent lives.” –J Mckenzie, Dornsife School of International Relations Class of 2006
“If you are Palestinian, I urge you to not attend USC. Don’t give them your money, don’t give them your research and knowledge, there are FAR better schools out there, just check USA Today. This institution condones the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and I'm ashamed to be associated with it.” –J.P., Class of 2022
“It’s important for us to recognize that every kind of oppression is connected. In advocating for Palestinian liberation we are also working towards a world that isn’t antisemitic and Zionist.” –Jazmin Polido, Dornsife Class of 2022
"As a recent graduate from the Master of Public Health Program in the Global Health Concentration, I am beyond ashamed at the lack of acknowledgment for the gross human rights violations that are being committed against the Palestinian people from both USC and Keck leadership. If there is one thing I learned from my MPH, it’s the parallels between public health and human rights: threats to human rights anywhere are threats to human rights everywhere, same goes for public health. As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, the threats to public and global health become more urgent. To quote Dr. Adam Levine, chief of global emergency medicine at Brown University: “We know that in other conflicts around the world, whether it be in Africa or the Middle East or South Asia, that infectious diseases actually kill more civilians than bombs or bullets.” As a prominent public health institution, USC needs to fulfill its missions in promoting public health for all, both domestically and abroad. Lastly, I pledge to never donate money to USC as an alum, for its historical and present complacency in genocide and lenience with genocide abetting figures (such as Rufus B. von KleinSmid).” –Jessica Santos, MPH, Keck School of Medicine Class of 2023
“What can be said to the gentrifier of south central about the colonization of land and apartheid of people that isn’t understood within its very framework? If USC wants to surprise its alumni, standing with Palestine is quite honestly the smallest thing they could do. Through education, we have all learned the horrors and wonders of the world. But we are educated by people, not institutions. And if there is hate in one’s teaching, it will only spread. For Professor Strauss to be so supportive of the ideas of a genocide of the Palestinian people is appalling and disgraceful. Who are the Palestinians if not a people like you and I. But teaching humanity to those who don’t see you will not teach them.” –Juan Felipe Dueñas, School of Dramatic Arts Class of 2020
“USC purports to be driven by the needs of its students, yet time and time again, favors the side of money and power and whiteness. Supporting Palestine and ridding the campus of faculty with violent views is the need of the students.” –Julianne Fox, School of Cinematic Arts Class of 2020
“This is incredibly disappointing and if the roles were reversed and this professor said anything about another marginalized group, they would have been handled immediately. Students should be the [utmost] priority. Both my husband and I who are USC alums are reconsidering USC for our children’s future if professors are allowed to get away with behaviors like this.” –K.T. Dornsife Class of 2019
“Palestinian students should be able to exist and advocate for liberation on campus without fear of racist violence. We are not free until we are all free.” –Kai Zackery, Dornsife Class of 2023
“SHAME ON USC. ALL YOU DO IS PROTECT YOUR DONORS ITS HEINOUS AND CAROL YOU NEED TO FIGURE IT OUT RN raggedy ass zionist only good for talking about an ALBATROSS. Protect your students and tangibly support the communities you work with and within, rather than repeatedly tokenizing us for your own benefit. FREE PALESTINE” - Katherine Montanez, Dornsife Class of 2020
“USC has the opportunity to change its reputation as a playground of the wealthy. In many ways, through financial aid expansion, it has done so. But if USC wants to be seen as a legitimate institution of academic rigor that values justice and a diversity of perspectives, it must follow the demands set forth by the letters' drafters and endorsed by the undersigned alumni.” –Lucy Allen, School of Cinematic Arts Class of 2021
“USC should be ashamed. For a school that boasts about its diversity they are doing an utter disservice to their own Palestinian students and have been doing so for YEARS. Their refusal to speak out on genocide is predictable but still disappointing. USC ALUMNI STAND WITH PALESTINE. From the River to the Sea Palestine will be free!” - Mililani Dreibus, Dorsife Class of 2022
“If university administration and faculty do not support students’ right to free Palestinian Liberation and Free Speech on Campus, I will contact and hold alumni representatives accountable and [withhold] donations or contributions.” –Moira Turner, Dornsife Class of 2017
“As a Jew and USC graduate, the values inculcated by my faith and studies are wholly opposed to Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza and their recent barbaric attacks on and displacement of Gaza’s citizens. Even with the crudest evaluation of the current escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict, which may recognize Israel’s feelings of justified anger in their massacre of Palestinian civilians as a response to the attack by Hamas, this is no reason for us to bite our tongues and ignore our responsibilities as an outside observer. I am ashamed of the actions taken by Israel, a country that purports to represent me and my faith, and I will be ashamed if the school which means so much to me demonstrates that they lack the moral fiber to stand up in opposition to the murder of innocents. Every Israeli death has been paid back threefold in the blood of Palestinian children - there is no common judgment of proportionality, whether Talmudic or Biblical or legal, which justifies this bloodshed having occurred, let alone its continuation. Time to step up and do what’s right.” - Myles Parslow, Dornsife Class of 2021
“As a law student at USC who has witnessed blatant racism and Islamophobia against my Muslim and Arab classmates (in the form of a list of “terrorist sympathizers” being sent around, and threats to send that list to potential employers, with many on that list being Muslim, Arab, or brown, and many on it for no reason other than that) it’s URGENT that USC takes action to make sure ALL of its students feel safe and to provide a productive environment for discourse.” –R.P., Class of 2023
“Due to the racist and suppressive environment I experienced in my time at USC I am not surprised to hear that this campus remains hostile to Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students. Please take this chance to do the right thing for once.” –Rawan Masri, Dornsife Class of 2019
“You have an obligation to protect ALL of your students - not just those that are white. Do your job! What else are we paying you for?!” –Rose Baseil Massa, Marshall Class of 2019
“It is USC's duty to its student body to protect all of their students of all backgrounds with utmost care. The university in your time there as a student is your home. Every student must feel safe in their own home.” –Sarah Yejin Hahm, School of Dramatic Arts Class of 2019
“I hope the place where I chose to learn how to heal recognizes the madness of destroying places of healing.” –Sarah Zhou, Dornsife Class of 2018, Keck Class of 2023
“The school has already been strung out due to the bribery scandal and the doctor sexual assault cases. This is a time for USC to turn itself around and show it doesn’t stand for hate!” - T.C., Class of 2018
“I think them seeing my name should strike their memories enough” - Yasmeen Mashayekh, Viterbi Class of 2022
“As a frontier for innovation, imagination, creativity, and knowledge, USC must stand strong and create a safe environment to be not only used as an ecosystem for these attributes to nourish, but to serve too as the leaders in developing furthermore a community exemplifying the upmost standard for modern humanity. No individual worthy of your educational instruction is to adhere to the obvious prejudice and experimentations carried out under your jurisdiction. And it is my hope that along with the many others here, hear our plead to provide not only the safety, but the environment necessary for those to morn and foregather in peace without the crime of hate.” - Zarye Wossene, School of Cinematic Arts Class of 2023