Op-Ed: As a USC professor, I can‚Äôt stay quiet about THE ADMINSTRATION’S TOXIC CULTURE

By Ariela J. Gross

Last week, scandal broke at USC ‚Äî again. This time, it was allegations of drugging and sexual assault at the Sigma Nu fraternity house that the administration knew about for almost a month before warning other potential victims. During that long silence, another student reported another assault there.

If this sounds familiar, it should. In 2018, under the presidency of C.L. Max Nikias, the Los Angeles Times broke the story that George Tyndall, a gynecologist at the Student Health Center, was accused of assaulting female students for three decades, despite numerous complaints from students and nurses, and despite an investigation by USC‚Äôs Title IX office that found ‚Äúthere was no ‚Äòthere‚Äô there.‚Äù USC let the doctor continue to treat students. Accusations continued to grow.

The university eventually gave him a severance package and allowed him to leave quietly. Officials failed for years to alert medical authorities, police or prosecutors, nor did they inform USC students or former patients. The USC administration actually appeared not to want to know the truth.

Read the full article here:

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-11-03/uscs-administrative-culture-is-still-rotten-from-the-top-we-faculty-wont-keep-quiet

This type of Op-Ed is far too rare.

Instructors should demand language in their contracts that allows them to make such opinions public without fear of any form of retaliation from their employer.

Newspapers ought to actively seek opportunities to publish these sorts of insights into the inner workings of local universities.

Then lawmakers need to pull their heads out of their assess and create legislation that puts people under prisons for sexual assaults on campus.

If politicians won’t create such laws, they should be voted out of office.

That’s a hell of a lot of should’s, ought’s, and need to’s.