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USC Sunday Buzz: A Serious Visit To Campus?

I was impressed Friday when it was reported Kentucky freshman DJ Wagner was visiting USC.

Then I learned Wagner was/is dating USC women’s basketball player JuJu Watkins and they went to each other’s high school proms.

So was this a serious visit or a free trip to L.A.? We’ll find out when Wagner decides if he wants to follow John Calipari to Arkansas, stay at Kentucky or go to USC.

  • Is it time for Rick Caruso to stage an intervention with Carol Folt?

Saturday night saw USC summon about 50 police cars and riot cops in a tactical alert to the campus. Then as soon as they arrived, they vanished. What was the point? Is that a good use of police resources?

Folt was seen late Saturday night outside Bovard but declined to answer any questions. Her spokesperson, Joel Curran, claimed Sunday morning that Folt has tried several times to meet with protestors but when asked for further information on these attempts by the Daily Trojan, he could not provide anything.

It’s hard to believe Folt made any attempts when she is generally unavailable to the public on any topic. She won’t even discuss the firing of Mike Bohn but she wanted to meet with student protestors?

16 thoughts on “USC Sunday Buzz: A Serious Visit To Campus?”

  1. Why are you wanting a meeting with these idiots ?

    You ask them to leave, if they don’t, you have them forcibly removed.

    There are thousands of students at USC who want to attend college and learn, you don’t cater to the few who want to be assholes.

    And if the press asks you why you forcibly removed the trash, you state ” Hate speech is not tolerated at the University of Southern California. “

    It’s not hard President Folt, well for a wokester like you it probably is.

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  2. A Message to the USC Community from President Folt

    August 6, 2020

    Dear USC community,

    As you may know, our Vice President of Undergraduate Student Government, Rose Ritch, resigned yesterday from her position in student government. In her heartbreaking resignation letter, Rose described the intense pressure and toxic conditions that led to her decision – specifically the anti-Semitic attacks on her character and the online harassment she endured because of her Jewish and Zionist identities. She also challenged all of us to do better in aligning our actions with our stated desire to have a campus culture that is truly inclusive and respectful of racial and religious diversity, and of different cultural backgrounds and beliefs.

    As president of USC, I believe it is critically important to state explicitly and unequivocally that anti-Semitism in all of its forms is a profound betrayal of our principles and has no place at the university. We must condemn any bias or prejudice that is based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, or other personal characteristic. What happened to Rose Ritch is unacceptable, and we must all take up her challenge to do better.

    Despite the significant progress we have made in cultivating and supporting a vibrant Jewish community on campus, we still wrestle with a history of anti-Semitism at USC. Over the last several years, incidents of anti-Semitism in American higher education have dramatically increased, and anti-Semitic attacks remain the most common religiously motivated hate crime in the United States. As a result, this has been an extremely painful period for our Jewish community.

    It is more important now than ever for our university to serve as a global beacon of belonging. I’m grateful today to announce a new university-wide initiative launched by the USC Shoah Foundation, Stronger than Hate. This program serves as a call to counter hate with tangible action. It represents the work of many of our university leaders – including students, staff, and faculty – who have come together to support and amplify our collective struggle against hate. Through meaningful exhibitions, programs, and workshops, this initiative is designed to help foster a campus culture of connection and compassion that empowers us to listen, learn, heal, and dream together. We hope that as we listen to each other, we can move beyond stereotyped beliefs that lead to implicit and explicit biases, and instead foster a respectful and supportive campus culture. We invite everyone to become Stronger than Hate and to sign up for this important opportunity here.

    Over the course of the past year, I have met with many student leaders and groups representing an extraordinary diversity of religious, political, and cultural perspectives, identities, and expressions. I am proud of their courageous commitment to work together on their shared goals and aspirations, and to translate their many gifts and talents into serving and supporting each other. I know that our student leaders will continue to collaborate across disciplines and domains in order to tell new stories and find new solutions to the many crises facing us today.

    We all have a shared responsibility to build a truly inclusive campus culture so that all students feel empowered to lead in student government and student organizations, and that means that we all must denounce and dismantle prejudice and hatred whenever and wherever we encounter it and be a force for good.

    With gratitude,

    Carol L. Folt
    President

    So what does this colossal jewel of idiocy do ? They pick a Jew hater to speak at Graduation, talk about empty words.

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    1. The decision [to even temporarily] honor the selection of a graduation speaker lacking the “love”, “sympathy”, compassion and “dreams” Carol sez she prizes led to the situation Carol finds herself in today. [And her decision to assemble a Blue Ribbon Commission of Anti-Hate professors to “heal” the campus is more proof she’s a champion of cosmetics]…..

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      1. btw, Establishing a formal arrangement with the ADL “for the purpose of collaboration and support” is not the answer either.

        Open & honest dialog between students and professors —-not between administrators & “outside stakeholders” —is what USC should be pursuing.

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      2. …last add: And that “dialog” needs to exclude the multiple extremists in the administration [that’s you, Carol] and graduate and undergraduate faculty who see it as their job to cram their ideas down students throats…. Carol Folt’s successor needs to take a long, hard look at how USC got to this place …. and start the serious job of overhauling curriculum & faculty…..

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    2. Folt the roaming gnome troll is full of shyt budda. I hope this debacle doesn’t stop. Even though I can’t stand these deranged protesters. I hope Folt gets shown the door because of it. They should of got teared gassed like in the 70s. Anything to send a message..

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      1. The “demonstrators” fall into 3 separate categories —-students who have no clue, non- student troublemakers, students and faculty who have rich & deep death wish for our country…

        #ThisIsn’tAboutJusticeForPalestinians…..

        #..That’sTheLastThingIt’sAbout…

        #…It’sReallyAboutHatredForIsraelAndTheUnitedStates

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  3. In 2022, USC formed a committee to look into Jewish life on campus, these were their recommendations.

    The committee unequivocally supports expansive free speech rights that are at the heart of USC’s research and teaching mission, including criticism of Israel.

    But based on conversations with students, faculty, and staff, the committee also expressed concern that anti-Zionist rhetoric sometimes employs antisemitic tropes, stereotypes, and caricatures, including Holocaust denial and inversion. Such rhetoric might also argue against the existence of a Jewish homeland or the right of Jewish self-determination. As a result, many Zionist students, faculty, and staff feel attacked, targeted, and dehumanized on the basis of
    religion as their view of Israel as the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people is inextricably linked to their Jewish religious identity. Additionally, students report that they have been excluded from student government leadership and social justice opportunities on campus because of their Zionist identities, and that they have been bullied and doxxed online because of their Israel advocacy.

    Recommendation: Highlight and publicize the university protections that all students have tobe free from bullying, harassment, and intimidation, regardless of whether that implicates a protected-class identity. This communication and clarification could be part of a largeruniversity framework of articulating values, expectations, and processes.

    Recommendation: Acknowledge explicitly that anti-Zionism can sometimes be experienced as antisemitism in responding to issues and incidents. Upon reviewing university communications protocol and meeting with members of the communications team, the committee focused on several areas that could be clarified andenhanced, including incident response, civil discourse expectations, and communications about the university’s actions to combat antisemitism and support Jewish life.

    Recommendation: Whenever antisemitic incidents arise, respond quickly and publicly while highlighting and articulating the university’s values, standards, and expectations.

    Recommendation: Review communication processes and timelines for incident responses, including targeted outreach, resource lists, and reminders of reporting responsibilities. Develop a clear distribution group for communications related to significant antisemitic incidents.

    Recommendation: Publicly reiterate the university’s opposition to academic boycotts like the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaign (BDS). The university has rejected BDS a number of times and the committee recommends posting a standing statement to one of the university’s webpages. Refer any concerns directly related to the university’s investments in this area to the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility.

    Recommendation: Develop new ways to communicate and showcase the extraordinary work that is already being done by Jewish organizations and individuals on campus, such asthe USC Shoah Foundation and the USC Casden Institute. This could include a centralized website, calendar, and/or mailing list specifically focused on opportunities and activities across the university.

    Recommendation: Establish a formal network of external stakeholders – including, but not limited to, the ADL, Jewish Federation, AJC, AEN, Hillel International, and others – for thepurposes of communication, collaboration, and support.

    Recommendation (due to launch Fall 2022): A USC Student Commitment that outlines
    the university’s expectations and is the latest iteration of the Culture Journey.

    Recommendation (already extant): Continue to distribute broadly the university’s policy on who speaks for the university and in what context, which clarifies the policy on departments issuing political statements .

    Recommendation (already extant): Continue to use the website (and eventually build a new dedicated website that is decoupled from other campus challenges) to chronicle the university’s progress towards combatting antisemitism and supporting Jewish life. With regular participation by the Office of Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX, the committee considered several university policies to better support Jewish life on campus, as well as required training modules and staffing needs.

    Recommendation: Explore the possibility of creating a full-time position – Director of Jewish Life – at the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, similar to positions at other peer universities. This role would work closely with DEI initiatives and the new standing committee.

    Recommendation: Continue to clarify and expand the university’s holy days policy to better accommodate students, faculty, and staff, and reimagine how the policy is communicated to different stakeholders.

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  4. Wow that’s riveting stuff, whose the next ‘stiff’ to visit SC- Can’t wait to see how this story unfolds

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      2. I really like Moss as a person —-lots of grit & great leadership qualities….

        #..ButGottaAdmitJaydenMaiavaOutplayedHimInSpringGame

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  6. Pingback: Surprise, Surprise: Five-Star Guard Who Visited USC Chooses Arkansas – InsideUSC with Scott Wolf

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