OPINION: President’s Culture Commission lacks diverse student representation


Sydney Loew/Daily Trojan

Interim President Wanda Austin sent a memorandum Tuesday updating the USC community on the creation of the President’s Culture Commission, which intends to improve  the campus environment.

While the selected faculty and staff members do represent a diversity of disciplines and specialties, ranging from computer science to Middle East studies, there are only two students on the commission: Undergraduate Student Government President Debbie Lee and Graduate Student Government President Joycelyn Yip. While the inclusion of these two student leaders is critical, the lack of further student representation on the committee seems ill-advised and counterproductive.

Allowing more students to participate in the commission could bring about more open forum discussions about the University’s culture and show minority groups on campus that their voices are valued by the University.

Just as the Culture Commission currently lacks student representation, the Presidential Search Advisory Committee has been plagued by similar problems. The Daily Trojan reported in September that during one of the search committee’s listening sessions, participants like USG presidential candidate Michaela Murphy were outraged by the lack of student voices. Including more students in the Culture Commission seems advisable when a similar committee was highly criticized for excluding them.

Unlike most faculty and staff, who leave campus at night and on weekends, students spend almost all of their time on or around campus. University culture has a major impact on most students’ lives and, these students, who are constantly immersed in USC’s culture, would best know how to most effectively address campus problems. Involving representatives from prominent student organizations in the process would ensure students, especially those from minority groups, receive adequate representation.

For example, the Culture Commission has no representation from students in Greek life, yet the University has taken steps in the past few years to curb their operations, by deferring rush by a semester for new students among other decisions. At a school where 22 percent of students participate in some form of Greek life and even more attend fraternity parties on the weekends, ignoring the voice of these students is a drastic oversight. These groups heavily influence the culture at USC, not only with regard to the party scene but also in students’ social lives. They must be included in the conversation.

In addition, the University should also include groups that serve students of color and LGBTQ populations in the Culture Commission’s discussions. These groups make up an important part of the student population, and engaging with them can help show that the University is willing and able to listen to and work with student leaders. Their concerns deserve to be heard, especially when the University touts diversity and inclusion in their marketing materials.

In the wake of numerous scandals,  increased student representation on the Culture Commission would reaffirm the University’s commitment to providing a safe culture that supports its students and values their opinions. This would assure students that the University is committed to creating a culture that is not only beneficial to faculty and staff but also to students.