Letter to the Editor: USC lobbying against AB 1510 is another betrayal to survivors


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The lengths to which the USC administration will go to avoid the consequences of its own negligence and moral apathy are unbelievable.

In another betrayal to survivors, USC is currently the sole opponent of California Assembly Bill 1510, which would extend the period to file claims “arising out of sexual assault or misconduct by a physician occurring at a student health center” for one year starting Jan. 1, 2020. Plainly, this bill would allow survivors of former campus doctors Dennis Kelly and George Tyndall to claim legal damages from USC, even if the statute of limitations had already expired. AB 1510 expands the net of justice for victims of USC-sponsored sexual assault.

Supported by consumer, civil rights and women’s groups, and opposed only by USC, AB 1510 is crucial to ensuring that all survivors receive adequate compensation and that the state and courts hold this University fully accountable for its gross negligence and indifference toward the victims of its campus doctors’ misconduct.

Not only did the administration ignore survivors for years, but it is now actively working to silence their voices and revoke their justice. Survivors have surely endured enough trauma and hardship. This legislative battle is not only insulting in its blatant self-preservation, but it is also completely futile, as AB 1510 will almost certainly pass. USC’s ardent opposition is transparent in its frivolity: This is not about justice, but about greed. This is not about accountability but about preserving the University’s good name.

USC decries the bill as “a blatant attempt to interfere with the proposed federal settlement and all the beneficial provisions found within the settlement,” yet the United States District Court of Central California just denied a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement because “The Court would be concerned about class members being misled into believing that their award will be higher than their actual amount of compensation received.” While the District Court ensures that USC will be honest about the amount it is willing to give survivors, isn’t it imperative that other survivors have ample opportunity to seek justice themselves?

The two legal actions are not in opposition to one another, despite USC’s claim that they are. And it is very telling that no other party is willing to make the same claim. If AB 1510 were bad for survivors, we would be hearing about it, and this would be a different letter. But it isn’t, and still the University has the audacity to claim that it speaks on behalf of the people it has betrayed and mistreated for over 30 years.

The truth is that AB 1510 would extend the statute of limitations for those who choose to pursue legal action against the University. That is all. If a survivor chooses to pursue the original settlement, this bill would do nothing to affect them. The implication that it would be to their detriment is dishonest and unfair to victims.

AB 1510 isn’t an assault on the rule of law. The statute is only extended for one year in order to provide justice for crimes with consequences that extend far beyond the standard 10-year statute of limitations. What is an assault on the rule of law is a self-interested private institution going against the will of democratically elected lawmakers who aim to correct the errors in current law that would allow for sexual assault victims to be denied legal compensation for crimes committed against them.

Budgets reflect values, and USC chooses to fund anti-survivor lobbying instead of more resources for survivors, like the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services Center. Actions speak louder than words, and USC chooses to stand as the only opposition to AB 1510 as they send email after email to the student body promising to do and be better. Despite changing leadership, exploitation and abuse remains at the core of this administration. Despite getting a new president, students and community stakeholders remain absent from decision-making processes.

We, the students, should not stand for this. It is incumbent upon us to stand with survivors and to demand justice. Join Trojan Advocates for Political Progress Thursday at 11 a.m. in front of Tommy Trojan to call state representatives to lobby for AB 1510 and to contact members of USC’s administration to sever USC’s paid opposition to it.

We refuse to be content with decisions USC makes on behalf of students without our involvement or consent. We refuse to trust the empty promises of this administration. We refuse to remain silent. Stand with us.

Trojan Advocates for Political Progress