USC administration must be transparent with its students

USC students seem to hold a shared hostility toward the administration. As the students’ common enemy, the administration has been on the defensive for many issues, including pass/no pass policy, tuition cost and coronavirus regulations. Since the school has not listened to complaints in the past, students have resorted to taking big actions to voice their concerns to the administration — publicizing large petitions, writing articles and speaking to the media to pressure the school into hearing their voices. 

In Fall 2020, Professor Greg Patton was placed on leave for saying a Chinese word that sounded similar to an English racial slur during a lecture. At first, USC sided with the students’ complaints about Patton’s inappropriate use of language. 

However, in less than two weeks, the story took the media by storm, with many stating USC’s decision was inappropriate. Stories appeared on well-known news websites including CNN, NPR and the Los Angeles Times. More than 25,000 people signed a petition that demanded Patton be reinstated as a professor of business communications. Only after extremely negative coverage did USC address students’ concerns, admitting that Patton’s use of the Chinese word was valid. 

This example is only one of many situations where the USC administration would not listen to students until the issue was covered by the media, which, consequently, made it into a bigger issue. For example, students have had problems with SJACS for years, but USC did not take any action until articles, memoirs and petitions circulated. Students should not need to take such large actions to communicate their concerns to their own school. 

The reason USC is so plagued by sensational news stories is not because the students are causing the problems, but because the administration refuses to listen to concerns until they become big media stories. By taking student interests seriously, the school can not only better assist students, but also nip these issues in the bud before they gain negative coverage. 

There needs to be a way for people to communicate with the administration directly instead of relying on USC’s public relations team to find their stories online. Students should be able to directly express their concerns to USC, who in turn should prioritize listening to them. 

A more transparent and honest communication channel would resolve many of the current conflicts today. The school should provide a feedback form where students can express their opinions freely, and USC should read and consider each one. With recent concerns over the school’s handling of coronavirus, students feel more nervous than ever. Many are worried about the long testing lines, USC’s contradictory regulations and hybrid classes. 

Students shouldn’t need to talk to media stations to be heard by their own school; the complaint’s validity shouldn’t be dependent on whether it comes from one student or all the country’s news outlets. Student complaints are real and shouldn’t be devalued just because the school isn’t receiving public backlash for those issues. The University needs to depart from optical promises and actually commit to properly addressing students’ concerns. 

USC needs to take students’ concerns seriously because they care about students, not because the media pressures the school to do so. The administration needs to evaluate these issues based on how they affect students, not how the issues affect their public image.