USC values seen with Jeff Bezos’ visit

Jeff Bezos is, quite literally, the second richest person on Earth. Worth $189.2 billion as the CEO of Amazon, Bezos visited campus Feb. 22 and was met by President Carol Folt around the  University Park Campus.

While USC has notoriously accepted money for controversial reasons — for example, the Varsity Blues scandal — Jeff Bezos’s visit sends mixed messages to USC students about the power of wealth. Folt does not go out of her way to escort prospective families and students, yet Bezos was treated to a special visit from her while on campus.

USC, a school that prides itself on its sustainability efforts, committed to carbon neutrality by the year 2025. However, Bezos was treated with incredible respect by the administration, despite criticisms about his lack of effort to combat the climate crisis. 

While he has committed to donate $10 billion to fight climate change, Amazon is far from a stellar example of a sustainable business model. Not only did Greenpeace find Amazon guilty of breaking its commitment to 100% renewable energy, but Gizmodo, in 2019, noticed that “Amazon has begun a targeted campaign to win oil, gas, and coal business.” Amazon Prime, a service that is incredibly efficient at providing customers with their purchased goods, is an unsustainable practice that “creates more vehicles, more traffic, and potentially more emissions.” 

Prime Day, an event in which consumers are encouraged to purchase more from Amazon for less, exemplifies unsustainable business practices. Customers are promised two-day delivery and often fail to consolidate their products in one order, causing more stops for delivery trucks and greater carbon emissions.

It should also be noted that the Board of Amazon rejected the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice’s climate proposals, a suspicious move that gives more insight into the company’s priorities. The proposals urged Amazon to treat its employees fairly when climate change creates “extreme weather events” that foster unsafe working conditions, to create goals that coincide with science — specifically the IPCC report — and to move away entirely from the employment of fossil fuels, among other demands. 

However, it is clear that Amazon is not a corporation that values its workers, much less their insights. In 2021, Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama attempted to unionize unsuccessfully, claiming that Amazon used intimidation tactics and illegally forced the vote to unionize in its favor. Amazon is a company with less than stellar working conditions for its employees, even amid the coronavirus pandemic, so much so that public health experts urged the company to improve its working environment. Not only did Amazon report nearly 20,000 coronavirus cases in the fall 2020 but additionally “reported 24,505 serious injuries … in 2020,”  according to federal data as of 2021.

Workers are rightfully unhappy with Amazon. As reported by Forbes, “Workers alleged that they are given back-breaking tasks in the warehouses.” Additionally, workers are unhappy with heavy surveillance by cameras and similar tracking technology while they work, creating an environment of insecurity and discomfort. As a campus that has student workers and has received its own complaints about unfair labor practices like low wages and little benefits, it is not the best look to show reverence to the CEO of a company that has exploited workers.

Bezos has name recognition and power, but that does not make him any better or more valuable than other people touring USC. In fact, many other families who tour USC have incredible accomplishments, but whether it is because of their lack of power or non-billionaire status — or both — they are not greeted or shown around campus by the University President.

Bezos has undeniably created change with Amazon but has also had negative impacts on its workers, the environment and the wealth disparity of the United States. So, what message is USC sending students by giving Jeff Bezos such preferential treatment on campus? The message seems to be a clear one: Wealth is power, and power warrants respect. It does not seem to matter that the actions of Bezos do not align with USC’s advertised values. What matters is enormous capital and status. USC students deserve better than this message.