Professor John Strauss allowed to return to campus

Weeks after his comments at a student-led memorial for Gazans killed went viral, USC has lifted the “interim measures” it had put in place restricting him to remote instruction.

By NATHAN ELIAS
Strauss “has in no way been disciplined or punished for engaging in protected speech,” read an updated statement published Saturday to the Provost’s website. (trojansforpalestine, uscscale via Instagram. Modified.)

Professor John Strauss is no longer barred from campus weeks after his altercation with students at a memorial for Gazans killed since Oct. 7 went viral on social media.

Strauss “has in no way been disciplined or punished for engaging in protected speech,” read an updated statement published Saturday to the Provost’s website. The “interim measures” that had been placed on Strauss, which restricted him to remote interactions with students for the remainder of the semester, were not punitive and only to “ensure a safe learning environment.”

USC also wrote in its updated statement that it found many of the comments under the viral posts “quite alarming,” and that some of the videos being circulated of Strauss “appear to have been edited in misleading ways.”

An investigation into the altercation by the Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX remains ongoing.


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