By: Sumaya Hussaini ‘22 and Ann Nguyen ‘22

“They’re taking someone else’s spot.”

For years, the sentence was uttered in reference to affirmative action — admissions practices that provide equal access to education and are preferential toward groups that have been historically underrepresented, disadvantaged, and/or discriminated against. However, the same sentiment was recently expressed by the general public in response to college admissions scandal, in which the children of wealthy celebrities and prominent business leaders were accepted to USC and other elite universities through illegal means of bribery and fraud.

By: Sumaya Hussaini ‘22, Karla Leung ‘22, and Ann Nguyen ‘22

In light of USC’s involvement in the recent college admissions scandal, we wanted to shed light on this issue by gathering reactions from our student bloggers, first generation students, and organizations closely tied to the scandal like the USC Crew Team. The USC student body is represented by people of many different identities, yet this scandal is disappointing for many of us, devaluing our hard work and dedication to gain acceptance to this school.