USC may punish email pranksters
Tomo Chien
April 07, 2025
Good morning. It’s Monday, and I’ve been amused by the slow trickle of Charlie Kirk content. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
USC may punish the two students who pulled off last week’s mass email prank. Seniors Levi Elias and Josh Wolk said USC’s Office of Community Expectations told them it was reviewing the incident — and that they may be called to a disciplinary hearing. It is unclear what the review’s timeline is.
2.
The Trump administration canceled dozens of student visas at California universities including UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Stanford. University officials said the administration provided no reasoning for the revocations, though the White House has previously sought to deport pro-Palestinian protesters at several U.S. universities.
3.
The Anti-Defamation League upped USC’s grade on its “Antisemitism Report Card” from a D to C, citing university programs that it wasn’t previously aware of. The ADL says its report cards offer objective data about antisemitism on college campuses, though critics have argued the reports are narrowly focused and unfairly penalize some schools.
4.
A brief roundup of some of this year’s commencement speakers: Roger Lynch, CEO of Condé Nast, will speak at Dornsife. Actress Jane Fonda will visit Annenberg. NVIDIA executive Azita Martin will speak at Viterbi. Director Jon M. Chu will headline the school’s main ceremony. But Marshall, which landed Snoop Dogg, has probably got it best.
5.
Donald Trump is bullying universities into submission with federal funding cuts, and schools must accordingly draw on their endowments to stand up to him, argued Lawrence Summers, the former president of Harvard. “Formidable financial endowments are not there to simply be envied or admired,” Summers wrote.