Part 70: USC Leadership Goes on the Record – Title IX Cases and the Avoidance of Resolution

Published January 24, 2024

USC students march one week after sexual misconduct allegations against Sigma Nu fraternity members surfaced in October 2021. USC President Carol Folt would later acknowledge a “troubling delay” in sending required alerts (Photo by Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times).

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By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist

The University of Southern California has responded to my investigation, they don’t want to call it that, but this is our true purpose at the end of the day in carrying out journalism. You report on the case, do the investigation and hope that the institution responds. I’m ethically obligated to seek reply from those I write about when possible, and so that’s what we’ve done, and I’ve published USC’s full refusal to even discuss what’s going on in this case with me or acknowledge that any wrongdoing has occurred yet to date in delaying a prospective students complaint for more than two years.

Only after the victim came forward with their story, and it was published has USC now responded with the offer of a Live Hearing to ostensibly resolve her case long after the accused has graduated. Unfortunately, in doing whistleblower journalism like this you take the risk that by not disclosing the identity that something else will happen to someone. That’s an unfortunate trade-off, but USC knows exactly whose case has been reported, and I will continue to provide updates as I’m able on any progression.

It's important to remember that people don’t actually like whistleblowers as one interviewer told me, that think they’re “whiners and snitches.” USC is playing off exactly that energy right now in pressing full speed ahead long after they started ignoring this poor young woman. “Deliberate indifference” is how Professor Nicole Bedera at the University of Michigan described the legal gravity of the situation, and so it’s hard to know what to do in some situations. The most exciting part of what I do is work with sources, try to tell their story when I’m able, and when the retaliation, or the fear of stalking even comes down, in this digital world.

Sadly in this case, there’s no question that the sexual assault deeply affected the Jane Doe deterring her from seeking admission for graduate studies and from even thinking that Resolution is possible. So without further delay, here’s USC’s full response to my efforts to alert multiple stakeholders within the University that things are not right, even when they should be for every student, without regard to their gender to the educational opportunities they are supposed to receive under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1972.

Here is USC’s response unedited from USC Vice President Stacy Giwa, who is personally known to me from my time at the university sent January 23:

Zach,

I hope this note finds you doing well.

I am in receipt of your email.  I am also aware of your outreach to other university stakeholders.  Thank you for sharing your concerns.  We are unable to discuss the details of matters pending with the University’s Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX (EEO-TIX) with outside third parties.  But please know the university takes seriously, reviews, and investigates, as appropriate, all complaints made pursuant to our Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation.  Those investigations follow a careful resolution process that we consistently follow.  Parties or witnesses to investigations pending with the University’s Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX (EEO-TIX) are encouraged to raise concerns or questions they have regarding the process directly to EEO-TIX.

We understand you have sent the university a number of communications on this matter. The university will not be providing a further response to your outreach on this topic.

Best and take care Zach,

Stacy

Stacy Giwa, J.D.

Vice President Culture, Ethics and Compliance

Now I appreciate that USC feels what I do is outreach, but I can assure them that it’s in fact journalism protected entirely by the 1st Amendment to write this material. Plus the young woman who came forward with her Notice of Investigation documenting this is also legally protected in speaking with me, a journalist who maintains a regular publication discussing exactly these issues in the greater community. Additionally, I followed all possible protocols in reaching out to people at the University to try and alert them of this situation, I didn’t even go in-person.

So with all due respect to USC’s position, we’re going to keep doing the “outreach,” because that sadly is what works, and what this situation has come to in 2024. USC is contending with multiple whistleblowers, myself included, who have alleged that the University engages in highly questionable behavior in regards to Title IX investigations. This begins in 2013 with complaints from students to the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, which ostensibly is monitoring USC to ensure they met the standards Ms. Giwa promised, and on paper USC has clearly failed to meet the test of compliance.

I spoke to three experts including Dr. Bedera to confirm my own assessment that what has happened in this case is not timely “a careful resolution process that we consistently follow” and without revealing my sources at USC, because of fear they will be retaliated against, I don’t think that’s sadly true. I can only report that I believe the significant public profile of the accused factored into why USC Vice President of Equity, Equal Opportunity and Title IX Catherine Spear decided to slow walk this young woman’s Title IX complaint in a way that left her disconcerted enough that a light amount of investigation turned up the story.

Here are the dates again: Incident: September 6, 2021. Reported on December 20, 2021. USC’s EEO-TIX office conducted the first interview of the victim on January 25, 2022, and interviews her again August 18 of that year to interview her again to “reaffirm” the allegations. EEO-TIX did not issue the required Notice of Investigation until September 20, 2022. The accused would go on to graduate in May 2023 from USC, and now presumably he’s received the same correspondence summoning him to campus for a Live Hearing later in March 2024, where he would finally ostensibly face victim to have a determination made if sexual misconduct occurred.

According to Dr. Bedera possible outcomes though “exceptionally rare” include barring the respondent from future admission to USC, and even revoking his diploma. Based on what I can tell from reviewing the claim and know about this situation, I think it’s unlikely that they will do that absent securing an attorney. An additional law enforcement source advised me that the same outcome is would be the best, that she “gets an attorney in there” but that’s easier said than done. USC is offering a legal advisor, and some other universities including Stanford for example have such programs, but it’s USC paying the attorney at the end of the day, not your own.

It's not that I want to be the protagonist here, but simply that in this world of Closed Doors, even coming forward with something that looks so shady, even corrupted to use a strong word, that by giving her full voice at this stage, I may undermine the ability of an attorney to effectively represent her in the Title IX Live Hearing, should she choose to pursue USC’s late offer. They are now emailing her furiously where as before, as the dates show, they simply seemed to be hoping that she would go away.

“They’re protecting him which is awful. I don’t know how many times USC needs to be taught to believe survivors,” the first expert told me, a government attorney whose name I must conceal. The second expert after asking me detailed questions, agreed that it was hard to see why USC would not simply move ahead and act on the case in a timely manner. A choice was made not, and I think it is exceedingly unlikely USC will take responsibility willingly out of good faith.

Title IX is clear that retaliation of this sort for having made a report is a “Also, no recipient or other person may intimidate, threaten, coerce, or discriminate against any individual for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by Title IX or its implementing regulations, or because the individual has made a report or complaint, testified, assisted, or participated or refused to participate in a proceeding under Title IX.” There is no ambiguity in this law, sadly even if it is difficult to secure legal recourse.

Title IX clearly states that “for a recipient to retaliate in any way is considered a violation of Title IX.” I will provide further updates as this case proceeds, and I appreciate all support of this publication to enable whistleblower journalism that has now functioned effectively as community monitoring. My efforts to build a network within USC that can detect cases like this, and to effectively address them will continue, and I appreciate those who have given their time to discuss this most important matter for the Trojan Family.

The heat is on USC. When I left, I knew the stories, I had seen the lawsuits, and I had assessed the involved parties, and here we are 16 months later and it’s the same old story. I agree, when is USC going to learn, and they should kiss their lucky stars it’s an ethical journalist like me with this story who will go above and beyond for his sources. We need more people to come forward, if you believe that USC is mishandling or has mishandled your Title IX complaint in the past, please contact me via email at zachary.b.ellison@gmail.com or on my cell phone at (310) 415-4253 including using Signal and WhatsApp to make a confidential report.

Last but not least, my condolences to the 115 and counting journalists who have lost their jobs at the Los Angeles Times, the publication which broke the George Tyndall story. I know that at least one Sarah Parvini has lost her position with the paper that gave so many women the strength to come forward with their story. We do not forget that Dennis Kelly who similarly mistreated male patients was just as problematic. Sexual violence is wrong, and the way we reduce the epidemic of it at USC starts with having a system for accountability that works. Having the Los Angeles Times be robust, makes this all much easier.

I’m not sure how get out of this situation, but my hope is that we can resolve this matter confidentially and with some degree of justice served for the Jane Doe. The last thing in the world we want is for her to be exposed online for simply having had the courage to not give-up on her Title IX complaint. USC is now on record, they know what’s going on at the highest-level of the university, including President Carol Folt, and we can only wish that they will see that there has been a wrong committed here and take appropriate action. Thank you for reading, and let’s all hope for healing.

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Zachary Ellison is an Independent Journalist and Whistleblower in the Los Angeles area. Zach was most recently employed by the University of Southern California, Office of the Provost from October 2015 to August 2022 as an Executive Secretary and Administrative Assistant supporting the Vice Provost for Academic Operations and the Vice Provost and Senior Advisor to the Provost among others. Zach holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Policy and Planning from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. While a student at USC, he worked for the USC Good Neighbors Campaign including on their newsletter distributed university-wide. Zach completed his B.A. in History at Reed College, in Portland, Oregon and was a writer, editor, and photographer for the Pasadena High School Chronicle. He was Barack Obama’s one-millionth online campaign contributor in 2008. Zach is a former AmeriCorps intern for Hawaii State Parks and worked for the City of Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation. He is a trained civil process server, and enjoys weekends in the great outdoors.