USC Journalists Vow To Expose Cheating Scandal

LOS ANGELES, CA — USC's Annenberg School of Journalism students and staff vowed to independently investigate the university's admissions system in the wake of the admissions cheating scandal that laid bare "fundamental inequities."

Calling the scandal "a personal affront to the effort and integrity" of students, school of journalism and public relations faculty had voted unanimously Monday to approve a six-point mission statement in response to the scandal. The announcement was a journalistic call to arms, with faculty and students pledging to work together to uncover the facts of the scandal and expose "previous scandals, of equal of greater gravity."

USC was heavily featured in the scandal that broke last week when 50 parents, coaches, test proctors and college prep officials were charged in a conspiracy to cheat the admissions process at elite universities including, UCLA, Stanford, Yale, and Georgetown. Two USC athletic department employees were fired amid allegations that they accepted bribes from wealthy parents to falsely identify their children as athletic recruits.

"Transparency, honesty and accountability are at the core of the journalism and public relations professions," faculty tweeted. "For that reason, we believe we have a moral and intellectual obligation to speak out and demand that USC uphold these values."

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The enterprise will explore the university's "culture and governance failures, especially its lack of transparency and documented tendency to turn a blind eye," USC Annenberg faculty said, promising to operate independently of the university's administration.

The school also pledged to begin work on a series of projects designed to address USC's "abject failure to communicate honestly and regularly with its constituents."

As a result of the admissions probe revealed last week by federal prosecutors in Boston, more than 30 parents, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, 11 athletic officials, coaches at USC, UCLA and other universities, and the scheme's admitted ringleader, William "Rick" Singer, were charged.

The FBI investigation, code-named operation Varsity Blues, uncovered a network of parents who paid thousands of dollars to Singer. The Newport Beach-based businessman promised to improve the children's chances of gaining entrance into elite colleges by paying others to take exams, and bribing test administrators and college coaches to describe the applicants as athletes.

USC last week fired senior associate athletic director Donna Heinel and USC water polo coach Jovan Vavic, who were among those indicted in the case.

City News Service