‘Nobody talks at the national level about the real crisis we face as a nation’
USC will not be satisfied until the Trojan Family is united in a shared commitment to justice and equality, said USC President C. L. Max Nikias in his annual State of the University Address.
Before a packed Town and Gown today, Nikias delivered a major speech on the topic of diversity, an issue that recently has come to the fore at USC and many other top research universities nationwide. For the last several years, he acknowledged, the country has seen too many incidents of intolerance — and USC has not been immune. He urged the university community to seize this time as an opportunity to stand strong for inclusion.
“When we exclude, we betray ourselves,” he said to faculty, quoting Mexican author Carlos Fuentes. “When we include, we find ourselves.” Nikias went on to add, “It is by embracing every culture, my fellow colleagues, every religious view, every individual, that we find ourselves.”
Nikias stressed the need for open dialogue among USC students, educators and staff about discrimination and prejudice.
“We know that when members of our Trojan Family stand up and speak out, we must lend our ears and listen,” he said. “Because when we listen to each other, we learn from each other, and we understand each other in a deeper and more meaningful way.”
While such discussion may spur conflict, Nikias called on the USC community to focus on its point of unity. “USC may be home to a broad array of perspectives and opinions,” he said, “but we all must share a common bond: a love of this university.”
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