USC’s student section was smaller than usual on Thanksgiving weekend during the football game, but it was certainly not quieter. The offensive chants about Mormonism at the game against Brigham Young University (BYU) are indicative of a pattern of disrespectful rhetoric in the name of competition, according to some students.
USC Athletics called the chant “distasteful” and said that it “does not align with our Trojan values” in a tweet that included an apology to the BYU program and community.
The weekend prior to the BYU game, the historic football rivalry between USC and UCLA, revealed more than a tired defense. Some students say it exposed a culture of elitism and classism.
Sophomore Jaiden Bhatia, a computer science major, attended the rivalry game with a friend who attends UCLA. As they waited in line to get into the student section, Bhatia said a USC student approached his friend and taunted her with snubs like “Your dad works for my dad.”
“This is quite embarrassing. I feel like it doesn’t represent the culture that we would like to have on campus very well,” Bhatia said. “One of the reasons I wanted to come to USC was that everyone seemed so supportive, so it’s embarrassing to see that the support doesn’t extend to people of other communities.”
Many students feel that the rivalry weekend rhetoric and the chant at the BYU game reflected more poorly on USC than on their opponents, which was likely the opposite intention of the signs and language referring to socio-economic status and religion.
“You can say that we want to beat the Bruins or beat BYU, but you don’t have to attack someone’s family or religion or personal beliefs,” said Melissa Finegan, a senior studying neuroscience. “Why is that necessary?”
One location that had signs hanging at the front door before the UCLA game was the off-campus house for the USC Surf Team. One read, “You can’t afford us.”
“The signs weren’t made by a member of the Surf Team but we should have taken more responsibility for the messaging we allowed to represent our team,” wrote the Surf Team Instagram account in a private message. “The message is not representative of our organization’s beliefs or our housemates’ backgrounds. We’re stoked for UCLA for their win.”
Although these instances of potentially hurtful language typically occur within an athletic context, some students worry that the attitude extends beyond rivalry and competition and is reflected in the public perception of USC.
Sophomore Srinidhi Yerraguntal said he saw objectionable signs at tailgates for the UCLA game on Snapchat and Instagram throughout the weekend of the game.
“It really reinforces a lot of stereotypes people probably already have about USC, especially the ‘University of Spoiled Children’” said Yerraguntal, a computer science major. “I just thought to myself, why is that something that you’re flexing?”
Most students felt that the language and sentiments from the BYU and UCLA games crossed a line into a territory that does far more harm for other school communities than good for the Trojan community.
“I just thought it was unnecessary,” said Tishya Rao, a graduate student studying architecture. “I think there are better ways to show school spirit and not be hateful towards someone. There are more positive ways to celebrate.”
“There are a lot of really good things that USC and the student body cultivate, but the rivalry and the need to say these awful things happens way too frequently,” Finegan said.