Newsletter #18

Author

My15 atUSC
June 27, 2025

Hi Everyone,

Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. 2025 comes through again! 

I promise not to get too political here, but I sure didn’t have “Bomb Iran” on my June 2025 Bingo Card. Not sure about you, but talking about nuclear deterrents and pre-emptive strikes with our kids ( 9 & 11) while assuring them there is no threat of another country attacking us in Los Angeles is pretty heavy stuff. Especially when there are literally law enforcement officers dressed as soldiers in the streets of Los Angeles. On that topic, I’m deeply disturbed by the immigration enforcement escalations that took place across LA over the past two weeks. As a (3rd generation) product of the Pasadena/Altadena/Highland Park/Eagle Rock area, it breaks my heart to see our community living in constant fear. 

At home, our kids aren’t doing summer camp for the first time since they started school. My wife is in between Y1 and Y2 of her Masters Degree program (CSULA, Social Work) so she is home with them. While I’m happy for her to have “a summer off”, I’m also sure it is simultaneously triggering some of her Pandemic PTSD, as I’m on campus every day while she is home ALL DAY LONG with the kids. We’ve each threatened them with LAUSD summer school next year at least a few times already. As I write this, both kids have friends over for a Thursday night sleepover 🫤 (because everyone but daddy has tomorrow off) and thus the house is filled with sporadic screaming, yelling, video gaming, tableting, K-Popping, laughing and general mayhem. The joys of summer.

Through all of this, I’m going to continue to try to lean on my inner “hope and resilience”, Hope for energy and strength as we continue the fight, and the resilience to deal with whatever comes next. It’s a theme I’ll touch on later. 

As I said in the last Newsletter, we will Fight On. For our families, for our friends, and for our little communities. In whatever ways we can. I hope you’re Fighting On, and the beginning of summer is treating you a little better than it is me. 

We are 340 strong.

Table of Contents

New YouTube Video

Oops I did it again! I made another video. It’s a recording of the poem I wrote a few weeks back. Fortunately for you, it’s half as long (3m 40sec) as my past videos, so I expect double the likes, so like 9. Originally, I had the idea of having community members record individual lines of the poem, and to edit it all together. But in order to do that, I’d need a bunch of volunteers. No pressure, I’m ready when you are.

Please check it out, and like it if you like it. Tell me if you think it’s cringe (but please still like it). I’ll always cherish the moment I was told my very first video was good but “looked a little like a hostage video”. The feedback that hurts the most, helps the most. 😂 Let me have it. Best roast gets published in the next Newsletter.

Values Survey

Our Values Survey has closed. We got 42 responses. Thank you! You can see the data here.

I asked the data guru who provided the compensation and housing data, Craig Stubing, to visualize the results. While we all know our community will be biased and will respond to questions like these negatively, I still think the data is not just reflective of TAB fueled anger. I think most of us can agree that the morale at USC, as a whole, is the worst it's ever been. The slide below, and a few others, are in our Community Data Public folder.

Hope and Resilience

“Hope and Resilience” is the theme of our final Staff Assembly meeting of the 2024-2025 term. Serving this past year has been difficult. Regarding resilience, from the TAB cuts to the fires, the pause in merit increases, the threats to higher education, and the fearful erasure of anything resembling words starting with D, E, or I, it’s been consistently overwhelming. But service on Staff Assembly has also been extremely productive, rewarding, and fulfilling. We’ve responded to these moments and advocated for staff in the face of all of it. When they came for TAB- and after telling the Academic Senate the news- they realized that they had to come tell us too. As much of a disaster as their roll-out was, in a moment of defiance our community resoundingly told them “No”. And while we didn’t get everything back- and the road ahead will be tough- we did get SOMETHING back. That’s a testament to our resilience.

Regarding hope, tomorrow, I’ll be running for Staff Assembly President. I will likely run unopposed. The support and encouragement has been overwhelming. In this moment, I’m hopeful for the year ahead. I’m hopeful that we can return to a place where there is some semblance of collaboration and Open Communication. My goal is to restore something that looks like shared governance, and shared community. I’ll build that coalition with anyone who is willing. With the new administration, we have the possibility for change, for corrections, and for healing. For that possibility, I’m hopeful.

As I’ve shared in the past few emails, I’ve been returning to this award-acceptance speech by Professor Howard A. Rodman for motivation and inspiration over the past few months.

“We are allowed, from time to time, to stroll the

corridors of power. But when the crucial decisions are

made — let’s say, for instance, a cut in USC’s pension

contributions, the silencing of the aforementioned

valedictorian, or salary and hiring freezes — we are

never in The Room Where It Happens.”

Leadership will get the best out of us when it is learned that our success is shared, and that we, too, are stakeholders in the future of USC. Our students are served best when we are at our best. And we will be at our best when we’re included when they’re discussing our future, in “The Room Where It Happens”.

A Little Housekeeping

You’ve reached the end. Or have you? For those who stuck around, here’s the newest effort to build something uniquely ours. I’m ready for you to take over at any time, and take it to the next level. There’s a nice fancy URL ready for us to attach it to once it’s ready.

Wishing you hope and resilience this weekend, through the holiday next week, and for the last half of 2025.

Be in touch.

Phil