Friends of college student booked for murder of homeless man claim he acted in self-defense



A teen who is currently in jail in L.A. County on suspicion of murder of a homeless man acted in self-defense, his friends say.

Just after 8 p.m. on Monday, 19-year-old Ivan Gallegos and two friends heard the sound of a car alarm nearby. After calling police, they then went to investigate the alarm for themselves.

'Throughout his childhood, Ivan navigated the realities of both his parents’ involvement in gang activities, leading to their intermittent incarceration.'

They found a 27-year-old homeless man sitting in a car that belonged to one of their other friends who was not present at the time. The car was parked on private property along the University of Southern California's Fraternity Row.

The three young men confronted the vagrant, who may have broken into other cars in the area as well. When the men demanded that he leave the area, the vagrant retorted that he had a gun on him and that the car now belonged to him, Los Angeles magazine reported.

A scuffle then ensued, and the homeless man allegedly reached for his waistband, according to a GoFundMe account established for Gallegos, ostensibly prompting Gallegos to stab the man in self-defense. The vagrant died from his injuries at the scene.

It is unclear why Gallegos may have had a knife on him. No gun was ever recovered from the scene.

"He feared for his life," one of Gallegos’ friends told L.A. magazine. "He had to defend himself."

"When I heard what happened, I immediately knew it wasn't because he had malintent," another said. "Something had to have happened in order for him to do what he did."

Despite their claims of self-defense, police immediately arrested Gallegos on suspicion of murder and booked him into county jail, where he remains on $2 million bail, as Blaze News previously reported. As of Tuesday morning, the DA had not filed any charges against him.

Gallegos is a member of Delta Tau Delta who just completed his sophomore year at USC, studying business. On his LinkedIn profile, he also claims to be the first in his family to go to college.

According to a feature piece from USC Annenberg Media, Gallegos grew up in L.A. under difficult circumstances. "Throughout his childhood, Ivan navigated the realities of both his parents’ involvement in gang activities, leading to their intermittent incarceration," the article said, adding that as a child, he was frequently exposed to "drugs, gangs, and prostitution."

The area where the stabbing occurred is also rife with violence and crime, largely on account of the high homeless population, other USC students claimed.

"Street lights, a lot of them, you'll find, are out," one student said. "What's happening is they're tearing out these boxes and selling them, getting money for them, so they're taking the copper wire. It's a whole thing around here."

Another student insisted that while the USC campus is generally "pretty safe," "everybody is aware that some of the surrounding areas aren't as safe."

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USC won't let Jewish professor teach on campus after he called Hamas terrorists 'murderers' who 'should be killed'



The University of Southern California has exiled a Jewish economics professor after he suggested to student activists that Hamas terrorists should be wiped out. Professor John Strauss, an esteemed and tenured professor at USC, must now teach his classes remotely for the remainder of the semester.

What's the background?

Strauss, 72, shared words in passing with a group of students involved in a Nov. 9 protest organized by the USC Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation, USC Graduates for Palestine, and Trojans for Palestine, reported the College Fix.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the protest was part of a national "Shut It Down for Palestine" action and included a rally where students chanted, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" — widely regarded as a call for Israel's ruination.

Footage shows Strauss, audibly identified by students in the mob, mutter, "People are ignorant."

One activist halts the professor with the claim that they are gathered to "pay respect for those who were killed."

As more activists begin to amble over to Strauss, the professor states, "Hamas are murderers, that's all they are."

Still referencing the terrorist group that slaughtered thousands of Israeli civilians and dozens of Americans on Oct. 7, Strauss adds, "Every one should be killed and I hope they all are."

The professor later defended his comments, telling USC Annenberg Media, "One of them, a woman, I don't know who, yelled out, 'Shame on you, Professor Strauss. Shame on you.' And I immediately yelled back, 'No, shame on you. You were ignorant about Hamas. Hamas are murderers. That's all they are. They should all die. Every one of them.'"

Strauss told another student outlet, the Daily Trojan, "I don't mind if they want to memorialize people who were killed. That's fine, just as Jewish students are memorializing Israelis who were killed."

"But this started as a result of Hamas terrorist attacks," he added.

Lies and petitions

Various anti-Israeli student groups at the university as well as activists off campus — including the scandal-plagued identitarian Shaun King — circulated a deceptively edited version of the video along with insinuations that Strauss had called for Palestinians to be killed beyond just the members of the murderous group recognized by the American government as a terrorist organization.

A viral post on X that pushed the edited video stated, "Here is @USC professor John Strauss saying 'every one of them should be killed, and I hope they all are' while passing by students who organised a memorial for 10,000+ Palestinian martyrs killed in the past month."

Canary Mission, a watchdog group that documents anti-Semitism in academic institutions, noted that the individual who appears to have spread the video in this first instance, Tara Alami, is a radical leftist at McGill Univeristy in Montreal who has "called for Israelis to die, celebrated the death of Israelis, expressed support for terrorists and promoted a violent hatred of Zionists."

The USC Graduates for Palestine similarly also posted a deceptively edited version of the video on Nov. 10 to their Instagram account, intimating that Strauss had called for "everyone to be killed," again with the suggestion that he meant all Palestinians.

Leftists on campus seized upon this false narrative to paint Strauss as a villain.

Coinciding with the circulation of the deceptively edited videos, campus activists started a petition demanding Strauss' termination "for racist and xenophobic behavior." The petition, which has received over 7,100 signatures, decontextualized the professor's remarks, suggesting they were "not only offensive but also promote and incite violence."

The Los Angeles Times reported that Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Los Angeles, demanded that the university investigate Strauss and take steps to protect "Muslim, Palestinian and Arab students as well as any others who are targeted by hate and bigotry."

Hamas critic in exile

Within a day of the incident, Strauss was told by an associate dean he had been placed on administrative leave, exiled from campus, and altogether relieved of teaching duties, reported the Times.

A spokesman for the university noted days later the professor would instead be teaching his graduate and undergraduate classes remotely for the remainder of the semester.

USC provost Andrew Guzman indicated in a Nov. 13 letter to Strauss, obtained by the Daily Trojan, that following "multiple formal complaints" filed against him with the school's office for equity, equal opportunity, and Title IX, he would be barred from campus until further notice.

The letter stressed that the "interim measures" were not punitive in nature but rather were "designed to minimize disruption to the educational environment and to ensure a safe environment for both [Strauss] and [his] students."

Strauss indicated he wants the university to let him back onto campus and to issue "a factual statement of what I did not say."

A petition demanding that the administration bring Strauss back to campus, which has already received nearly 12,000 signatures, stated, "Jewish people have not come this far by hiding in fear. Perpetrators of violence and false accusations must be removed, not their victims."

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In bid to oppose racism, USC School of Social Work nixes use of the word 'field'



The University of Southern California's School of Social Work is dropping use of the word "field" in an effort to oppose racism.

"As we enter 2023, we would like to share a change we are making at the Suzanne-Dworak-Peck School of Social Work to ensure our use of inclusive language and practice. Specifically, we have decided to remove the term 'field' from our curriculum and practice and replace it with 'practicum.' This change supports anti-racist social work practice by replacing language that could be considered anti-Black or anti-immigrant in favor of inclusive language," a notice about the change states.

"Language can be powerful, and phrases such as 'going into the field' or 'field work' may have connotations for descendants of slavery and immigrant workers that are not benign," the notice claims. The notice indicates that it is from the "Practicum Education Department" and to the "USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck Practicum Education Community, Faculty, Staff, and Students."

\u201cToday, @uscsocialwork sent out this letter announcing that they will no longer use the word \u201cfield\u201d (as in \u201cconducting field work\u201d) because it\u2019s perceived as racist. Is this with merit or empty virtue signaling? @elonmusk @IngrahamAngle\u201d
— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD) 1673317259

"In solidarity with universities across the nation, our goal is not just to change language but to honor and acknowledge inclusion and reject white supremacy, anti-immigrant and anti-blackness ideologies," the notice states. "We are committing to further align our actions, behaviors, and practices with anti-racism and anti-oppression, which requires taking a close and critical look at our profession — our history, our biases, and our complicity in past and current injustices. It also means continuing to work together to train social work students today who understand and embody social and racial justice."

The notice said that altering terminology can be difficult and fully making the switch will require time.

USC's School of Social Work has a land acknowledgment posted online.

"The Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at the University of Southern California acknowledges our presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Gabrielino-Tongva peoples. We recognize that these Peoples were forcibly removed from their homelands," the acknowledgment states in part. "With humility, we recognize and respect all Indigenous peoples, their histories, and their ties to the land."

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Faculty outraged, fearful after prof booted from class for using Chinese word that sounds like N-word



Faculty members at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business are outraged and fearful after a colleague used a Chinese word that sounds like the N-word — and reportedly was booted from the class over it.

What's the background?

Greg Patton — a professor of clinical business communication who's an "expert in communication, interpersonal and leadership effectiveness" — was explaining the usage of a Chinese filler word for "that" and comparing it to English fillers such as "like" and "um" during an online class, according to Campus Reform.

And when Patton uttered the Chinese word, its pronunciation apparently sounded too close to a version of the N-word.

Here's the clip:

DO YOU THINK THIS PROFESSOR SHOULD BE FIRED? youtu.be

Soon anonymous black students threatened to boycott Patton's classes because he had created "an unwelcome environment" for them, the College Fix said.

USC's Marshall School of Business confirmed to Campus Reform in a statement that Patton isn't teaching his course at present.

"Recently, a USC faculty member during class used a Chinese word that sounds similar to a racial slur in English," the statement noted, according to the outlet. "We acknowledge the historical, cultural, and harmful impact of racist language."

Patton "agreed to take a short-term pause while we are reviewing to better understand the situation and to take any appropriate next steps," the statement added, according to Campus Reform.

Faculty members speak out

USC insists Patton "volunteered" to step down from the class, the Fix added, but business school faculty who responded to a survey about the dust-up didn't view it that way.

The outlet said the Chronicle of Higher Education obtained the Marshall School's internal report on the incident, which indicates faculty felt "anger, disappointment, betrayal, and outrage" in response to Patton's punishment:

But that summary doesn't do justice to scathing comments from the survey. They provide a portrait of a business school in which professors are now convinced that a single student complaint, even a questionable one, could upend their careers, and that the school's leadership, as one professor put it, "doesn't have our back."

The Fix, in reference to the Chronicle's story, said interviewed faculty members felt "scared to death to teach in this environment" and "will have to walk on egg shells all the time" so as not to "be accused of being a racist, bigoted, insensitive." One said USC's response will "make me even more conservative and guarded than I already am," the outlet noted.

In addition, the Fix said Dean Geoffrey Garrett's email to students about the incident implied faculty would be punished for using words that "harm the psychological safety of our students" — and that, too, angered faculty. In fact, the outlet said, they're "pissed off" by the "chicken s**t" letter from the dean who's "willing to throw faculty under the bus in order [to] preserve the appearance of diversity and inclusion instead of opening up dialogues on both sides."

More from the College Fix:

Conor Friedersdorf of The Atlantic said he obtained a "transcript" from the Faculty Council's discussion of the survey, which added that faculty are beset by "an overwhelming sense of vulnerability" that they could be "cancelled" at any time for their pedagogical choices. They are not only afraid to discuss diversity and inclusion, but also "such topics as politics and international relations."

One professor told Friedersdorf that Patton's punishment "rocked the business school," and the dean's letter in particular "caused immeasurable damage." Another said that freedom of speech and intellectual freedom "have largely fallen out of fashion" at USC, like "most elite universities," and the result is "a climate of terror among faculty."

Friedersdorf also wrote that USC administrators have not admitted error, apologized to Patton, or reinstated him to his classes, the Fix said, adding that the school's brass has left business faculty "so fearful and insecure that some are self-censoring to protect their positions."

Harvard Business School prof weighs in

Amy C. Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor, criticized Garrett's desire for "psychological safety" in a Psychology Today column:

"As one of the first scholars to document the phenomenon of psychological safety, I am here to report that this is a very common misapplication of the concept. Psychological safety is not the same as a safe space. It is not the same as a trigger-free space. It is not a space where you will always feel comfortable and not have your views challenged. It is almost the opposite. It's a brave space, really—an environment in which people do not feel they have to hold back with a concern or question for fear of recrimination or humiliation. And thus, it's often an environment of vigorous and challenging give-and-take. The deep irony here is that the felt pressure to enforce a PC culture appears to have diminished, not enhanced, psychological safety."

Edmondson added that "research has shown that psychologically safe work environments are those with higher learning and performance. When people lack psychological safety — and feel tied up in knots about whether others will think less of them — they hold back too much of what they are seeing and thinking, and their teams suffer."

(H/T: The College Fix)

USC communications prof booted from class for uttering Chinese word that sounds like racial slur in English



It used to be that college professors found themselves in hot water after uttering racial slurs as part of classroom discussions — you know, speech that's part of the learning process.

Well, now it appears that if a professor utters a word in class from a foreign language that sounds like an English-language racial slur, the prof might be toast, too.

What are the details?

Don't believe it? Well, a communications professor at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business is now on a short-term break after saying a Chinese word during an online class that sounded like a version of a well-known racial slur in English, Campus Reform said.

Seems that Greg Patton — a professor of clinical business communication who's an "expert in communication, interpersonal and leadership effectiveness" — was explaining the usage of a Chinese filler word for "that" and comparing it to English fillers such as "like" and "um," the outlet reported.

And when Patton uttered the Chinese word, its pronunciation apparently sounded too close to a version of the N-word.

Here's the clip:

DO YOU THINK THIS PROFESSOR SHOULD BE FIRED? youtu.be

How did USC respond?

USC's Marshall School of Business confirmed to Campus Reform in a statement that Patton isn't teaching his course at present.

"Recently, a USC faculty member during class used a Chinese word that sounds similar to a racial slur in English," the statement noted, according to the outlet. "We acknowledge the historical, cultural, and harmful impact of racist language."

Patton "agreed to take a short-term pause while we are reviewing to better understand the situation and to take any appropriate next steps," the statement added, according to Campus Reform.

The outlet noted that another instructor is temporarily teaching the class.

Oh, and USC is "offering supportive measures to any student, faculty, or staff member who requests assistance" and is "committed to building a culture of respect and dignity where all members of our community can feel safe, supported, and can thrive," Campus Reform added.

'This is a whole new level of stupidity'

The outlet said Patton didn't immediately reply to a request for comment, but other folks who viewed the video were quite enthusiastic about offering their two cents on the kerfuffle:

  • "This is a whole new level of stupidity," one commenter noted.
  • "As someone who speaks Chinese, this is literally another language. No, my people did not think about how it sounded like the N-word when we created it thousands of years ago," another commenter said.
  • "I consider myself a liberal and condemn racial discrimination. However, this professor did NOTHING WRONG!" another commenter noted. "I speak Chinese/Cantonese myself. If this professor cannot show how Chinese people utter, 'em, uh,' then the word 'deal' may not be taught in places that use Cantonese. The word 'deal' literally sounds like the F word in Cantonese! No reasonable Cantonese-speaking person would condemn an English-speaking [person] using the word 'deal' if the speaker is using it in its true meaning. If USC has other motives in firing this professor, they should be clear about it! SHAME ON YOU, USC, AND ALL THOSE STUDENTS WHO CONDEMN THIS PROFESSOR!"