Yusra Farzan
reports on issues affecting current and future college students, their families and communities.
Published April 19, 2024 4:19 PM
USC students and faculty protest against the administration's decision to cancel the valedictory address at commencement.
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Courtesy Alan Mittelstaedt
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Topline:
The University of Southern California’s decision to cancel its valedictorian’s commencement speech has set off a campaign of external and internal pressure on the university to let Asna Tabassum speak as originally planned. Meanwhile, Tabassum says she still plans to attend the commencement ceremony in May.
Security measures: LAist has not received a response to an inquiry about any additional security measures the university has taken given that Tabassum confirmed she plans to attend. But in a notice posted Friday, the university said that "given the highly publicized circumstances" surrounding our main-stage commencement program, all outside previously scheduled speakers and honorees would be honored at a later date. That would include keynote speaker John Chu, best known for directing the film Crazy Rich Asians.
Pressure points: On Thursday, hundreds of students and faculty marched on campus in a peaceful protest. An external petition started by the Council on American-Islamic Relations has garnered more than 40,000 signatures calling on the university to reinstate Tabassum’s speech. In addition, around 150 faculty members have sent a letter to university President Carol Folt, Provost Andrew Guzman and the Board of Trustees saying the university’s decision contradicts the university’s values of diversity, equity and inclusion and “stifles open communication.”
Read on... for more on the controversy.
The University of Southern California’s decision to cancel its valedictorian’s commencement speech has set off a campaign of external and internal pressure on the university to let Asna Tabassum speak as originally planned.
USC’s 2024 valedictorian, Tabassum, says she still plans to attend her school’s commencement ceremony in May, even though she will no longer be allowed to speak.
“I have not received any communication from (the) university about my attendance. I still plan on attending the graduation ceremony,” she told LAist. “I love USC, and I am truly honored and humbled to have been selected as the USC Class of 2024 Valedictorian.”
Being valedictorian, she said, was an honor for her and a “victory” for “hijabis, Muslims, South Asians, (and) first generation Americans.”
Asna Tabassum
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Courtesy Asna Tabassum
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On Monday, USC announced that it was canceling Tabassum’s speech due to unspecified safety concerns because of campus tensions related to the Israel-Hamas War. However, Los Angeles Police Officer Jeff Lee confirmed to LAist that they do not have a crime report open on the security threats.
LAist has not received a response to an inquiry about any additional security measures the university has taken given that Tabassum confirmed she plans to attend. But in a notice posted Friday, the university said that "given the highly publicized circumstances" surrounding our main-stage commencement program, all outside previously scheduled speakers and honorees would be honored at a later date. That would include keynote speaker Jon Chu, best known for directing the film Crazy Rich Asians.
Tabassum’s selection as valedictorian drew criticism from the group Trojans for Israel for touting what they called “anti-Zionist rhetoric." Tabassum has received backlash for a website she linked to on her Instagram profile that contains a list of books and documentaries about Palestinian history and politics. She also links to an external website, created by Palestinians, that “covers Palestinian history/politics and debunks common Zionist myths.”
But Tabassum said she's been overwhelmed by the support she's receiving.
“We’re sparking some important conversations about our values at a magnitude I never dreamed of,” she said. “We’re making lemonade out of lemons.”
On Thursday, hundreds of students and faculty members marched on campus in a peaceful protest, chanting “Let her speak!” An external petition started by the Council on American-Islamic Relations Greater LA office has garnered more than 40,000 signatures calling on USC to reinstate Tabassum’s speech.
Students and faculty protest USC's decision to cancel the valedictory address at commencement.
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Courtesy Alan Mittelstaedt
)
Around 150 faculty members have also penned a letter to university President Carol Folt, Provost Andrew Guzman and the Board of Trustees saying the decision contradicts the university’s values of diversity, equity and inclusion and “stifles open communication.”
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion require the inclusion of a variety of points of view and experience,” the letter states. “The promotion of well-being includes the well-being of communities beyond our campus borders. Above all, this decision does not reflect our collective commitment to act with integrity.”
In a statement, the university said the decision "had nothing to do with the background or viewpoint of the valedictorian, but was instead based on a careful and holistic review of the situation from a safety and security standpoint.”
“Nothing can take precedence over the safety of our community,” the statement added.
Campus debate
The university’s unprecedented decision to cancel a valedictory speech, for the first time since its founding in 1880, comes at a time when college campuses have been roiled with debate because of the Israel-Hamas war. At Columbia University, law enforcement was called in to disband a pro-Palestinian protest and earlier this month, police in riot gear arrested 19 people at Pomona College.
Tabassum said she believes her experience is “an extension of the censorship that universities are doing of students across the nation.”
“On college campuses everywhere, we are seeing examples of students who are courageously exercising their first amendment rights to stand up for the human rights of those who are oppressed and silenced in Palestine,” she told LAist. “I never expected to join the ranks of those students, but am humbled to lend my voice to the fight for justice.”
Tabassum told LAist that her minor in resistance to genocide was inspired by the Shoah Foundation’s archives, which informed her viewpoint “on equality and humanization” and inspired her to become an interviewer for the Health and Human Rights Oral History Project housed at USC.
“Lessons from these experiences are central to my insistence upon human rights for all people, including Palestinians,” she said.
Faculty weighs in
Laurie Brand, a professor emerita who’s studied international relations and the Middle East, is also part of the USC Palestine Justice Faculty Group, comprised of roughly 25 interdisciplinary faculty members. The group released a statement calling the university’s decision “another example of USC’s egregious pattern of supporting anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim racism.”
Brand said the group felt compelled to weigh in on the university’s decision based on academic freedom and the backlash Tabassum has received for supporting Palestinian human rights.
“There's nothing in any of Asna’s statements that suggests that she's antisemitic at all,” Brand said. “She simply is a young woman who is concerned with universal values, and that's demonstrated in a number of statements that she's made.”
In the lead up to commencement, Brand said, various groups and faculty are looking to come together to try and lobby the university.
USC students and faculty protest the administration's decision to cancel the valedictory speech at commencement.
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Courtesy USC Muslim Student Union
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On Wednesday, Brent Blair, a USC School of Dramatic Arts professor, donned a Star of David necklace, a kippah and a prayer shawl as he stood in front of the campus’ Tommy Trojan statue with a sign that read, “Jewish Faculty In Support of Asna Tabassum. Let Her Speak.”
While Blair said he does not “prefer” the language in Tabassum’s social link, he wrote a letter to the provost about his concerns that the “free exchange of ideas” is being challenged and that the university’s decision “infantilizes her for us to assume that she cannot maintain a sense of decorum.”
He said he will continue his protests hoping for a change of heart by the university.
Prior precedent?
In another letter sent to President Folt and Provost Guzman, Donald Miller, a professor of religion at USC, wrote about the time he helped bring Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak on campus in 1986, when South Africa’s apartheid was being debated.
“More than 3,000 students gathered in front of the Doheny Library steps where a stage had been constructed,” he wrote. “Because there had been death threats against Tutu, the entire front of the stage was lined with LAPD officers and many more were on the perimeter of the large audience of students.”
When asked if a similar security arrangement can be made for the upcoming commencement ceremony, Lee from the LAPD told LAist he didn't know. But a crime report is needed, he said, to establish a potential victim and investigate.
By canceling Tabassum’s speech, Miller writes that the university has “created a situation that will invite protests, send a horrible message to our Muslim community, and tarnish the reputation of the university.”
Wider community pressure
Hasna El-Nounou, a programs manager at Muslim Student Association West, a nonprofit organization that supports 40 Muslim student associations in California, Arizona and Nevada, said the organization was in touch with Tabassum before it was announced that her speech had been canceled.
El-Nounou and her team provided emotional support to Tabassum and gave her guidance, while Muslim community members provided assistance in crafting her public statement. The group went on to mobilize students and others to voice their opposition to the university’s decision.
“It's a very difficult time for the Muslim community as a whole,” El-Nounou said, “but definitely a very tumultuous and emotionally rigorous time for college students in particular.”
Vape components and products on display at Smoke and Gift Shop in San Francisco on June 25, 2019.
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Justin Sullivan
/
Getty Images
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Topline:
Gov. Newsom signed a law prohibiting the sale of disposable vapes, a measure meant to prevent lithium battery fires at landfills and recycling centers.
Fines: Retailers and distributors found breaking the law would be fined $500 for the first violation and as much as $2,000 for subsequent violations.
The backstory: About 12 million disposable vapes are sold nationally every month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2016, a lithium battery started a fire in a San Mateo County recycling facility, costing it $8.5 million and driving up its annual insurance cost by almost $3 million. In addition to anti-smoking and healthcare groups, waste management authorities and environmental advocacy organizations supported the measure.
Read on... for more on the new law.
Throwaway vapes will be illegal in California under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed this week that’s aimed to reduce the risk of battery fires at landfills and recycling centers.
Retailers and distributors found breaking the law would be fined $500 for the first violation and as much as $2,000 for subsequent violations.
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, a Thousand Oaks Democrat, introduced the bill to curb the proliferation of hazardous waste — particularly the highly flammable lithium batteries inside e-cigarettes, which can ignite at trash facilities and put workers at risk.
The batteries “cannot easily be removed, so they pose costly and hazardous safety issues at every point in the waste stream,” she said during a June hearing. “We do not throw away our phones or our laptops after one week of use, and we should not treat other lithium devices any differently?”
About 12 million disposable vapes are sold nationally every month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2016, a lithium battery started a fire in a San Mateo County recycling facility, costing it $8.5 million and driving up its annual insurance cost by almost $3 million. In addition to anti-smoking and healthcare groups, waste management authorities and environmental advocacy organizations supported the measure.
“The growing vape crisis is posing an existential threat to our waste and recycling system,” said Nick Lapis of Californians Against Waste, a co-sponsor of the bill. “Even if managed responsibly, this is a staggering waste of the finite natural resources that go into making them.”
Residents also end up absorbing the cost of the fires e-cigarettes cause in garbage facilities, through higher garbage rates and taxpayer-funded cleanups, Lapis said.
Law enforcement groups, business groups including the California Business Roundtable and the California Chamber Of Commerce and an industry group representing convenience stores and gas stations opposed the measure.
Referring to a June report from Zurich Insurance UK, an insurance company, that found that fires originating from vapes are still rising in the United Kingdom despite a 2025 ban on disposable vapes, Alessandra Brichetto of the California Fuels & Convenience Alliance said that disposable vapes that are already illegal are the source of most of the litter and fires the measure attempts to curb.
Banning the limited number of legal disposable devices would also push consumers to buy illicit vape products, said Brichetto.
“That’s the fundamental flaw in this bill,” she said. “It assumes eliminating the legal market eliminates the problem. It doesn’t.”
Most Republican lawmakers also voted against the bill. In her opposition to the bill, state Sen. Shannon Grove said that the true issue is burning batteries, like the 2025 fire at the Moss Landing battery storage facility, which “cause catastrophic health impacts to communities.”
“We need to start to make a real difference in the issue of climate change, contamination in our air,” said the Bakersfield Republican during an August floor vote. "So let's take on real challenges, colleagues, and not just banning vapes.”
The Montana Ave. Art Walk goes down this Saturday in Santa Monica.
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Courtesy Montana Ave. Merchants Association
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In this edition:
David Lynch at Pace Gallery, the Pacific Air Show flies high in Huntington Beach, sword yoga, an all-Native American comedy show and more of the best things to do this week.
Highlights:
David Lynch helped to define modern-day Los Angeles through his influential films, his daily weather report on KCRW and his visual art in painting and photography. It’s that last part that’s explored at the Pace Gallery's new exhibit (their La Brea space is one of my favorite new galleries in the city), with a spotlight on the space between Lynch’s films, his photography and his paintings.
Whoosh! That’s the sound of dozens of planes flying high, doing Top Gun-style acrobatics overhead at the annual Pacific Air Show in Huntington Beach. Of course, it’s free to see the planes (they are in the sky), but snag a seat on the beach for direct vantage points, live commentary, access to food and drink venues and more.
Do you fantasize about being a swashbuckling hero in a swordfight? Or the maiden who gets rescued? It’s all as-you-wish in this romantasy-themed sword yoga class that blends elements of kung fu, yoga and sword fighting — props provided.
I yelped out loud twice this week; first while watching Jeopardy! — there was a clue comparing Shohei Ohtani to Babe Ruth (here for it!) — and the second while wistfully wishing I was in Dublin watching U2 serenade a crowd on Grafton Street when they launched into a tribute to the late Glen Hansard.
Closer to home, I checked out the new karaoke venue Mic Drop (in celebration of our Licorice Pizza host Lyndsey Parker’s birthday). Fun fact: The space used to be Larrabee Studios, which was originally owned by Carole King.
Here are the music picks from Lyndsey at Licorice Pizza. Don't forget that Saturday and Sunday there’s the big Neverender Festival at the Observatory Festival Grounds, featuring Coheed and Cambria, Circa Survive, Sunny Day Real Estate, Pup, Thursday, Destroy Boys and many more.
Through Wednesday, Dec. 23 Pace Gallery 1201 S. La Brea Ave., Mid-Wilshire COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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David Lynch
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Pace Gallery
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David Lynch helped to define modern-day Los Angeles through his influential films, his daily weather report on KCRW and his visual art in painting and photography. It’s that last part that’s explored at the Pace Gallery's new exhibit (their La Brea space is one of my favorite new galleries in the city), with a spotlight on the space between Lynch’s films, his photography and his paintings. Lynch understood the darkness and the light of L.A. like none other — do a Mulholland Drive rewatch and then head here.
The Longest Table
Sunday, Oct. 4, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Pampas Ricas Blvd. (between Sunset and Chapala), Pacific Palisades COST: FREE; MORE INFO
The Palisades is making its way back after the fires, and a big part of that is the community spirit that has always fueled the beach cliff enclave. Join neighbors at The Longest Table, a free community potluck at some VERY long tables with chairs and tablecloths on Pampas Ricas Blvd. between Sunset and Chapala. Bring your favorite dish to share and pull up a chair.
Hola México Film Festival
Through Saturday, Oct. 3 Various locations COST: VARIES; MORE INFO
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Roberto Girault Facha
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Hola Mexico Film Festival
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The 18th annual Hola México Film Festival includes films from across Mexico, including a closing night screening of the new rom-com Amarte outside at Plaza de Culturas y Artes, featuring a performance by Spaghetti Cumbia. The full film lineup is here.
Montana Avenue Art Walk
Saturday, Oct. 3 Montana Ave. Between 6th St. and 17th St., Santa Monica COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Art pop-ups, interactive displays, food, music and more will take over the swish Montana Ave. shopping district in Santa Monica. It’s all part of Santa Monica's celebrations commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Historic Route 66.
Sword Yoga with Weapon Up
Monday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m. Clark Building 861 Valley Drive, Hermosa Beach COST: $45.67; MORE INFO
Do you fantasize about being a swashbuckling hero in a swordfight? Or the maiden who gets rescued? It’s all as-you-wish in this romantasy-themed sword yoga class that blends elements of kung fu, yoga and sword fighting — props provided.
America(!) the Beautiful(?)
Saturday, Oct. 3, 8 p.m. The Ford 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. E.,Hollywood COST: FROM $35; MORE INFO
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Courtesy For Freedoms
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Art activism collective For Freedoms brings together a night of soul, jazz, hip hop and poetry exploring what being American means today (it’s complicated!). The night includes a DJ set by artist-storyteller Kai the Universe, Xochimilco recording artist and activist Xiuhtezcatl, curator Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and a performance by surrealist blues poet Aja Monet. This is one of six events developed by Joseph that aim to create “a shared story of who we are and who we are becoming.”
Joey Clift: We’ve Been Here the Whole Time
Saturday, Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Elysian Theater 1944 Riverside Drive, Silver Lake COST: $19.61; MORE INFO
Native American satirist Joey Clift is celebrating his new book — We’ve Been Here The Whole Time! A Not So Sacred Guide to All Things Native America — with an all-Native comedy show at the Elysian. The night features stand-up from Brian Bahe (Ghosts), Kristin Chirico (Buzzfeed), Jim Ruel (Showtime's American Indian Comedy Slam) and more — plus a live book talk between Clift and Julie Fiveash (The Froggy Librarian), moderated by Darrell Dennis (Just For Laughs). The show benefits ChapterHouse LA.
Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares
Thursday to Sunday, Oct. 1-4 The Wallis 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills COST: FROM $53; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Nobody Cares Is a Comedy
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Broadway star Laura Benanti is mixing her big voice with a stand-up comedy show — and it works. If you follow her on Instagram, you’re already familiar with her hot takes on perimenopause, accompanied by song. The Tony-winning Supergirl actress performs at the Wallis this week, followed by a short run at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa from Oct. 8-11.
Pacific Air Show
Friday to Sunday, Oct. 2-4 5252 Bolsa Ave., Huntington Beach COST: FROM $20; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Pacific Air Show
)
Whoosh! That’s the sound of dozens of planes flying high, doing Top Gun-style acrobatics overhead at the annual Pacific Air Show in Huntington Beach. Of course, it’s free to see the planes (they are in the sky), but snag a seat on the beach for direct vantage points, live commentary, access to food and drink venues and more.
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Residents examine a model of the proposed Wilshire/Crenshaw development during a Sept. 23 community open house.
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Hanna Kang
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The LA Local
)
Topline:
An empty lot at the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard could soon transform into nearly 200 affordable apartments.
More details: Abode Communities, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, is developing the Koreatown-adjacent project in partnership with Metro, which owns the property. The development would include 194 income-restricted apartments and two manager units for households earning between 30% and 60% of area median income.
Why now: Metro acquired the property in the 1980s for potential future transportation projects. It was later used for construction staging for the D Line subway extension. The development is now part of Metro’s effort to build 10,000 homes on agency-owned property by 2031, including at least 5,000 income-restricted homes.
Read on... for more on the plans for this housing development.
An empty lot at the southwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard could soon transform into nearly 200 affordable apartments.
Abode Communities, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, is developing the Koreatown-adjacent project in partnership with Metro, which owns the property. The development would include 194 income-restricted apartments and two manager units for households earning between 30% and 60% of area median income.
Construction is projected to begin in 2028 and continue through 2030, with apartments expected to begin leasing that year, according to the project’s current timeline.
The project will include 69 one-bedroom, 76 two-bedroom and 49 three-bedroom apartments, along with a 6,200-square-foot flex-use transit plaza connecting two bus stops, a shared community room, landscaped open space, a community garden, play areas and bike facilities.
The proposed 196-unit affordable housing development at Wilshire Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard.
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Rendering courtesy of Koning Eizenberg Architecture
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Plans also call for two bus shelters and extended bus bays. Residents would park along Crenshaw Boulevard, with more than 100 parking spaces planned in an underground garage.
The site is located in Windsor Village, within the Park Mile Specific Plan area, just outside Koreatown.
Rick Kim, Koreatown Youth and Community Center’s director of economic development services, said their organization will provide its knowledge of the surrounding community as a development partner. KYCC also plans to connect future residents with its programs as a service provider.
“We have services for kids and family services around a wide range of social needs — after school programs, preschool programs, mental health resources and personal financial literacy, so we figured it just all made perfect sense,” he told The LA Local. “We are trying to figure out exactly how and what type of resources would most benefit the residents.”
Metro acquired the property in the 1980s for potential future transportation projects. It was later used for construction staging for the D Line subway extension. The development is now part of Metro’s effort to build 10,000 homes on agency-owned property by 2031, including at least 5,000 income-restricted homes.
Metro received eight proposals for the property in 2025 before selecting Abode Communities to develop the site.
The project is subject to planning rules for the Park Mile area and additional historic-preservation review because of its location in Windsor Village, a designated historic district.
The buildings would be taller along Wilshire Boulevard and gradually get lower toward the single-family homes to the south, according to Troy Fosler, a principal at Koning Eizenberg Architecture.
At a recent community open house, residents left design suggestions, including requests for bulky item pickup, pet washing stations, additional setbacks near neighboring single-family homes and limiting the Wilshire frontage to six stories.
Tracy Park lives about two blocks from the site, which is currently an empty lot. For her, the development would bring new activity to a property she has watched for years.
Park, 43, attended the September open house at the Korean Resource Center with her husband and their two children.
Tracy Park, 43, and her husband, Ben Bowes, 49, at the Sept. 23 community open house for the proposed Wilshire/Crenshaw development.
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Hanna Kang
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The LA Local
)
“I’ve been seeing that lot for a very, very long time,” she said. “I was really curious what was going to happen with it because it’s in such a prime location and it’s so central to our little community.”
“We want our children here to also see that there’s planning like this going on,” she added.
Park said she supports adding affordable housing to the area, which she described as densely populated. She sees a sharp contrast between the wealthier neighborhoods north of Wilshire and people experiencing homelessness along the boulevard.
“We see these rich, huge mansions right in Hancock Park, just north of Wilshire, and then walking along Wilshire every single night, we hear our homeless neighbors struggling or sort of asking for food or suffering in the heat,” she said.
Kim said more community meetings are planned before construction.
“We’ll continue to have more engagement sessions between now and the groundbreaking because we want everyone who lives and works in the area to be aware of the situation and have a say in how we can best move forward,” he said.
State audit says county health response fell short
Elly Yu
Elly Yu covers public health as part of her beat on early childhood.
Published September 30, 2026 5:00 AM
An aerial view of a truck driving through trash at Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic on Feb. 22, 2024. An aerial view of a truck driving through trash at Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic on Feb. 22, 2024. Photo by Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Allen J. Schaben
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline:
The California State Auditor says L.A. County Public Health’s response to the health conditions around the Chiquita Canyon landfill was inadequate.
The backstory: An underground chemical reaction at Chiquita Canyon landfill has burned for years, producing large amounts of noxious chemicals and bad odors. Residents nearby have complained about symptoms like headaches and nausea.
What’s new: The State Auditor released a report this week that found the county’s public health department hasn’t done enough to help or inform the community. For example, the audit says the department got reports from the landfill operator every quarter at times showing chemical levels that exceeded state thresholds, but didn’t let the public know. The department in its response said it considers a number of factors on deciding what poses a potential health risk.
More about LADPH response: The department said the report lacked context as to the department’s role within a multi-agency response and said it has been proactive to community health concerns. “It is therefore disappointing that the focus of the audit largely evaluates Public Health’s actions in isolation and not as part of a response structure created by federal, state, and local agencies,” a spokesperson told LAist in a statement.
