Thomas Mier reports:
Former state legislator Sebastian Ridley-Thomas has accused USC of violating his rights as a student by disclosing private information to the media, the latest development in a string of controversies surrounding the Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and Ridley-Thomas.
The accusation follows reports from the Los Angeles Times that Ridley-Thomas, a former member of the state Assembly, was hired as a professor and given a scholarship to pursue his master’s degree at the University, while a $100,000 donation from his father, a prominent local politician, was funneled from USC to a think tank led by Ridley-Thomas.
In a letter dated Aug. 8 obtained by the Daily Trojan, Ridley-Thomas’ attorney Lance Olson alleged that a USC staff member disclosed the former legislator’s status as a student, scholarship and financial aid information to the Times.
Read more on Daily Trojan.