USC Cancelled an Awesome Video Game Panel for Including Too Many Men
Administrators said the decision puts them "on the right side of history."
The University of Southern California cancelled its planned "Legends of the Games" event after the lone female participant signaled that she wouldn't be able to attend. Administrators made the determination that an all-male panel was unacceptable, and killed the event—a mere four hours before it was supposed to start.
"In the interest of promoting diversity and inclusion within the USC Games family, tonight's "Legends of the Game Industry" Event in SCI 106 has been canceled," wrote a university spokesperson on Facebook. "A new event will be arranged over the coming weeks, and we dearly hope you will join us then."
That's probably little consolation to the graduating seniors who will miss out on meeting some major players in the gaming industry, even if the university is actually able to reschedule the event, Campus Reform notes.
The panel would have included Jeffrey Kaplan of Blizzard, Brandon Beck of Riot Games, and David Stohl of Infinity Ward, according to Heat Street.
Nevertheless, Tracy Fullerton—Director of USC Games—believes her decision to cancel the event puts USC "on the right side of history," according to The Daily Trojan. No doubt she has struck a powerful blow against the patriarchy.
But I wonder if students enjoy being forced to sit on the right side of history—whatever that means in this context—more than they enjoy attending cool video game events.
Matt Welch interviewed Fullerton for Reason's special video game issue. Watch that video below.