La Rosa Knows

coveredinbandaids:

My rapist’s name is Andrew Paul Bean. He was born in Ohio and graduated from Perrysburg High School in 2009. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where he studies theatre and desires to be an actor.

My name is Tucker Reed. I was born in California, and graduated from Ashland…

I recently read this unbelievable story by Tucker Reed, a student at USC who was raped by a fellow USC student named Andrew Paul Bean.

What was most egregious to me, is that she approached USC with a recording of Andrew admitting to raping her, and USC chose to do nothing about this.

Interestingly enough, the University of Southern California recently contacted me asking if I’d like to make a donation. This is the email I sent to the university president and alumni relations:

Dear President Nikias and the Alumni Association at USC,

My name is Erin La Rosa and I’m a graduate of the MPW program at USC. Recently I was contacted by an undergraduate at the college, seeking a donation.

I have always thought of myself as a proud USC alum. I loved my time at USC, and feel that my career has flourished as a result. I now work for a website called BuzzFeed, I’m currently in the midst of  writing a book, and I thank USC for a significant portion of that success. The college gave me the tools I needed to make it in my career.

However, I no longer feel proud of USC. I was thoroughly disappointed to read about Tucker Reed, a student at USC, who was raped by another USC student, named Andrew Paul Bean. The rape itself was inexcusable, but what I found to be most bizarre was that USC had allegedly received a taped confession of the rape, and chose not to expel Andrew for his conduct.

Is USC an institution that serves as a shelter for rapists? Don’t you find it morally reprehensible to send the message to incoming students, who are promised safety, that you protect rapists over victims? What are the college’s plans moving forward to deal with Andrew?

Until my questions are answered, I won’t be donating any money to USC. I also certainly won’t be a proud alum. I have hopes that the college will deal with this manner in a fair way to bring justice for Tucker, as well as other victims of rape.

Please do the right thing here, and make this USC grad proud to be an alum again.

Sincerely,

Erin La Rosa

• Tags
• USC
• university of southern california
• rape
• tucker reed
• andrew paul bean
• rapist
• president
• C. L. Max Nikias
• alumni