The University of Southern California cancelled its “Legends of the Games” event when the sole female participant communicated that she was not able to attend. Tracy Fullerton, Director of USC Games, made the call to cancel the event four hours before it took place. According to a USC spokesperson’s Facebook post, the event was cancelled “In the interest of promoting diversity and inclusion within the USC Games family.”
Many of the comments on the post express disappointment regarding the decision to cancel.
In a quote from the Daily Trojan:
So when USC secures a panel with leaders in the video game industry, such as the Head of Game Design at Blizzard Entertainment and the CEO of Riot Games, it has a net positive effect for everyone involved, from the students whose work would be showcased to the women who attend a highly diverse school which is actively redefining the industry standard. Everybody wins, until the top games department in the country cancels the “Legends of the Games Industry”
Even if the event is successfully rescheduled, graduating seniors will likely miss out on the chance to meet such panel participants as Jeffrey Kaplan of Blizzard, Brandon Beck of Riot Games, and David Stohl of Infinity Ward, according to Heat Street.
Needless to say, USC students and people who were looking forward to the event are hella pissed — and rightfully so.
