LOS ANGELES -- Graduation is both a time to celebrate and contemplate. And at the University of Southern California, some students can’t help but think about how a plague of recent scandals involving college admissions, the School of Social Work and two on-campus doctors have impacted their beloved school. 

For decorated senior Mai Mizuno, the gold medals hanging around her neck can’t cover up a tarnished reputation. 

“I feel a sense of gratitude for the university and yet I feel so betrayed,” Mizuno said. 

Mizuno is one of hundreds of women who say they were sexually abused by USC’s former campus gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall, whose career at the school spanned nearly 30 years.

Her lawyers say a patient first accused Dr. Tyndall of molestation in 1989. But in 2016, he still worked at the campus health center when Mizuno made an appointment to change her birth control. 

“I called the health center and asked if there would be a woman that I could go to instead but they told me Dr. Tyndall was the only gynecologist available,” Mizuno said. At the appointment, she says Tyndall groped and molested her. “I just remember crying to my roommate that day.”

It was her first gynecological exam. 

Tyndall still lives at home in Los Angeles. He is not facing any charges, although, the Los Angeles Police Department has handed over 102 crime reports concerning the case the the District Attorney. Through his lawyer, Tyndall has denied any criminal activity at USC. 

As for Mizuno, she loves her university. Her activism led her to receive the Order of the Laurel and Palm, the highest honor an undergraduate can receive. Now, she’s using her voice to speak out against the school. She is appalled that USC lobbied against AB1510, a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for victims who graduated long before her. 

In a letter, USC called the bill a “perversion of our civil justice process,” saying those victims already have access to money from a proposed federal settlement that has yet to be approved by the courts. 

“USC taught me what it means to fight for justice and yet it has worked to deny me justice,” Mizuno said. 

This summer, her name will be etched on the library’s “wall of scholars.” She says it’s hard to reconcile the school’s ideals with its actions. She plans to continue to advocate for change. 

After all, her school taught her to fight on.