LOS ANGELES, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), a major Chinese student organization at the University of Southern California (USC), is urging students to bravely speak up in any violation of their rights, said a statement.
CSSA issued the statement on Thursday amid the scandal of the school's gynecologist who was accused of inappropriate behaviors to female patients including Chinese students.
The organization calls on Chinese students to break the silence and speak out facing any kind of infringement and injustice.
Served as a bridge for Chinese students and scholars, the organization has reached out to USC's Department of Public Safety (DPS) to provide proper channels for student complaints.
George Tyndall worked as the only fulltime gynecologist at the USC student clinic for 27 years. According to the Los Angeles Times' investigation, the complaints of his repeated misconduct toward his young female patients started in early 1990s, including touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies.
In recent years, some colleagues feared that Tyndall was targeting the university's growing population of Chinese students, who often had a limited knowledge of the English language and American medical norms, the Times reported.
"USC CSSA always represents and is firmly committed to the rights and interests for all Chinese students, continually following up this case," said the CSSA statement.
"We would work with the school and Consulate General of China to properly handle this issue. As one of the big Chinese family, we cannot bear leaving any of our family in any danger," it said.
In order to avoid the reoccurrence of such situations in the future, CSSA suggests the key is to let students know where to seek help. "We are always here behind Chinese students and scholars overseas," CSSA said.
The Consulate General of China in Los Angeles expressed its serious concern over the report of Tyndall on Wednesday.
"We noticed the report and expressed our deep concern over the situation," said an official of Consulate General of China in Los Angeles. "We request USC to take serious step to investigate the issue and protect Chinese students from illegal violation."