At USC’s commencement ceremony in 2019, Rep. Karen Bass and Rick Caruso marched across campus in crimson gowns, beaming at the thousands of soon-to-be graduates and their families.

Both alums of the private university, the congresswoman and the developer sat side by side onstage, laughing and flashing the two-finger salute known to USC’s legion of proud fans.

“We raise our two fingers whenever and wherever we see another Trojan,” Bass told the audience after receiving an honorary degree while Caruso, chair of the university’s board of trustees, looked on. “USC Trojans fight on until we change the world.”