Olivet University Riverside Campus Gate Signage Olivet University Riverside Campus Gate Signage
The Olivet University seal at the Anza, California campus Olivet University

On December 13, California's Bureau for Private and Postsecondary Education (BPPE) announced the revocation of Olivet University's license, a Christian institution based in Anza, CA. This move was misconstrued by the media, including the Los Angeles Times, as a "shutting down" of the institution. However, Olivet University said it applied for religious exemption and is now legally exempt by statute from BPPE regulations. This allows Olivet University to operate its religious programs in California indefinitely. The school is also appealing BPPE's decision.

This decision by BPPE was troubling for two reasons. First, the role of a public state agency is to serve its constituency, but it is not at all clear that Olivet students were being served by this decision, instead BPPE assisted a private for-profit company, Newsweek, to harm a rival in a business dispute. Second, the traditional role of the media is to act as a watchdog over public state agencies and to check its abuse of power, hence the media's nickname "fourth estate." But in this case a journalist colluded with a public agency to harm a private, religious educational institution and its students.

LA Times Perpetuates Falsities

The LA Times, which published a debunked article on Olivet University before, covered the BPPE decision. This latest article misleadingly tells readers in its headline that Olivet will "cease operations," then contradicts this by confirming that the school will in fact continue to operate under California's religious exemption as it appeals the BPPE decision.

Unsurprisingly, the author of the article also perpetuated unfounded claims crafted by Newsweek, stating that the university is under "federal investigation."

According to a source close to the university, all inquiries by the Department of Homeland Security were ended long ago. And any materials taken from the school were returned in February 2024.

The university has also consistently denied accusations by four former students of "labor trafficking," stating that their claims were false. The students themselves are suspected of making their accusations to defraud the U.S. visa system.

LA Times Fooled by Human Trafficking Visa Ring?

The LA Times has also championed Tingbo Cao, who claims to be a victim of the school. Cao personally left a comment on the LA Times story, contradicting its premise by acknowledging that there are no "walls" on the campus to confine people, but that he was confined inside his own "mind."

However, Cao's peers at Olivet recall that he was not confined by any means, and rather Cao was eager to stay permanently at the San Francisco campus, where he received free room and board along with his family. Additionally, Cao was known to attend a church outside the campus unaffiliated with the school, and he came and went freely from the campus.

Cao, meantime, became connected to a T-visa network that seeks permanent U.S. status for unqualified individuals. But he recently acknowledged to friends that he has failed in this quest for a T-visa. It is suspected that he is now under the same investigative cloud as the other false T-visa-seeking students.

What the Future Holds for Media, BPPE, and Olivet

Officials at Olivet have stated that they will appeal BPPE's decision to revoke its state license. They argue that the administrative law court is very close to the BPPE state agency, and so a higher court is more likely to give them a fair hearing.

Questions should also be asked about the role of Newsweek in attempting to manipulate state agencies and other media organizations like the LA Times, to further a personal vendetta held by its CEO. The LA Times' latest piece was misleading, and contrary to its report, Olivet University will continue to operate its main education programs under religious exemption in California.