| Blog and Media Roundup - Saturday, January 20, 2018; News Roundup | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 20 2018, 04:40 AM (112 Views) | |
| abb | Jan 20 2018, 04:40 AM Post #1 |
|
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20180119/news01/650451/msu-backs-embattled-president-asks-attorney-general-to-investigate January 19, 2018 7:52 a.m. Updated 13 hours ago MSU backs embattled president, asks attorney general to investigate Nassar case Legislators, others turn up heat on Simon to resign By Gongwer News Service and Crain's Detroit Business After a daylong meeting behind closed doors, the Michigan State University board of trustees on Friday stated its continued support for President Lou Anna Simon, who has come under increasing pressure to resign over the sexual assault case of former MSU physician Larry Nassar. Lou Anna Simon "We continue to believe President Simon is the right leader for the university and she has our support," board Chairman Brian Breslin said in a statement on behalf of the board. Simon also showed no sign of wavering Friday. "I have always done my best to lead MSU and I will continue to do so today and tomorrow," she said in a statement. Earlier Friday, the board asked the state attorney general to conduct a review of the events surrounding the Nassar case. "The testimony of Nassar's victims this week made many of us, including me, listen to the survivors and the community in a different way," Simon said in a statement. "It is clear to the Board and me that a review by the Attorney General's Office can provide the answers people need. As I told the Attorney General in December, MSU will fully cooperate with any inquiry by law enforcement authorities. I hope this review will help the survivors and the entire MSU community heal and move forward." ADVERTISING inRead invented by Teads MSU letter to Attorney General Bill Schuette In response to the request, Schuette said in a statement that he will conduct a review, but "this week and the coming weeks are time for the survivors of Larry Nassar to have their day in court, and I refuse to upstage their time for healing." On Thursday legislative leadership and several rank-and-file members in each chamber called for Simon's resignation or ouster amid new reports on what university officials knew about Nassar and when. Revelations in a Thursday Detroit News report that at least 14 MSU officials had received reports of sexual assault by Nassar dating back at least 20 years prompted swift fallout in terms of support for the embattled president. More than 140 women and girls have accused Nassar of abuse, many of whom have testified at his sentencing this week. He could get 25 years to life in prison. Nassar, 54, pleaded guilty to assaulting nine girls in Ingham County but faces more than 150 civil lawsuits that also involve MSU and others, The Detroit News reported. Already sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography in federal court, Nassar is in Ingham County Circuit Court this week for his sentencing hearing for seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. Since Tuesday, more than 75 women and a few parents have given victim statements in court, sharing their stories about Nassar's sexual abuse and how they thought it was legitimate medical treatment. Testimony continues Friday as more than 100 are expected to speak. "In light of recent news, it is clear that the Michigan State University Board of Trustees should act swiftly to remove President Simon from her position at MSU," Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, and Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said in a joint statement. "The Senate has lost confidence in President Simon's ability to lead one of our state's finest institutions. The MSU community deserves better from its leadership." The State News In its Thursday edition, The State News, the Michigan State University student newspaper, called for President Lou Anna Simon to resign over the Larry Nassar scandal. The State News, MSU's student newspaper, published an editorial Thursday urging Simon and "enablers" to step down, a stance supported by the university's student government, according to a report from the Detroit Free Press Later that day. The Detroit News published a similar editorial. The Lansing State Journal first called for her resignation Dec. 3. All four leaders in the Legislature have now issued calls for Simon's ouster. House Speaker Tom Leonard, Republican-DeWitt, was among the first lawmakers to issue the call. House Minority Leader Sam Singh, D-East Lansing, issued a joint statement with Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr., D-East Lansing, whose district includes the MSU campus, saying Simon is no longer capable of leading the university and should resign in light of newly reported facts. "It is clear that a lack of leadership amongst Michigan State University's highest ranks allowed victims to suffer in silence for far too long," Hertel and Singh said in their statement. "We owe it to every survivor who had to endure this horrific torture to not only bring justice to the perpetrator, but also ensure that changes are made at the university to prevent this from ever happening again. The current leadership of Michigan State University is clearly unable to handle that responsibility or help students and the university community rebuild." The two legislators also called for the Legislature "to exercise its oversight authority over the university until all those responsible are held accountable." Nassar, formerly a physician at MSU and the longtime team physician for the U.S. gymnastics team, has pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct charges in Ingham and Eaton counties and child pornography charges in federal court. More than 140 women and girls have accused him of sexually assaulting them. The Detroit News report states that Simon was informed in 2014 of a Title IX complaint and a police report having been filed against an unnamed physician. Simon said she was never told the outcome of the investigation, which ultimately cleared him. "It's time for a leadership change at MSU," Sen. Margaret O'Brien, R-Portage, told reporters following session Thursday. "My patience is gone." O'Brien said she's also working with several senators on bills in response to MSU's handling of Nassar. Several bills are still being drafted and there is no timetable yet for them to be introduced. She said she had been hesitant to issue such a call, believing that Simon would do a good job in responding to complaints against Nassar. Now, she said, the Department of Attorney General "needs to be involved today." O'Brien added the information she's learned in recent months about MSU have come from victims she's spoken to and media reports. Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, R-Lawton, chair of the Senate Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee, also said Simon needs to go. "It comes down to culture. You're responsible for that culture. There was a culture that was unacceptable," Schuitmaker said. She said not taking action on a single complaint of sexual assault is bad enough but the more than 100 received is inexcusable. |
![]() |
|
| abb | Jan 20 2018, 04:45 AM Post #2 |
|
https://www.chronicle.com/article/As-Calls-for-Her-Resignation/242297 As Calls for Her Resignation Escalate, Michigan State Trustees Stand By Their President By Sarah Brown and Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz January 19, 2018 It has seemed, recently, that nearly everyone wants Lou Anna K. Simon, president of Michigan State University, to resign. Student-government leaders. State lawmakers. Newspaper editorial boards. But the people who control her fate, the university’s trustees, have held firm. Ms. Simon, they reiterated on Friday, is the “right leader” to steer Michigan State through one of the biggest sex-abuse scandals in sports history. “Through this terrible situation, the university has been perceived as tone-deaf, unresponsive, and insensitive to the victims,” the board members wrote in a statement. “We understand the public’s faith has been shaken.” They then emphasized that Ms. Simon “has our support.” Ms. Simon has been president since 2005 — a long reign for a public-university leader. “I continue to appreciate the confidence of the board and the many people who have reached out to me, and to them, who have the best interests of MSU at heart,” she said in a statement. “I have always done my best to lead MSU, and I will continue to do so today and tomorrow.” But just a few miles away, in a county-circuit courtroom in Lansing, Mich., calls for Ms. Simon’s resignation have poured in this week. At the sentencing hearing for Larry Nassar, formerly a team physician for USA Gymnastics and an associate professor in Michigan State’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, many of Dr. Nassar’s victims have criticized Michigan State’s handling of their abuser — and Ms. Simon’s fitness as president — in their statements. Those criticisms were amplified on Friday, just after Michigan State’s board issued its statement of support, according to reporters in the courtroom. Dr. Nassar was convicted in November on seven counts of criminal sexual conduct, and last month he was sentenced to 60 years in prison on child-pornography charges. The university fired Dr. Nassar in September 2016, when reports of his sexual abuse prompted more victims to come forward. But critics, including some of Dr. Nassar’s victims, say that that Michigan State didn’t do enough to prevent the abuse. The Detroit News reported on Thursday that at least 14 people at Michigan State were warned about Dr. Nassar’s conduct with young patients over a 19-year period, and that Ms. Simon was notified on at least one occasion. In 2014, Ms. Simon told the newspaper, she was informed about a Title IX complaint and a police report involving an unnamed sports-medicine doctor. “I told people to play it straight up, and I did not receive a copy of the report,” she said. “That’s the truth.” ‘Negligence and Willful Ignorance’ On Friday, Michigan State’s board also asked Bill Schuette, Michigan’s attorney general, to review how the university had handled Dr. Nassar’s case. “Although we have confidence in the integrity of various reviews already conducted by law enforcement, subject-matter experts, and outside counsel to the university, we are making this request because we believe your review may be needed to answer the public’s questions concerning MSU’s handling of the Nassar situation,” the board said in a letter to the attorney general. Mr. Schuette said in a statement that he would review the situation at Michigan State, issue a report, and make a recommendation on how to proceed. But on campus and off, many people still seek swifter action. This week Michigan State’s student government passed a resolution calling for administrators to “take ownership and responsibility for their negligence and willful ignorance in allowing Larry Nassar to commit criminal acts from a university position.” They called for a leadership change “at the highest levels.” Lorenzo Santavicca, president of the Associated Students of Michigan State University, wrote an email to the board. “Students can no longer place faith and trust in the current leadership of our administration,” he said. The student government’s resolution did not specifically state that Ms. Simon should step down. But Mr. Santavicca told The Chronicle that until students see new faces in the administration, campus officials can’t distance themselves from the distrust students have developed. “As an institution, I think we have a hard time admitting our wrong,” he said. “For some reason or another, we seem to put the brand and the reputation ahead of anything else. There’s really no sense of ownership.” Many students on the campus were disappointed to learn that Ms. Simon still had the board’s full support, Mr. Santavicca said. He argued that the decision shows the board to be disconnected from the student body. Mr. Santavicca said the board’s move would very likely prompt students who feel they are not being heard by campus leaders to organize and protest on their own. “Students are feeling a whole multitude of emotions and feelings around this issue,” he said, summing up the mood as “disheartened Spartans.” Parallels With Penn State John C. Manly, a California sex-abuse lawyer who is representing dozens of Dr. Nassar’s victims in lawsuits against Michigan State, said the “common sense” move for Ms. Simon would have been to resign. “The survivors are dumbfounded,” he said. Mr. Manly said he wonders if “there’s more to the story than meets the eye.” Instead of acknowledging the harm caused to dozens of Michigan State students and alumni, and taking steps to deal with it right away, the university’s leadership has remained defensive for months, he said. “For generations, MSU will be synonymous with Larry Nassar,” he said. “The people to blame for that are not the alumni or the kids who go there. It’s Lou Anna Simon and that board.” Some have drawn parallels between Michigan State and an institution that did, in the eyes of many, become synonymous with an abuser: Pennsylvania State University, where some officials eventually went to prison for allowing sexual abuse by Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant football coach, to continue for years without being investigated. Ms. Simon became chair of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s executive committee in 2012, a week after the association slapped Penn State’s football program with steep penalties for its mishandling of the Sandusky case. At the time, she condemned Penn State’s ethical failures and pointed to a need to “build trust and confidence back in the system” of college sports. Sarah Brown writes about a range of higher-education topics, including sexual assault, race on campus, and Greek life. Follow her on Twitter @Brown_e_Points, or email her at sarah.brown@chronicle.com. Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz is a breaking-news reporter. Follow her on Twitter @FernandaZamudio, or email her at fzamudiosuarez@chronicle.com. |
![]() |
|
| abb | Jan 20 2018, 04:47 AM Post #3 |
|
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2018/01/oard_of_trustees_failed_by_not.html Editorial: Board of Trustees failed by not firing Michigan State president Updated Jan 19, 7:25 PM; Posted Jan 19, 4:55 PM By MLive/Grand Rapids Press opinion The following reflects the opinion of The MLive Media Group Editorial Board. We are shocked and disappointed by the disgraceful way the Michigan State University Board of Trustees continue to respond to the sexual assault scandal that's engulfed the university. Today, their wrongheaded response to the more than 140 survivors of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse was to continue their stubborn resistance to firing President Lou Anna Simon, who won't step down gracefully. It's time for Simon to go. MSU Board of Trustees say they continue to support embattled President Lou Anna K. Simon MSU Board of Trustees say they continue to support embattled President Lou Anna K. Simon They read a prepared statement and did not take questions. Simon's departure should be immediate for the survivors of Nassar's sexual abuse she failed in her leadership, and for the good of the university. However, Trustees have pledged their support for her, saying she is the right leader. But Simon is incapable of leading the effort to rebuild trust in the university. Public confidence must be restored in MSU's ability to protect women from sexual violence and harassment, and if they are victimized, to respond swiftly and effectively. During this week's sentencing hearing, we've heard dozens of women and girls courageously share the pain and anguish suffered at the hands Nassar, former Michigan State physician and USA Gymnastics team doctor. After listening to such compelling testimony about how the university failed to protect them, it is unfathomable the Board of Trustees would march out Friday and be so disrespectful in its timing and words. Trustees lacked the bravery of the women they let down by refusing to answer questions, after the Simon statement of support. Nassar has pleaded guilty to the abuse and deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison for the lifetime of trauma he's inflicted. But no one from MSU is yet to be held accountable and the house cleaning first begins with Simon. She and the Board of Trustees have demonstrated poor oversight and lack of transparency. A growing chorus of survivors want consequences for MSU's culture of enabling abuse A growing chorus of survivors want consequences for MSU's culture of enabling abuse On Friday, the MSU Board of Trustees called for an external review of the university's handling of the Nassar case, in an effort to be more transparent. They were also in a closed-door meeting Friday morning to discuss the issue. Trustees did request that Attorney General Bill Schuette review events surrounding the Nassar case to answer the public's questions about how they handled the situation. Remember this is the body that chose to not ask the former federal prosecutor they hired to review the case to produce a written report for public review. Simon has had some major accomplishments during her tenure, but the future and integrity of the university is at stake. The red flags about Nassar were there before and after Simon took the reins in 2005. Retired MSU gymnastics coach Kathie Klages was told by two teens in 1997 of Nassar's genital penetration during treatment, according to a 2017 lawsuit. She allegedly never reported it and encouraged them to remain silent. In 2014, the university got a big glaring indication that a deeper probe of Nassar was in order. Simon knew allegations had been made about a doctor but not the details. A police complaint was being investigated at the time, but Nassar was allowed to return to work. And between 2014 and 2016, the university recklessly allowed Nassar to continue practicing after MSU Police recommended he be charged with fourth degree criminal sexual conduct. He was not prosecuted. But the university doesn't just have a shamefully poor track record regarding Nassar's disgusting 20-plus year trail of abuse. The university has continued to deal inadequately with campus sexual assaults, since its revealing Title IX investigation. The findings of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights regarding its investigation of two sexual violence complaints filed against MSU are both disturbing and maddening. "Its (MSU) failure to address complaints of sexual harassment and sexual violence in a prompt and equitable manner caused and may have contributed to a continuation of a sexually hostile environment for numerous students and staff on campus during the years covered by OCR's investigation, 2009 to 2014," according to a 2015 release. The calls for Simon to step down have rightly intensified, including from State House Speaker Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt; Michigan Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive; Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer; and the school paper, The State News. MSU's Board of Trustees should heed those calls. One of its key responsibilities is the institutions long term health. Lou Anna Simon can't be part of the future of the university, when she is integral to why it's facing a crisis in public confidence. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · DUKE LACROSSE - Liestoppers · Next Topic » |






9:17 AM Jul 11