Responses are in English and come from MSU experts from the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Prevention Program, Women’s Resource Center, Student Health Services, MSU Safe Place, the Counseling Center, LBGT Resource Center, MSU Sexual Assault Program and the Office for International Students and Scholars.

The site was launched last week and has received questions, including, “I don’t think I’ve ever had an orgasm. Is that bad?” and, “What counts as evidence for a rape and how do I know what to do if I think I was sexually assaulted? For one, I was told not to take a shower but I don’t know what else I should do before calling the police.”

Jayne Schuiteman, an associate professor and interim director of the Women’s Resource Center, said allowing questions to be asked in Mandarin Chinese was an effort to meet the demands of MSU’s diverse student body.

There are 6,223 students from foreign countries at MSU this semester — 3,453 from China — according to the Office of the Registrar Enrollment and Term End Reports.

“Chinese speaking students often don’t feel that they have access to resources (on) highly sensitive topics,” Schuiteman said. “We want to make sure that they have the information that they want.”
General management freshman Wen Qiang Li, who is from China, said he likes the idea behind Ask A Spartan because it’s an easy way to help students.

Li said although it would be easier for him to ask a question in Chinese, he most likely would use English because it’s an American website and he tries to use English more.

Schuiteman said she expects questions about culture to increase, such as a question that was asked about how dating works in the U.S.

Political science senior Jessica Newman said she or her friends might use Ask A Spartan. She particularly likes the anonymity.

“I feel like a lot of people are embarrassed to ask certain questions,” Newman said.
Schuiteman said all questions, including those that mention rape and abuse, are posed anonymously regardless of the question’s severity.

Erica Phillipich, coordinator for the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Student Health Services, said she has answered sexual health-related questions with the help of her colleagues.

“We all have something different to contribute,” Phillipich said. “This is really a team effort.”
Phillipich said it’s important to have various avenues for students to ask and get answers to questions.

“I don’t think there’s a question (on Ask A Spartan) that I have not been asked at some point in person, but it’s all about how they access you,” Phillipich said.