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Nassar in the News: MSU not releasing investigation results, impact of Title IX changes, more

October 10, 2017
<p>Former MSU employee Larry Nassar, left, converses with his defense attorney, Matt Newburg, during a preliminary examination conference on March 2, 2017 at 55th District Court in Mason, Mich. Nassar's preliminary examination was deferred to May 12, 2017.</p>

Former MSU employee Larry Nassar, left, converses with his defense attorney, Matt Newburg, during a preliminary examination conference on March 2, 2017 at 55th District Court in Mason, Mich. Nassar's preliminary examination was deferred to May 12, 2017.

Victims' Attorneys Manly, Stewart & Finaldi Demand Release Of Michigan State University's Internal Investigation Of Larry Nassar Case | PR Newswire | Oct. 5, 2017

Following news that MSU would not release the internal review of MSU's handling of the controversy surrounding Nassar over the past 20 years, attorneys for the Manly, Stewart & Finaldi law firm demanded MSU release the results.

John Manly, Morgan Stewart and Vince Finaldi's law firm represents more than 100 alleged Nassar victims. They have accused MSU of covering up "the largest sexual abuse scandal in history."

"An independent investigation by state and federal law enforcement is needed immediately or the people at MSU who knew of Nassar's conduct and failed to take action will never be held accountable," Manly said.

MSU's opportunity: Use Nassar to teach how abuse gets missed | Michigan Radio | Oct. 5, 2017

Alleged Nassar victim Larissa Boyce said MSU could be a leader in preventing sexual abuse on college campuses. Boyce said MSU has the chance to make sure what happened to her doesn't happen again.

Boyce and a fellow gymnast who worked with Nassar and ex-MSU gymnastics head coach Kathie Klages in the 90s both allege Klages never reported alleged abuse which, if true, goes against MSU's mandatory reporting procedures.

Boyce said she would like to see Klages "share with people how he had fooled her" and explain why she believed Nassar's word over the alleged victims'.

MSU spokesperson Jason Cody said MSU is tackling the issue head on and the university has the opportunity to help prevent future sexual abuse.

"We of course are going to take every opportunity we can to help do that," Cody told Michigan Radio. "And I think that’s our responsibility."

MSU has "no plans" to release internal review into Larry Nassar | Michigan Radio | Oct. 4, 2017

Although MSU is paying lawyers top dollar to investigate MSU's handling of the controversy surrounding Nassar over the past 20 years, the university isn't planning on releasing the internal investigation's findings.

According to MSU, the review was never intended to result in a report. Instead, the information gathered from hundreds of interviews, documents and emails is going straight to the Board of Trustees, meaning the review will result in what MSU is calling an "action-oriented review."

MSU spokesperson Jason Cody said MSU can't answer questions of accountability because of the university's involvement in lawsuits.

"We're in the middle of litigation," Cody told Michigan Radio. "That's just not something we're going to be able to discuss. We have to let the process play out."

MSUPD releases security and fire safety report | The State News | Oct. 1, 2017

There's an entire section of the crime report released by MSU police dedicated to recounting the alleged sexual abuse committed by Nassar.

The report lists all crime reports from 2014 to 2016 that occurred on campus, in off-campus buildings or on property owned or controlled by MSU.

It was posted Sept. 28, 2017. MSU students and employees were notified of its release via email.

Manly: DeVos' rollback of Title IX enforcement is going to cost us | Lansing State Journal | Sept. 24, 2017

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In a letter published by the Lansing State Journal, John Manly, a California-based lawyer who represents more than 100 alleged Nassar victims, alleges rollbacks in Title IX policy from Washington wouldn't happen if institutions, including MSU, had followed original guidelines.

"None of this would have happened if these institutions and the Department of Education had met their obligations under the law," Manly wrote.

Manly argues MSU simply did not follow Title IX guidelines and ignored reports of allegations against Nassar.

The letter comes in response to the Department of Education's plans to scale back national Title IX policies in order to "replace the failed system of campus sexual assault enforcement to ensure fairness for both victims and the accused."

Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct policy updated by Title IX office | The State News | Sept. 21, 2017

MSU's Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct, or RVSM, policy was updated, and changes ranged from clarifying sections to adding new appendices.

The changes come from MSU's Title IX office, and each year, the office creates a multi-disciplinary team  to review the policy, Jessica Norris, MSU's director of Title IX and ADA compliance and education programs, said.

The most significant changes are new sanction guidelines, clarifying the investigation process, clarifying employee responsibilities, updating the appeal process and adding a new glossary with updated definitions.

Two of the main areas that were updated are on mandatory reporting and employee intervention. These updated policies follow a year of controversy surrounding Nassar, and one of the major points of discussion over the past year was the role mandatory reporting had.

The full RVSM policy can be found on MSU's Title IX website.


Editor's note: a small grammatical error was corrected in the PR Newswire headline.

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