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I had a graduate student in my department ask if I was a virgin my freshman year at Michigan State University. I know you’re wondering, what were the circumstances? What was I wearing? I know because we have been conditioned to think this way. 

I was sitting in my dorm room, doing homework, when he asked me via social media. I didn’t fully understand the gravity of the situation, only that I was uncomfortable by his question, and immediately told him so. For the rest of my freshman year, I made a point of never being alone in a room with him at my department’s building and kept our interactions to a minimum. It wasn’t until a year later when it came up in conversation with my mom that I understood what I experienced was sexual harassment.

Unfortunately, my situation is not uncommon at MSU, where sexual misconduct on all levels has been allowed to run rampant at least as long as Larry Nassar was employed here, but almost assuredly before as well. I am one of the fortunate ones as well, being that the burden I carry only runs skin deep. Other females have suffered far greater under this administration. 

MSU has long fostered a culture of deniability and ignorance surrounding such accusations, instead pushing stats about nationally-ranked academic programs and athletics. They push us to rally behind remaining true to green and white, but this loyalty is a one-way street, and vanishes as soon as someone disrupts the status quo. 

These accolades mean little if students, particularly females, do not feel safe on MSU’s campus. It was the hope of most on campus that former President Simon’s resignation last spring would bring about much needed transparency and healing, and most importantly, change. Change that would make this university safer for everyone, with greater accountability, more support for those affected by these horrific acts, and an acknowledgment that the university made a mistake. 

Instead, MSU brought in an interim president who allegedly covered up abuse within the Michigan prison system during his time as governor. To bring in an interim leader with that legacy following one of the worst scandals in MSU’s history of a similar nature is a slap in the face to those grieving and demanding change. 

I realize this piece may come across as hateful towards MSU. It is not. This is disappointment in the lack of change at this university at an administrative level. This is my disgust at getting the same email I’ve gotten the past three years, explaining that my grades and other pertinent information were to be withheld until I completed the online Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct training. 

This is where I remind myself, despite all of this, MSU is not solely made up of its administration. MSU still holds so much promise and good. MSU is comprised of survivors, students, staff, and faculty all ready for change in the wake of last spring. We will continue to fight for, protest, and demand change from our administration until MSU is a safe place for all its inhabitants. Because Spartans Will.