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Mosallam's Q&A touched on support from survivors, advocacy

October 2, 2020
A screenshot from Brian Mosallam's Q&A
A screenshot from Brian Mosallam's Q&A —

Board of Trustees member Brian Mosallam hosted a Q&A on Facebook Live Wednesday night in preparation for the upcoming election. He is the only incumbent seeking reelection. 

Mosallam's first eight-year term with the Board of Trustees began Jan. 1, 2012.

He began the Q&A by addressing Larry Nassar's abuse and his position on it. “I was the first to publicly apologize to survivors and meet with survivors,” he said. 

In June, he put out a video with survivor Kaylee Lorincz to launch his campaign. Mosallam was one of two board members who supported the resignation of Interim President John Engler. He said, “Bullies aren’t used to you getting in their face and…telling them to get up and get out."

The Up-the-Ladder Escalation policy that was adopted by the Board of Trustees requires that the Board reads all sexual assault reports. The audit and risk committee, a judiciary branch of the Board of Trustees, allows the Chief compliance officer to bypass the president and go to the Board directly if needed. 

When asked about racism on campus, Mosallam recommends that those groups are invited to the trustee liaison lunch so that their voices are heard and understood. 

“I met with CORES and COPS and different groups on campus and ... they feel like they don’t have a voice, they don’t have a safe space, they don't feel heard,” he said.

He also answered questions about students returning to campus in January. Mosallam puts his trust in scientists and believes that we should follow their guidance. 

"I’m hopeful that we can return in January...I’m not even going to put a timetable on it, I’m not even going to guess,” Mosallam said.

Mosallam also believes that the same safety precautions that football has should be in place for other sports and students who are missing labs.

“I want the same infrastructure put in place so we can play the other fall sports as well. I also want the same infrastructure to be put in place for the ones that are missing their lab time,” he said.

Players, coaches and any other staff that will be on the field are required to undergo daily COVID-19 testing. Players that test positive will have to quarantine for 21 days and will have to be cleared by a cardiologist before returning to the field. 

Mosallam played football for MSU from 1992 to 1996. He earned Academic All-Big Ten honors three times and was a District IV Academic All-American selection in 1996. He is a strong advocate for giving college athletes stipends.

“These universities are making hundreds or millions of dollars off athletics. There is nothing wrong with giving these kids a little stipend, a little more considering a lot of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds,” he said.

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