The Board of Trustees has two seats up for election this November. Members of POSSE, along with a group of Nassar survivors, spent an hour talking with each trustee candidate. POSSE member Valerie von Frank said the group was looking for responses that show a willingness to learn.

“We need people that have integrity, that give public answers, that answer to students and to the community,” von Frank said. “They need to be lifelong learners. They need to be able to listen to new voices and take that all in and be able to make better decisions because they’re listening to people beyond the normal folks.”

Von Frank said she and other members of POSSE have concerns with candidate Travis Menge’s responses to questions regarding sexual assault allegations on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team, which he has traveled with as a sports medicine doctor. POSSE’s letter says that Menge “shut off follow-up questions without expressing empathy or concern for the athletes he cared for.”

“We don’t need another board member who doesn’t understand what survivors go through,” von Frank said. “MSU just cannot afford to get it wrong again.”

Candidate and current trustee Renee Knake Jefferson was unable to answer many of POSSE’s questions because of her current position as a trustee, the letter said. The letter said she mentioned several major changes she accomplished in her three years on the board including enacting a board code of ethics and stripping the “emeritus” title from faculty involved in sexual misconduct.

POSSE member Mary Schulz said the best discussion with candidates was when a candidate was able to progress over a conversation and shift their thinking as they took in new information.

“It was nice to see him … progress through his understanding in that short time frame,” Schulz said. “And actually see the reasoning and the purpose behind our questioning.”

The letter said both Michael Balow and Dennis Denno asked to speak with a survivor and answered questions specifically. Balow “offered specific suggestions for improving accountability, suggesting the board have an independent reporting chain outside of the administration’s for reports about sexual misconduct cases.”

Denno, who is an East Lansing resident, said he is concerned about the culture at MSU. According to the letter, Denno said “students need a greater voice in campus decisions.”

The letter said POSSE values accountability and transparency in board members. Many student and faculty organizations have also called for more transparency from the board following a month of controversy leading up to President Samuel L. Stanley Jr.’s resignation notice.

Von Frank said the lack of communication about Stanley’s contractual discussions and Title IX investigations has created a culture of uncertainty on campus.

“By not being forthcoming and adding to students' stress in this way, it does add to a sense of secrecy and potential lies,” von Frank said.