The Associated Students of Michigan State University called on MSU to take accountability following the release of the long-secret Nassar documents at the general assembly meeting last night. The general assembly also elected a new vice president of government affairs and passed bills advocating for a meal swipe donation program and the Stop Campus Hazing Act.
Nassar documents
ASMSU addressed the contents of 6,000 documents on the university's handling of disgraced ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar, which were released by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel two weeks ago. The documents revealed that MSU monitored survivors, viewed the scandal as a "war" to be won and edited Title IX reports, among other things.
During their reports, members of the Office of the President condemned university administration for its handling of the Nassar scandal.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Ahmed Amir opened up the discussion by stating that ASMSU supports survivors and will continue to call out the administration for its complacency.
"This pattern of secrets and lies has become all too regular," Amir said. "It is again disgusting that an administration that claims to support survivors continues to engage with and protect administrators that do the exact opposite and contribute to the harm that survivors face."
ASMSU President Connor Le said he was disgusted and that it was hard to call himself a spartan after hearing how the university treated survivors.
"Seeing the university gaslight survivors, making them not believe their own stories, editing Title IX reports and monitoring survivors is heartbreaking," Le said. "The university seems to only care for its image, and not for their students."
Former VPGA Josie Danielkiewicz and Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer Alex Guo personally called upon Vennie Gore, vice president for student life and engagement, to issue a statement apologizing for his comments regarding survivors.
Guo, who has personally worked with Gore, is appalled by his lack of accountability.
"As VP of Student Life and Engagement, his job is to collaborate and uplift students, and he has failed in his job to foster an inclusive and safe environment," Guo said.
In response to these documents, the GA proposed Bill 61-25. Introduced by Vice President of Internal Administration Kathryn Harding, this bill calls on MSU to release a statement to affirm its support of survivors and hold administration accountable by taking necessary disciplinary action.
Women*s Council Representative Khushi Chhabra, seconded the bill, stressing the importance of it while also condemning Gore and calling for his resignation.
The bill passed with a voice majority unanimously.
VPGA election
Before the election procedure began, several members of the Office of the President gave warm farewells to former VPGA Danielkiewicz during their reports.
President Le said, "It is so so sad to see her go, but I hope to see success in her future whether it be advocating for survivors of sexual assault and resources for them or as the (Women*s Council) president and advocating for the rights of women on campus."
Three candidates ran for the role, with political science and psychology senior Lily Wenkel coming out on top.
Prior to the vote, Wenkel gave a speech emphasizing the importance of relationships.
"I will amend and strengthen our external relationships with our reps downtown," Wenkel said. "It is to our great advantage that we have the state capital right down the road, and I want to make sure that we start developing, fostering, maintaining those relationships."
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She wants to utilize her contacts in the executive office and House of Representatives to move bills and get more support at the state and federal level, she said.
When asked about flaws in the OOTP and ways to improve the office, Wenkel said she wants to put GA representatives at the forefront. She said she wants to do everything she can to move bills through the House of Representatives and Senate to get statewide recognition.
"We don't want you guys to keep getting stuck at university level," she said. "That's why we want to maintain relationships with the House, Senate and hopefully furthermore, so that we can get your hard work recognized."
When elected, Wenkel gave a brief speech to the GA. She began by commending the other two candidates, Griffin Mentzer and JJ DeFeo, for running and then moved toward some goals for her new role.
"I hope that I can accomplish big things for you guys this year as a VPGA," Wenkel said. "I want to make sure that you guys have the resources, the connections, the platform for advocacy so that you guys can feel more of what you guys are doing. I do hope to try and push those further so that we can get more advocacy statewide, capital wide."
Suicide Prevention and Rehabilitative Training for All
Bill 61-18 involves advocating for a suicide prevention and rehabilitation training program, SPARTA, to be a required seminar for all students to take at least once before graduation. This seminar would preferably take place during during September, which is Suicide Prevention Month.
Broad Business College Rep. Christian Allmand introduced the bill. He stressed the importance of it by referring to a presentation earlier in the evening done by Alexis Travis, the University Health and Wellbeing executive director. In her presentation, Travis shared that the rate of suicides on campus year-to-year has been increasing, with those numbers peaking last year.
"If this bill could save at least one person on campus or prevent somebody from deciding to try to take their own life, then this bill is worth it," Allmand said.
This bill passed unanimously with a voice majority.
Meal Swipe and Combo-X-Change donation program
Bill 61-20, introduced by James Madison Representative Genevieve Lucas, advocates for implementing a donation program for unused meal swipes and combo-x-changes.
"Two out of five students who attend MSU experience food insecurity, which is something that impacts GPA, mental and physical health and many more areas of life," Lucas said. "This is a program that could help (those) students."
This bill passed with a voice majority.
Women*s Student Services Center allocated $7,500 to distribute birth control
Bill 61-21, introduced by Rep. Chhabra, allocates $7,500 to the Women*s Student Services and Gender and Sexuality Campus Center to distribute Opill, an over-the-counter form of birth control.
The seconder of the bill, Alliance for Queer and Ally Students Rep. Jaiden Higgens, said some people cannot take the current available options due to medical restrictions, and an alternative like Opill would support those individuals.
This bill passed with two abstentions and none dissenting.
Stop Campus Hazing Act
Bill 61-23 supports and advocates for the Stop Campus Hazing Act, which has unanimously passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and will now be heading toward the Senate.
Asian Pacific American Student Organization Rep. Alexandra Pham introduced the bill. Pham said the bipartisan legislation would require hazing incidents to be included in a college’s annual crime report and require higher education institutions to establish a campus-wide, research-based program to educate students on the dangers of hazing.
"This bill would increase transparency and accountability by providing parents and students with better information about a college's history of hazing incidents," Pham said.
The bill passed with a voice majority.
Disability Pride Month
Bill 61-22, introduced by Jewish Student Union Rep. Zach Nessel recognizes October as Disability Pride Month.
This bill passed with a voice majority.
GA liaisons
Elected GA liaisons for each class council were announced during presentations.
Liaisons represent each student body class council in the GA and communicate information between the GA and their respective council.
