MSU has no right to be quiet about issues of sexual harassment and sexual assault, nor should MSU sit back and allow these issues to boil over until the administration is forced to address them.
Editor's note: This article features letters sent to the Editor-in-chief about the Interim President John Engler and the Board of Trustees. Minor edits have occurred for spelling, grammar or brevity.
Through its support of the board, ASMSU has continued the cycle of ignoring student concerns in favor of the convenient answer. Students on campus are clearly dissatisfied by this state of affairs, and their activism represents clear policy goals. These policy goals cannot be achieved by the current administration.
MSU students are being afforded an incredible opportunity: to be able to directly hear the unfiltered ideas of Spencer, to consider them, and to directly challenge them by asking questions if they should so choose.
In order to create change, in order for every Spartan to move forward on a united front, in order for MSU and its Spartans to learn anything from the Nassar situation, there needs to be an open, honest dialogue from both sides. Spartans are doing their part.
With all due respect to Minnesota, Northwestern, Illinois and Wisconsin, they aren’t high on the Spartans’ priority list right now. A matchup with No. 3 Purdue, however, is.
Michigan State University needs to move forward with new leadership, pledging an exceptional level of commitment to accountability from every employee.
Simon is gone, but the problem is not. The sexual assault crisis at MSU did not begin with Larry Nassar’s despicable acts, and it won’t end with them either.
Editor's note: The following are letters sent to The State News about recent events. Only mild edits have occurred for spelling or brevity.
For the Spartan community to continue its revolution, we have to remain vigilant in all circumstances. We have to question every alleged perpetrator, scrutinize every possible enabler and fight every incident of potential abuse.
This is just the beginning, MSU. We knew it then and we know it now. But, you must know that we, The State News will persist, so others who aim to do harm cannot.
"Today, I am so ashamed that I went to Michigan State University."
You are no longer a victim. You are a survivor. You are free.
At this point, MSU, you have a decision to make: Will you own up to mistakes and try to rebuild with the rest of the community, or will you become nothing more than “Michigan State University, Home of the Larry Nassar Scandal”?
If we survivors have to bear our scars, I pray to God you feel the sting of the whip too.
Simon, if you’re the Spartan you claim to be, you will step down and bow out gracefully. We hope you make the right choice, because time’s up.
We can do better, and we will. That’s our promise to an audience that’s much more diverse than our coverage suggests. We want to be every student’s voice.
Until the Spartans toughen up in road games, their wishes of winning a National Championship will stay just that. Wishes.
Maybe the Lansing State Journal is right. Maybe Simon does need to resign. This silent attitude is all the administration knows, as we’ve seen. But as of right now, we don’t know if she’d be replaced by anyone better.
The allegations are no more. They happened.