Michigan State’s Board of Trustees refuse to fire President Lou Anna Simon, despite the sexual assault scandal that’s engulfed the university. Simon’s must go.
The following reflects the opinion of The MLive Media Group Editorial Board.
We are shocked and disappointed by the disgraceful way the Michigan State University Board of Trustees continue to respond to the sexual assault scandal that’s engulfed the university.
Today, their wrongheaded response to the more than 140 survivors of Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse was to continue their stubborn resistance to firing President Lou Anna Simon, who won’t step down gracefully. It’s time for Simon to go.
MSU Trustees continue to support embattled President Lou Anna K. Simon
Simon’s departure should be immediate for the survivors of Nassar’s sexual abuse she failed in her leadership, and for the good of the university. However, Trustees have pledged their support for her, saying she is the right leader.
But Simon is incapable of leading the effort to rebuild trust in the university.
Public confidence must be restored in MSU’s ability to protect women from sexual violence and harassment, and if they are victimized, to respond swiftly and effectively.
During this week’s sentencing hearing, we’ve heard dozens of women and girls courageously share the pain and anguish suffered at the hands Nassar, former Michigan State physician and USA Gymnastics team doctor.
After listening to such compelling testimony about how the university failed to protect them, it is unfathomable the Board of Trustees would march out Friday and be so disrespectful in its timing and words.
Trustees lacked the bravery of the women they let down by refusing to answer questions, after the Simon statement of support.
Nassar has pleaded guilty to the abuse and deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison for the lifetime of trauma he’s inflicted.
But no one from MSU is yet to be held accountable and the house cleaning first begins with Simon. She and the Board of Trustees have demonstrated poor oversight and lack of transparency.
A growing chorus of survivors want consequences for MSU’s culture of enabling abuse
Trustees did request that Attorney General Bill Schuette review events surrounding the Nassar case to answer the public’s questions about how they handled the situation.
Remember this is the body that chose to not ask the former federal prosecutor they hired to review the case to produce a written report for public review.
Simon has had some major accomplishments during her tenure, but the future and integrity of the university is at stake.
The red flags about Nassar were there before and after Simon took the reins in 2005. Retired MSU gymnastics coach Kathie Klages was told by two teens in 1997 of Nassar’s genital penetration during treatment, according to a 2017 lawsuit. She allegedly never reported it and encouraged them to remain silent.
In 2014, the university got a big glaring indication that a deeper probe of Nassar was in order. Simon knew allegations had been made about a doctor but not the details. A police complaint was being investigated at the time, but Nassar was allowed to return to work.
And between 2014 and 2016, the university recklessly allowed Nassar to continue practicing after MSU Police recommended he be charged with fourth degree criminal sexual conduct. He was not prosecuted.
But the university doesn’t just have a shamefully poor track record regarding Nassar’s disgusting 20-plus year trail of abuse. The university has continued to deal inadequately with campus sexual assaults, since its revealing Title IX investigation.
The findings of the U. S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights regarding its investigation of two sexual violence complaints filed against MSU are both disturbing and maddening.
« Its (MSU) failure to address complaints of sexual harassment and sexual violence in a prompt and equitable manner caused and may have contributed to a continuation of a sexually hostile environment for numerous students and staff on campus during the years covered by OCR’s investigation, 2009 to 2014, » according to a 2015 release.
The calls for Simon to step down have rightly intensified, including from State House Speaker Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt; Michigan Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive; Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer; and the school paper, The State News.
MSU’s Board of Trustees should heed those calls. One of its key responsibilities is the institutions long term health. Lou Anna Simon can’t be part of the future of the university, when she is integral to why it is facing a crisis in public confidence.
