UNAC/UHCP Executive Vice President Charmaine Morales, RN, released the following statement regarding Michigan State’s mishandling of campus sexual assaults.
“With the Michigan State University (MSU) Athletic Director’s resignation, we are seeing MSU begin to clean house, but it is not enough.
“Serious new allegations in a January 26 article by ESPN’s Paula Lavigne show that MSU still has a long way to go toward rectifying these horrible crimes. Among the explosive items in the story:
- MSU failed to inform federal Department of Education officials that now-convicted sexual abuser and child pornographer Larry Nassar was under investigation in 2014 even though there were police and Title IX inquiries underway.
- MSU has still not given the Department of Education all documents related to the Nassar investigation.
- MSU was required by an agreement with the Office for Civil Rights to provide documentation of all complaints of sexual harassment and assault at the University by January 2016–a deadline MSU missed by one year.
- After eventually submitting all reports, the University inexplicably excluded reports on Nassar and eight other reports about unknown assailants. The University claimed they were accidentally excluded.
- It took MSU campus police and the Title IX office 17 years to begin formally investigating Nassar after the first complaint was made. He was not fired until a few weeks after a gymnast filed a criminal complaint with the police.
- Nassar saw and abused patients for 16 months while under investigation. More than 12 women and girls have reported sexual assaults during that time.
“No institution serving tens of thousands of our nation’s girls and women should be allowed to get away with such incredible negligence and a gross violation of justice. Michigan State is not acting quickly enough to turn things around on campus. Over 150 girls and women were assaulted. At what point is a university of 50,000 students going to realize that MSU is not a safe place–for anyone–and move to repair the nation’s trust?”
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United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) represents over 30,000 registered nurses and other health care professionals, including optometrists; pharmacists; physical, occupational and speech therapists; case managers; nurse midwives; social workers; clinical lab scientists; physician assistants and nurse practitioners. UNAC/UHCP is affiliated with the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.
Contact: Jeff Rogers, Communications Specialist
Jeff.Rogers@unacuhcp.org | 909-263-7230