EAST LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — Some of the women abused by Larry Nassar are pushing back against Michigan State University trustees who said no Nassar survivors contacted them about being on the school's presidential search committee.
Trustees Dianne Byrum and Melanie Foster introduced the 19-member committeeWednesday afternoon. It's the next step in finding a permanent leader for the university after months of controversy and an interim president who faces continued calls for his resignation.
Two aspects of the selection committee immediately gained attention: Trustee Joel Ferguson, who offended some with his comment about Nassar and MSU, will sit on the committee; also, Byrum said the group would be "sensitive to the voices of the survivors," but none of the survivors are on the committee.
Both trustees said they don't believe any of the women Nassar abused reached out expressing interest in the search committee, but 24 Hour News 8 has spoken to some of the women who said that's not accurate.
"I know that many of us have reached out wanting to help, but we never hear anything back. So I'm not sure how they can say that not one survivor reached out, wanting to assist them in making their university a safer place," Kaylee Lorincz said. "... when I read that, I couldn't believe it."
Lorincz added she didn't send a specific message about being involved in the presidential search, but knows of many women who have reached out like her and never received a response about wanted to help the university move forward.
Others took to social media after the announcement.
"The reason no survivor is on that panel is because the BoT (Board of Trustees) either never responded to emails and requests to meet, or told us they couldn't talk to us. And I have the emails to prove it, because *I* reached out multiple times on multiple issues, and I'm not the only one who did," tweeted Rachael Denhollander.
So far, 24 Hour News 8 has not heard from anyone who explicitly asked to be on the committee; however, several who responded said none of their messages to trustees have ever been returned.
"The email I sent to the Board in June is below. No one responded, indicative of their desire to sweep this away and move on as quickly as possible. After all, it’s football season now," wrote Natalie Venuto Hawkins in an email to 24 Hour News 8.
Hawkins said her June 20 email to MSU Trustees Brian Breslin, Joel Ferguson, Melanie Foster, Dan Kelly and George Perles read in part:
"A big part of my identity was tied to Michigan State... All of that school pride has since vanished. When I saw that Engler supposedly did not want to focus the upcoming issue of the alumni magazine on the survivors, reportedly saying "get that teal sh[**] out of here", I knew I finally had to say something to you...
“Regardless of whether that statement about the magazine was actually said, I don't feel like MSU is going to make an effective comeback from this under the current leadership. Things MUST change for Michigan State to move forward, starting with Engler's resignation and replacement by someone who is actually compassionate and competent."