A woman who says she’s a survivor of a sexual assault that happened while she was a student at Michigan State University and a former prosecutor who became pregnant while studying at MSU are the two Democratic nominees for the MSU Board of Trustees.
MSU graduates Kelly Tebay and Brianna Scott were nominated Saturday at the Michigan Democratic Convention.
Both nominees say their stories make them uniquely qualified to move MSU forward after the sexual abuse scandal involving former MSU doctor Larry Nassar.
“I was a student that when it (sexual assault) happened to me. I didn’t report it because I was ashamed and embarrassed and didn’t know how I was feeling. Imagine if the students knew if they had a board member that had experienced that what that feels like knowing that there was someone that didn’t report it and wasn’t sure what to do, what that means to all of them ,” Tebay said.
Former Muskegon County Assistant Prosecutor Brianna Scott said raising a son while receiving government assistance made her empathetic to the others’ struggles. She also said her nomination will bring more diversity to the Board.
“Being a person of color, I also represent marginalized groups that sometimes are often left out of the discussions and aren’t at the table when decisions are made and don’t have a voice,” said Scott.
Tebay and Scott will take on the two Republican Trustee Candidates David Dutch and Mike Miller in November.