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MSU Trustees Put Investigation On Hold After Education Dept. Fine

MSU sign
Reginald Hardwick
/
WKAR-MSU

One day after Michigan State University was slapped with a historic $4.5 million dollar fine by the US Department of Education, the MSU trustees announced they would put an external investigation on hold.

The school violated a federal law by failing to protect students from sexual assault and harassment.    

MSU trustees announced they wouldn’t pursue an independent investigation Friday, after receiving the highest fine the Department of Education has ever issued for Clery Act violations.

Dianne Byrum, the chairwoman of the board said there’s a split among trustees whether another investigation could accomplish anything new. 

“What are we going to do with another investigation that has not already been done through OCR. So, at this point we’re pausing that," said Byrum.

MSU student Debrah Miszak spoke during the public comment. She said the school still can’t be trusted.

“Nothing of this universities behavior towards sexual assault survivors’ changes," said Miszak. "The university isn’t sorry for its actions. It’s sorry it got caught.”

MSU Provost June Youatt resigned Thursday after the report implicated her in the failure.

Abigail Censky reported on Politics & Government at WKAR from 2018 to 2021. Now, she reports for The Colorado Springs Gazette and edits for The Catalyst Newspaper.
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