Morgan McCaul entered Michigan State’s medicine clinic at the age of 12. At the time, McCaul — now an LSA freshman at the University of Michigan — was an aspiring ballerina with tears in both hip flexors. She went to East Lansing in search of world-renowned doctor Larry Nassar with hopes he could provide her with the help she needed to return to dance. Nearly five years later, McCaul realized she had been sexually assaulted by Nassar under the guise of medical treatment. McCaul had seen Nassar as the physician she wanted to be. Instead, she was a victim of his abuse and manipulation. “I was your little ‘goof’ and so I looked to you as a role model, hoping to volunteer at MSU Sports Medicine alongside you someday,” McCaul’s impact statement read. “Do you remember taking me out to lunch after I job-shadowed you at the Clinic? I still have our friendly Facebook messages. In my mind, you were my both my mentor and my friend.” McCaul is small in stature, just like she was when she met Nassar. Yet that hasn’t stopped her from finding her voice. She is no longer a victim — instead, she is a survivor. On Nov. 22, 2017, Nassar — who earned his undergraduate degree in kinesiology at the University — pleaded guilty to seven counts of first-degree sexual misconduct in Ingham County Circuit Court. A week later, he pleaded guilty to another three counts of first- degree sexual misconduct in Eaton County for treatments he administered at the Twistars Gymnastics Club in Dimondale. McCaul was involved in both civil and criminal suits against Nassar. She was never involved in John Geddert’s Twistars Gymnastics Club or USA Gymnastics, something she is grateful for, as more information about misconduct within those organizations is uncovered. “I feel really lucky that I was not in their care,” McCaul said. “I still feel passionately that those institutions need to be held accountable.” As the date of Nassar’s sentencing hearing approached, McCaul and fellow survivors spent more and more time appealing to the press to ensure the sentencing received coverage. Since then, McCaul has been one of the leading voices in the press. That means she hasn’t had the conventional first semester than most freshmen have. She has spent her first few months of college commuting between Ann Arbor and her home in Lake Odessa, attending class on the weekdays and legal meetings on the weekends. McCaul and other survivors attended MSU Board of Trustees meetings throughout the fall, pressing them to take action. No one seemed to be listening, neither the trustees nor the media. Sentencing began Jan. 16, originally intended to end Jan. 19, with 90 survivors slated to give impact statements. The Monday before the hearing, all 90 survivors regrouped before the trial. “We were able to sit in a room and chat and see each other’s faces,” McCaul recalled. “It’s really empowering.” And then Judge Rosemarie Aquilina made a decision to allow all survivors a chance to speak and confront Nassar. As the hearing continued, the number of individuals delivering impact statements grew from 90 to 156. That didn’t And so that’s what I did. I spent my childhood practicing fouette turns and tour jetes, my summers preparing for Cecchetti ballet examinations, and every moment in between dreaming up choreography for a performance of my own. Dance was my life’s passion, my greatest combatant yet my greatest joy. It was my art, and it was my sport. But, it is also the vehicle which drove my unassuming body into Larry Nassar’s office. Larry, when I was just twelve years old, I walked into your office at the Michigan State University Sports Medicine Clinic, in tremendous pain and seeking help to return to the sport that I loved most. I was in the 7th grade, I stood at a towering 4 foot 10, and in you, I saw not only the medical help I so desperately needed after tearing both of my hip flexors... I saw a physician that I aspired to be. I was your little “goof” and so I looked to you as a role model, hoping to volunteer at MSU Sports Medicine alongside you someday. Do you remember taking me out to lunch after I job-shadowed you at the Clinic? I still have our friendly Facebook messages. In my mind, you were my both my mentor and my friend. And it wasn’t until 2016 that I realized that you molested me. Every shred of admiration I had for you is gone. Every excuse I told my twelve-year-old- self when you were penetrating me is gone. The man I thought I knew did not exist. Only a selfish predator, whose atrocities know no bounds. You violated the very principal of your calling as a former physician: Do. No. Harm. This past year and a half has been, without a doubt, the most difficult and traumatic period of my life. Your betrayal has caused me countless sleepless nights; when I do find sleep, I’m plagued with nightmares and when I wake up, I’m living one. This has ruined my first year at the University of Michigan and robbed me of the college experience every young girl deserves. Most tragic of all is that your crime has shaken my very image of myself... this sentiment has been echoed by hundreds of other women who’ve shared their most painful memories with this courtroom. It is perhaps your most vile transgression. But alas, Larry, you are merely a symptom of a sickness which plagues the very core of Michigan State University, threatening every little girl who steps foot on that campus; a culture of sexual abuse and the perverse, deliberate inaction to hold predators accountable. In the aftermath of Nassar’s crimes, calls have been renewed for MSU President, Lou Anna K. Simon, to resign. The fact that she has yet to do so is insulting to the hundreds of survivors like me-- -it is, in fact, 42 months, countless slanderous public statements by Jason Cody, calls from numerous Congressmen and -women, and one one-hundred and fifty thousand dollar slap-in- the-face of a raise too late. Since reports of Larry Nassar’s misconduct to Michigan State faculty began in 1997, two years before I was even born, I can’t help but wonder: How many little girls could have been spared from this lifelong battle, if someone at the University had done the bare minimum and listened ? Judge Aquilina, I implore you to impose a sentence against this man which sends an unmistakable message to those who perpetrate heinous crimes against young people; whether they molest and maim, or look the other way to protect their Green-And-White. Thank you, your honor. Kyle Stephens Jessica Thomashow Victim D Chelsey Markham Jade Capua Alexis Moore Olivia Cowan Rebecca Mark Bethany Bauman Kate Mahon Danielle Moore Marion Siebert Annette Hill Taylor Stevens Victim 55 Amanda Cormier Jennifer Rood Bedford Nicole Soos Ashley Erickson Melissa Imrie Victim 125 Megan Halicek Victim 48 Katelyn Skrabis Brianne Randall Victim 2 Anna Ludes Lindsey Schuett Maggie Nichols Tiffany Thomas Lopez Jeanette Antolin Amanda Thomashow Victim 105 Gwen Anderson Amanda Barterian Jaime Doski Jenelle Moul Madeline Jones Kayla Spicher Jennifer Hayes Nicole Walker Victim 75 Chelsea Williams Stephanie Robinson Carrie Hogan Helena Weick Victim 28 Victim 10 Taryn Look Jamie Dantzscher McKayla Maroney Lindsey Lemke Nicole Reeb Lyndsy Gamet Taylor Cole Jessica Smith Arianna Guerrero Melody Posthuma Van der Veen Christine Harrison Victim 153 Victim 11 Victim 136 Kristin Thelen Katie Rasmussen Jessica Tarrant Mary Fisher-Follmer Jordyn Wieber Chelsea Zerfas Samantha Ursch Kara Johnson Maddie Johnson Marie Anderson Amy Labadie Ashley Yost Aly Raisman Kassie Powell Megan Ginter Katherine Gordan Katelynne Hall Anya Gillengerten Kaylee McDowell Lindsay Woolever Hannah Morrow Bayle Pickel Alexis Alvarado Trenea Gonzcar Larissa Boyce Bailey Lorencen Valerie Webb Whitney Mergens Marta Stern Clasina Syrovy Emma Ann Miller Amanda Smith Taylor Livingston Victim 163 Victim 183 Presley Allison Kamerin Moore Krista Wakeman Samantha Daniels Victim 159 Alliree Gingerich Megan Farnsworth Kourtney Weidner A.N. Charla Burill Lauren Michalak Vanasia Bradley Breanne Rata Erin McCann Catherine Hannum Victim 170 Jessica Chedler Rodriguez Victim 138 Morgan Margraves Victim 127 Victim 142 Victim 162 Victim 186 Victim 185 Victim 73 Victim 165 Whitney Burns Isabell Hutchins Meaghan Ashcraft Natalie Woodland Jillian Swinehart Alison Chauvette Anna Dayton Olivia Venuto Victim 126 Mattie Larson Jessica Howard Alexandra Romano Arianna Castillo Selena Brennan Victim 190 Makayla Thrush Emily Morales Abigail Mealy Ashley Bremer Victim 195 Brooke Hylek Abigayle Bergeron Emily Meinke Morgan Valley Christina Barba Amanda McGeachie Victim 177 Victim 178 Sterling Riethman Kaylee Lorincz Rachael Denhollander michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Friday, January 26, 2018 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. INDEX Vol. CXXVII, No. 63 ©2018 The Michigan Daily N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Morgan McCaul, University freshman, fights for justice After years of abuse at the hands of Nassar, McCaul stands alongside fellow survivors as Nassar sentenced 40-175 years michigandaily.com For more stories and coverage, visit SURVIVORS. Morgan McCaul SOPHIE SHERRY Managing News Editor MORGAN MCCAUL’S IMPACT STATEMENT See NASSAR, Page 2 When I was just two years old, I witnessed a production of Alice In Wonderland. It was full of dazzling dance numbers which captured my tiny heart, and I knew right then and there, I wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up.