Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Friday, January 26, 2018

DAYTON HARE

Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ALEXA ST. JOHN

Editor in Chief
 ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY AND 

ASHLEY ZHANG
Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Carolyn Ayaub
Megan Burns

Samantha Goldstein

Emily Huhman
Jeremy Kaplan

Sarah Khan

Max Lubell

Lucas Maiman

Madeline Nowicki
Anna Polumbo-Levy 

Jason Rowland

Anu Roy-Chaudhury

Ali Safawi

Sarah Salman
Kevin Sweitzer

Rebecca Tarnopol

Stephanie Trierweiler

Ashley Zhang

A

ccording 
to 
the 

National 
Center 
for 

Complementary 
and 

Integrative Health, 18 million 
U.S. adults meditate. How do they 
find the time?

I tried to take up meditation 

during the second semester of 
my freshman year. I had just 
gone through a particularly nasty 
breakup, 
my 
Undergraduate 

Research Opportunity Program 
project was not what I had 
anticipated, and my coursework 
was both overwhelming and 
unengaging. I needed an out, a 
way to regain the focus and drive 
I had lost. So I began going to 
mindfulness sessions offered in 
the basement of the University of 
Michigan’s Angell Hall.

That did not last very long. 

Meditation is not an instant peace 
of mind. It is also hard, especially 
when your mind is racing with 
a 
thousand 
things 
(which, 

ironically, is what causes you to 
attempt meditation). Meditation 
can 
also 
be 
really 
boring, 

especially if you have grown used 
to always having something to do 
or think about.

I 
first 
became 
interested 

in meditation when I read 
Hermann Hesse’s “Siddhartha” 
in high school. Was I expecting a 
cosmic experience my first time 
meditating? No, but I did expect 
to feel something.

The biggest factor that cut 

my meditation adventure short 
was time. Fitting mindfulness 
sessions into my busy schedule 
was always a challenge. I could 
have tried to meditate solo; 
however, I felt like I needed to 
do it with other people to hold 
myself accountable. Perhaps if 
I had felt more “at peace” after 
meditation I would have made 
the effort to continue. Perhaps if 
I had made the effort to continue 
I would have started to feel more 
“at peace.” The chicken or the 
egg. I guess I will never know.

The 
next 
time 
I 
tried 

mindfulness was in Behavioral 
and Social Foundations for the 
Health Professions, when one 
day our professor walked us 

through some forms of meditation 
in his lecture on presence. One 
of them, called loving-kindness 
meditation actually did have an 
impact on me. The meditation’s 
ethos is to cultivate goodwill and 
kindness by mentally sending it to 
various people in your life. I would 
recommend it to anyone wanting 
to reconnect with their emotions 
(the stress of college can make you 
numb), but I warn you: it is intense. 
I cried — no, weeped — in class 
during the meditation. It felt great 
afterward, like I was as light as a 
feather, but it was also exhausting. 
I have yet to try loving-kindness 
again only because it requires 
someone to facilitate.

I still am looking for a way to be 

present and mindful because I feel 
like I am misaligned with time. I 
dwell on the past while worrying 
about the future, all while largely 
ignoring the present.

The past is immutable and 

unchangeable. Mistakes I have 
made, often due to nothing 
more than not thinking before 
I speak, are permanent scabs 
that fester until I eventually 
forget about them. Even in 
the shadowy realm of my 
mind where I store all the bad 
memories — what psychiatrist 
Carl 
Jung 
would 
call 
the 

personal unconscious — the 
memory of these mistakes are 
just waiting to erupt back into 
thought. Letting go, moving on: 
These have never been things I 
have been good at.

Then there is the future: 

Something 
I 
both 
plan 

meticulously for and at the 

same time know nothing about. 
In 
my 
favorite 
childhood 

book series, “Percy Jackson 
and 
the 
Olympians,” 
each 

hero had a fatal flaw. Mine 
would be decision anxiety. 
For every choice that I make, 
I worry intensely about the 
consequences 
and 
whether 

I have made the “right call.” 
Waiting to see if I made a 
good decision or not can be 
hell. I also feel like my time at 
the University is flying by too 
quickly, and there is so much I 
want to do and experience.

The solution to my problems 

with both the past and the 
future would be to focus more 
on the present. Then I would 
consider my words and actions 
more deeply and enjoy what time 
I have left as an undergraduate. 
Realizing 
the 
benefits 
of 

presence and mindfulness is 
one thing, finding the right way 
to put it in action is another.

I believe that many students 

are in the same position I find 
myself in; we need mindfulness 
but have not found the right 
path towards it. Meditation is 
one path, but it cannot be the 
only one.

One path I am trying now is 

maintaining a planner. Now, 
this may seem like it should 
be second nature to most 
students 
at 
the 
University, 

but I have always struggled in 
maintaining one. Perhaps this 
is because the planner hides 
in my backpack or maybe it is 
because I move through things 
so mindlessly that I do not 
stop to think to plan ahead. 
For each student, the path to 
mindfulness will look different.

So, 
to 
all 
my 
fellow 

Wolverines that have struggled 
with meditation and in finding 
a way towards mindfulness: I 
empathize with you. It is hard, 
but the end result—a way to 
stop dwelling on the past and 
worrying about the future—is 
worth it.

Presence, part and future

ALI SAFAWI | COLUMN

Ali Safawi can be reached at 

asafawi@umich.edu

Meditation is not 
an instant peace 

of mind. 

Over the past few weeks, 

all eyes have been on Judge 
Rosemarie Aquilina’s courtroom 
as more than 160 survivors of 
sexual abuse by disgraced Dr. 
Larry Nassar have recounted 
their stories at the Ingham 
County 
Circuit 
Court. 
Last 

Wednesday, Dr. Nassar’s was 
sentenced to 40-175 years in 
prison. He has been accused of 
countless criminal sexual acts 
in his roles as a team doctor 
and athletic trainer for the USA 
Gymnastics team spanning over 
the last three decades as well as 
faces charges in Eaton County.

These heroic women have 

showcased immense bravery in 
the face of great trauma. However, 
in spite of the heroism playing 
out in open court, accountability 
and justice seem to be missing. 
Failures on all levels must have 
occurred in order for Dr. Nassar 
to abuse patients for decades. But 
the pure lack of compassion and 
accountability that led to this 
serial abuse was evident on many 
levels in the last few weeks — first 
through the absence of Lou Anna 
Simon, president of Michigan 
State University, on the first day 
of victims’ impact statements. 
Yet, the failures by Simon go 
beyond her lack of attendance in 
court. According to the Detroit 
News, Simon and up to 14 others 
at MSU knew of Nassar’s abuse 
at least as early as 2014. Even 
more alarming than this was the 
under-oath revelation that MSU 
still billed survivors of Nassar’s 
assaults. Since the testimony, a 
Univeristy spokesman has said 
patients with outsanding bills 
will no longer be charged. 

We find the failure to protect 

these 
victims 
disturbing 

and unacceptable, and while 
President Simon announced her 
resignation Wednesday night, 
it is only the beginning of the 
institutional 
accountability 

that needs to be taken. Yet, in 
commenting on her decision 
to resign Simon stated, “As 
tragedies are politicized, blame is 
inevitable. As president, it is only 
natural that I am the focus of this 
anger.” While her resignation is 
a sign of needed change at MSU, 
her rhetoric again avoids taking 
true responsibility for the lack of 
institutional oversight.

Simon hid behind the MSU 

Board of Trustees, who also 
seem driven to ignore the pain 
caused by Nassar’s abuse, with 
Trustee Joel Ferguson noting to 
a local radio show, “There’s so 
many more things going on at the 
university than just this Nassar 
thing.” This rhetoric devalues 
the trauma countless survivors 
endured, trauma which occurred 
under the watch of people who 
knew, yet did nothing.

This motivation to preserve 

reputation shone through when 
MSU 
Basketball 
coach 
Tom 

Izzo was asked for comment 
on the Nassar case. He offered 
this in reference to President 
Simon: “That’s a woman who has 
dedicated over 40 years — and 
I’ve been here 33 with her, and 
I think I know what she stands 
for,” and when asked specifically 
about the call for a change in 
leadership, he answered with 
“you have to understand there 
is nothing I can say that is going 
to be right right now, and there 
is nothing that’s going to make 
anybody right. I’ll just stick by 
what I said.” Our own University 
President Mark Schlissel also 
declined to take a stance on the 
role that MSU played in the 
abuse, saying “I just can’t add to 
the debate because I don’t have 
any special information.” 

Izzo’s response is indicative 

of a greater problem. Defending 
Simon may be the easier decision, 
especially given her long tenure 
at Michigan State. However, 
institutional accountability must 
come before their relationships 
with Simon and the need to 
maintain a reputation. If we allow 
complicity from those in power, 
there will not be any impactful 
change, and systematic problems 

and ignorance will perpetuate.

This time in society is important; 

#MeToo has called great attention 
to sexual abusers in high places. 
However, abusers are not the only 
problem. The institutions that 
enable them deserve blame as well. 
This is not only a problem with MSU 
or USA Gymnastics. It is a societal ill 
and could have impacted on our own 
campus, or any other one. This case 
draws many similarities to what 
occurred at Penn State University in 
2011. Assistant football coach Jerry 
Sandusky was sexually abusing 
young boys for decades after head 
coach Joe Paterno was notified. 
This pattern is unacceptable. Those 
in positions of power at universities 
must prioritize the safety of their 
students, just as those in power in 
other institutions must prioritize 
the safety of their employees, 
members or citizens.

While 
this 
criminal 
case 

surrounding Dr. Nassar has now 
been closed in Ingham County, 
the pain and trauma he caused 
will remain for decades to come. 
While it’s easy to punish Nassar 
through his 60-year and 40 to 
175-year prison sentences, it’s a 
lot harder to face the fact that 
those who were complicit in his 
reign of assaults are also guilty. 
The list of people who enabled Dr. 
Nassar includes MSU President 
Lou Anna Simon, but extends far 
beyond just her. Michigan State 
University, 
USA 
Gymnastics, 

the 
United 
States 
Olympic 

Committee and more will share 
the blame in civil court, but the 
true evil that allowed for Dr. 
Nassar to inflict so much harm 
is in the culture of denial and 
doubt that falls on sexual assault 
and harassment on all levels 
within institutions. It is the need 
to maintain a good reputation 
and avoid scandal that enables 
abusers like Nassar to commit 
these acts for years. Immediate 
action once the first allegations 
are made is not only needed, 
but expected from universities, 
institutions 
and 
individuals. 

The time is up for this culture 
of secrecy, coverups and sexual 
assault, and in order for the 
next Larry Nassar to be stopped 
before he can hurt others, we all 
have to hold ourselves and our 
institutions accountable.

In solidarity with the survivors of Larry Nassar

FROM THE DAILY

O

ver the past week, more than 160 brave women and girls stood in a 
courtroom in Lansing and valiantly faced their abuser, Larry Nassar, 
a former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor. The 

court and the country listened closely as the survivors told their victim impact 
statements, each more powerful than the last, spelling out a disturbing pattern 
of sexual abuse that spanned three decades. As the last day of the trial came to 
a close Wednesday, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced Nassar to serve 40 
to 175 years in state prison after he carries out his 60-year federal sentence for 
child pornography. After 20 long years, Larry Nassar’s time is finally up.

 
We, The Michigan Daily Editorial Board, as the student voice of the 

University of Michigan, stand in solidarity with the survivors of the horrific 
abuse by Larry Nassar and admire their fierce strength and bravery. We 
condemn the institutions that let them down. Michigan State University, USA 
Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee all had a duty to protect 
these young women, but their inaction allowed Nassar’s abuse to continue 
far longer than it had to. We must hold these institutions — and all those who 
enable abuse — accountable. By so bravely sharing their stories, the survivors 
brought abusers to justice and have set a precedent that there is no tolerance for 
sexual assault.
 
 
 
 
Sincerely,

 
 
 
 
 
The Michigan Daily Editorial Board

It is the need to 
maintain a good 
reputation and 

avoid scandal that 
enables abusers 
like Nassar to 

commit these acts 

for years.

O

n 
Jan. 
13, 
babe.net 

published 
an 
article 

revealing an experience 

that a young woman (referred to 
in the piece and throughout this 
article as Grace) had on a date 
with comedian Aziz Ansari in 
September. The story describes 
him making multiple aggressive 
attempts to have sex with her, 
despite her many verbal and 
non-verbal cues that she was 
not into it. This accusation has 
been more divisive than any 
others that have come out of the 
#MeToo movement. Previously, 
this movement to expose sexual 
abusers has received enthusiastic 
support from feminists and decent 
people everywhere. The Ansari 
allegations have caused a sharp 
divide among many of those same 
people. Some claim this story does 
not describe an assault and is thus 
undermining #MeToo as a whole, 
while others argue that though 
it may not be rape or workplace 
sexual harassment, the movement 
has room for all stories involving 
sexual abuse or coercion. I 
adamantly agree with the latter.

The allegations made against 

Ansari clearly describe him as 
continuously pressuring Grace 
into sexual acts after she clearly 
expressed she would rather not 
engage in them on that night. 
That is a clear example of sexual 
coercion. I’ve been disturbed at 
the number of people who have 
doubted the malice of Ansari’s 
actions; I’ve been even more 
disturbed at how many have 
suggested that this could decrease 
the legitimacy of other stories or 
#MeToo as a whole.

I expect that kind of opinion 

from people like conservative 
commentator Ben Shapiro, who 
immediately capitalized on the 
chance to ask “Is #MeToo Falling 
Apart?” but it wasn’t only open 
misogynists who were acting as 
though the movement was being 
threatened. Journalists Caitlin 
Flanagan , Ashleigh Banfield and 
Bari Weiss all had pretty strong 
attacks for Ansari’s accuser and 
the journalist who reported the 
story. Flanagan had previously 
written 
a 
piece 
that 
hailed 

#MeToo, calling it a “long-overdue 
revolution.” These are women that 
I’d often think were on our side; 

ready to smash the patriarchy.

Maybe they are, in their 

minds. But that isn’t enough. 
After meditating on this for a 
week or so, it seems that the 
writers who are attacking Grace 
and the author of the piece, Katie 
Way, for derailing the movement 
were only ever fighting for 
themselves. It is just another 
example of exclusive feminism, 
and I am quite exasperated with 
it.

Grace’s story represents the 

experiences of so many young 
women who do not have voices as 
prominent as those who brought 
down 
Harvey 
Weinstein. 

Though her story was still 
aimed at a famous man, it made 
#MeToo relatable and relevant 
to many college-age women. It 
confirmed that those creepy, 
scary nights that made us cry — 
but never felt “bad enough” to 
call assault — are not OK and will 
not be tolerated. But the older, 
more powerful women said sit 
down and shut up because this is 
their movement.

That sentiment was clearly 

displayed by Ashleigh Banfield. 
On 
Jan. 
15 
she 
said 
this 

during her segment on HLN: 
“You have chiseled away at a 
movement that I, along with all 
of my sisters in the workplace, 
have been dreaming of for 
decades, a movement that has 
finally changed an oversexed 
professional environment that 
I, too, have struggled through 
at times over the last 30 years.” 
I suppose that means Grace isn’t 
a sister, but a whiny young girl 
who went on a “bad date” and 
wants to ruin a man’s career for 
it. Caitlin Flanagan expanded 
this narrative by calling the piece 
“revenge porn” by a girl who 
“hoped to maybe even become 
the famous man’s girlfriend.”

Well, 
if 
they 
disapprove 

of Grace’s inclusion in this 
movement, they can leave it. 
They can keep fighting for justice 
in cases that fit their narrow 
definition of abuse. But #MeToo 
is much larger than that. It is 
a movement intended to draw 
attention to the magnitude of 
the problem of sexual abuse, 
something that cannot and will 
not be done if survivors are 

intimidated and silenced by 
those controlling the messaging. 
The rhetoric of these journalists, 
and others, is victim blaming, 
irresponsible, anti-feminist and 
exclusionary.

I do not doubt that the 

generations of women before 
us have paved the way by 
withstanding years of abuse and 
harassment, and I understand 
that the Ansari allegations may 
seem far removed from the 
traditional conceptions of sexual 
abuse. 
As 
Flanagan 
herself 

wrote, “intimate accounts of 
commonplace 
sexual 
events 

of the young seem like science 
fiction.” The culture and norms 
are 
changing. 
Just 
because 

behavior has been historically 
deemed as commonplace or 
acceptable, does not mean that 
we must continue to allow it, or 
that it is not coercive or abusive 
in nature.

Twenty-three 
perent 
of 

female undergraduate students 
experience some form of sexual 
assault in college, according to 
Rape, Abuse & Incest National 
Network. This is the terrifying 
and traumatic reality of modern-
day college women. We do not 
need anyone to explain the 
reality of sexual assault to us, 
we understand. We understand 
affirmative consent and expect 
it. We understand that any 
attempt at changing our minds 
after we express we are not 
OK with the sexual advances 
is coercive. We understand our 
trauma and our fear, and we want 
to fight back. We understand the 
importance of intersectionality 
in 
this 
conversation; 
varied 

identities inevitably result in 
varied experiences with sexual 
abuse. Do not tell us to sit back 
and carry out this movement 
on anyone’s terms but our own. 
Our understanding is correct, 
valid, and will be the guiding 
message of a movement to 
expose and eradicate all forms of 
sexual assault, harassment and 
coercion and the culture that 
allows them. Please join us, and 
follow our lead.

#MeToo is our movement

MARGOT LIBERTINI | COLUMN

Margot Libertini can be reached at 

mlibertini@umich.edu

Simon is only the beginning

