Media change focus as Nassar trial ends

By SOPHIA CONSTANTINO

Serial child molester Larry Nassar entered the courtroom for the third and final hearing on Jan. 31, 2018, to receive his final sentencing.

After a grueling seven-day hearing in Ingham County Circuit Court in which Judge Rosemarie Aquilina allowed nearly 160 women to speak about their respective violations at the hands of Nassar, the former Olympic doctor began another trial in Eaton County Circuit Court this week under Judge Janice K. Cunningham. Nassar will face another 60 women accusing him of more of the same and faces 40 to 175 years in prison.

Though as the doctor’s fate becomes more and more certain, that of the organizations by which he was employed is only raising more questions.

Most pressingly, Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics are being called upon to respond.

According to a recently published BBC report, the directors of USA Gymnastics have all resigned after the US Olympic Committee demanded the board step down. Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon has stepped down and a criminal investigation has been launched into the university.

As the investigations continue, the question remains: what now? Nassar will spend his life in prison and the case will delve into the nitty gritty of who knew what and when they knew it. If justice is thoroughly carried out, those who allowed Nassar’s repulsive manipulation of power to persist will be aptly tried as well. And though the individuals will be persecuted, how do we begin to repair the infrastructure of a so clearly damaged organization?

A bill passed by the senate on Tuesday requiring amateur sporting organizations to report sexual assault now awaits President Trump’s approval. The bill would also necessitate training to prevent such assaults.

And though a bill of this suit certainly seems like a step in the right direction, the irony of whose desk upon which it sits cannot be ignored. Nevertheless, a case of this caliber simply cannot be ignored. We thus will wait with baited breath for our president’s review.