-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The local coverage1 of sexual assaults at Michigan State University seemed to fly under the national radar2 for months, until hundreds of the victims of former sports doctor Larry Nassar spoke3 up in court. Now it's a national headline, and will be for years.
The anger and outrage4 over Nassar's two decades of sexual abuse, and the scathing5 ESPN report on football and basketball players, and the role some employees allegedly played in protecting them, provided the dynamite6 needed to break these cases open, and force Michigan State's leaders to take action.
But now is the time for cooler heads to prevail. MSU's leaders need to stop circling the wagons7 to keep investigators8 out, while MSU's most vocal9 critics need to stop screaming, "Burn it all down!" Neither approach helps.
The gravity of this situation requires strong leaders of integrity who can ensure justice is rendered fairly to all, and real reforms are enacted10 to make sure this never happens again.
But the first steps have not been encouraging. On Monday, five faculty11 members of Michigan State's steering12 committee met with five trustees to discuss how to transform Michigan State into "the nationally recognized leader in the prevention of sexual harassment13 and sexual abuse" — a noble goal. The steering committee urged the Trustees to conduct an open, thorough search for an interim14 president, and to find an academic with experience addressing sexual harassment and abuse.
The trustees took just one day to do the exact opposite, on every front, by appointing former Governor John Engler — who has a history of devaluing both assault victims and public schools. The faculty representatives are now preparing to hold a vote of "no confidence" – not a promising15 start.
But the problems don't stop there. Engler has publicly endorsed16 Attorney General Bill Schuette's bid for Governor. How tough can Schuette afford to be on Interim President Engler's university when he wants Engler's support?
Schuette appointed a special prosecutor17, former Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth, whose retirement18 party two years ago was funded partly by Michigan State booster Peter Secchia. He's the major donor19 who said, "If you don't feel comfortable with your children at Michigan State, take them somewhere else."
At this level, it's difficult to avoid all potential conflicts of interest. But it's not this difficult.
Another trustee, Joel Ferguson, boasted that the NCAA would never investigate MSU because it's too incompetent20. Ferguson is actually right about the NCAA's incompetence21, but not about its self-regard. The next day, the NCAA called his bluff22. Easy guess: the NCAA, whose president was informed of sexual assaults at MSU back in 2010, will screw this up as badly as it screwed up the Penn State case.
The most important quality any reformers must have is the confidence of the community they're trying to reform. And that's something all these leaders lack.
Maybe I'm wrong – and I sincerely hope I am.
Perhaps Engler will prove a wise, strong, and apolitical advocate for the victims, and lead his alma mater out of this mess.
Maybe Bill Schuette will forget that he needs voters both inside and outside the MSU community and make impartial23 decisions going forward.
And perhaps special prosecutor Bill Forsyth will ignore his ties to former Governor Engler and booster Secchia and act independently; the trustees will do what's best for their community, not themselves; and the NCAA will come to its senses and realize the same organization that spends its time debating whether it's a violation24 to spread cream cheese on a bagel is not up to the task of adjudicating actual felonies.
But I doubt it.
John U. Bacon is a freelance sports commentator25. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management, or its license26 holder27, the University of Michigan.
1 coverage | |
n.报导,保险范围,保险额,范围,覆盖 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 radar | |
n.雷达,无线电探测器 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 scathing | |
adj.(言词、文章)严厉的,尖刻的;不留情的adv.严厉地,尖刻地v.伤害,损害(尤指使之枯萎)( scathe的现在分词) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 dynamite | |
n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 wagons | |
n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 );铁路货车;小手推车 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 investigators | |
n.调查者,审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 vocal | |
adj.直言不讳的;嗓音的;n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 enacted | |
制定(法律),通过(法案)( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 faculty | |
n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 steering | |
n.操舵装置 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 harassment | |
n.骚扰,扰乱,烦恼,烦乱 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 interim | |
adj.暂时的,临时的;n.间歇,过渡期间 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 promising | |
adj.有希望的,有前途的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 endorsed | |
vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 );在(尤指支票的)背面签字;在(文件的)背面写评论;在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 prosecutor | |
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 retirement | |
n.退休,退职 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 donor | |
n.捐献者;赠送人;(组织、器官等的)供体 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 incompetent | |
adj.无能力的,不能胜任的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 incompetence | |
n.不胜任,不称职 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 bluff | |
v.虚张声势,用假象骗人;n.虚张声势,欺骗 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 impartial | |
adj.(in,to)公正的,无偏见的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 violation | |
n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 commentator | |
n.注释者,解说者;实况广播评论员 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 license | |
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 holder | |
n.持有者,占有者;(台,架等)支持物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|