There has been discussion today regarding this State News article about a federal investigation into MSU's handling of sexual assault complaints. We have hid comments that speculated on and insinuated about who might have been involved in one of these assaults. This is because we strongly feel that any speculation regarding legal cases where names have not been publicly disclosed are not for discussion on this website.
We've talked about this with one another, and this is what we think:
1. Speculation, debate, and opinions about the events of the alleged assault and the legal issues involved will not be tolerated.
- None of us were there, and we won't be apart of blaming the victim on this website. These discussions will be hid when we find them, and continual comments by the same user in this vein will result in a ban.
2. Speculation on what effect this story and investigation had on the team's performance is not acceptable either.
- Once again, speculation about how something serious and traumatic as a sexual assault is affecting something as inconsequential as a game will not be tolerated. Comments like these will be hid, and consistent comments about this topic by the same user will result in a ban.
3. Talk about how this investigation pertains to the university and our perceptions and expectations for it is acceptable within certain limits.
- We are prepared to allow discussion in a general sense, as long as it is constructive, does not blame the victims of sexual assault for being assaulted, and names no specific persons or occurrences of sexual assault. This will be aggressively moderated.
Once again, we know that some of you are frustrated that you're not able to discuss certain topics at TOC. However, we strongly feel that excessive speculation, especially involving legal matters, has no place here.
If you have any questions or comments for us regarding this policy, please feel free to comment here or send an e-mail to pete.rossman@gmail.com. Thank you for your patronage - it means a lot to us, and we wouldn't still be going without you.