The male student was expelled after an administrative review found he had sex with an incapacitated woman.
A Michigan State University student who says she was drugged and raped by a male student is upset the university is letting her accused assailant back on campus this weekend for graduation ceremonies after expelling him for sexual misconduct.
"I was just shocked," to hear the news, Ashley told the Free Press. Ashley is being identified only by her first name because the Free Press does not generally identify sex assault victims and she requested only her first name be used.She said she was notified by the university in an email earlier this week that the male student would be allowed back on campus. She said the university did not consult with her first.
"They never checked with me about him coming back to campus," she told the Free Press. "They never asked if I was going to go to the graduation."
"It's been a year since he was expelled," she said. "I've been able to rebuild my life at Michigan State. It's bulls---."
The male student was expelled from the university for sexual misconduct after an administrative review found he had sex with Ashley while she was incapacitated, according to documents reviewed by the Free Press. He's now a student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The Free Press is not using naming the male student because he has not been criminally charged.
The criminal investigation is still ongoing, Ashley said.
Michigan State said it couldn't comment on the specifics of why a student was dismissed from the university, but said they did grant permission for an expelled student to return to campus.
"What I can tell you is that for the spring 2015 commencement, a former student who had been dismissed from the university was granted a temporary exception to a no-trespass order in effect since his dismissal," MSU spokesman Jason Cody said in an e-mail to the Free Press. "In this case, permission was granted to allow the former student to join his parents in attending his brother's graduation. The temporary exception is for a very limited time period and includes strict constraints on the locations on campus where the former student may be. The student will be in the company of his parents at all times.
"MSU carefully considers requests to lift restrictions to enter campus on a case-by-case basis. The safety and security of the campus community and its members are always our first consideration."
After being notified of her accused assailant would be back on campus this weekend, Ashley published a letter in the State News, MSU's student newspaper, taking the university to task for the decision.
Ashley said she has tried to meet with top administrators at Michigan State this week to discuss the situation, but has been rebuffed.
The case dates back to 2013, when Ashley believes she had a drug slipped into a drink following a house party off campus. She woke up feeling dizzy and drugged, with her skirt hiked up.
Michigan State's decision to allow the expelled student back for graduation ceremonies has drawn fire from some national women's groups.
"The sheer lack of empathy or oversight here are astounding. Michigan State University seems to think the issue of rape is a joke— not the real problem it is. It's time for MSU to get serious about their rape problem," Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet, a national women's advocacy organization said in a statement.
Michigan State is one of three Michigan universities currently under investigation by the federal education department's Office for Civil Rights for how it handles sexual assaults. Grand Valley State University and the University of Michigan are the other two. by David Jesse
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