Kaylee Lorincz began her speech in front of an upside down Michigan State University flag, tied to the central pillar of the Hannah Administration Building entryway with a teal ribbon and caution tape.
Lorincz is a survivor of abuse at the hands of Larry Nassar. Last week, she confronted interim MSU President John Engler at a Board of Trustees meeting over a settlement offer she said he extended during a meeting last month, a meeting that Engler said he remembers differently.
It was nice, she said Friday, to speak without a timer.
Protests erupted during that Board of Trustees meeting when Engler tried to halt Lorincz's statement after the three-minute timer expired.
Friday's event was dubbed the Rally for Resignations. Hosted by the groups ReclaimMSU and #MeTooMSU, it drew close to 100 students, faculty and community members.
Morgan McCaul, another survivor, said the last board meeting "made me realize we really need to organize and combine our voices." It's further cemented her desire to see the entire Board of Trustees and Engler resign, she said.
State Representative Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, kicked off the afternoon's protest.
"Who's ready for some resignations," Rabhi said, to a chorus of applause and cheers.
Reclaim MSU describes itself as a group of students, staff, faculty and alumni “demanding transparency, accountability, and equitable distribution of power and resources from the MSU administration.”
#MeToo MSU is working to spread "awareness of the culture of sexual abuse at and around Michigan State University," according to its Facebook page.
Two trustees, Chairperson Brian Breslin and Mitch Lyons, have already said they are not seeking another term on the board. Both were elected in 2010, and their terms are up at the end of the year.
On Tuesday, MSU's Faculty Senate voted to endorse a series of proposed policy changes that would place students and faculty on a new University Board alongside elected trustees.
Reclaim MSU, which is behind the proposed changes, is also seeking support for a constitutional amendment to allow for that. Presently, trustees from MSU, Wayne State and the University of Michigan are elected by the public after being nominated during party conventions.
Earlier this year, State Representative James Lower, R-Cedar Lake, proposed a constitutional amendment that would abolish the elected boards of MSU, Wayne State and the University of Michigan. Instead, the governor would appoint members of those governing boards.
Contact RJ Wolcott at (517) 377-1026 or rwolcott@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @wolcottr.