Michigan State University likely violated at least one federal student privacy law, and maybe another campus crime reporting law, when it issued a statement Wednesday detailing counseling center visits by a student who is suing the school, experts said.
But the biggest problem with the statement, those experts and other victim rights advocates said, will be its effect on future students who need counseling center services or want to report a sexual assault.
"They are sending a very clear message – don’t report and don’t sue us,” said nationally known victim rights advocate Brenda Tracy, herself a survivor of a gang rape by football players when she was in college.