Cybersecurity at Michigan State University (MSU) After Extensive Links with Sex Offender Lawrence Gerard Nassar and Child Pornography - #Michael A. Ayele (a.k.a) W Department of Education (DoED) FOIA Request Case No.: 23 – 01164 – F

FOIA APPEAL 03/06/2023 W (AACL) Date. : March 06th 2023 Michael A. Ayele P.O.Box 20438 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia E-mail : [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Appeal Request Case No.: 23 – 01164 – F. Hello, This is Michael A. Ayele sending this message though I now go by W. You may call me W. I am writing this letter in response to your correspondence from March 03rd 2023 to express several concerns with the way you have gone on to process my FOIA request, which you have assigned Case No.: 23 – 01164 – F. One of my major concerns with the way you have gone on to process my records request is your failure to grant my request for a fee waiver and expedited processing. Via email dated September 02nd 2022, the Department of Education (DoED) had granted my request for a fee waiver in response to a FOIA request submitted about Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. As you maybe aware that FOIA request had been assigned Case No.: 22 – 03530 – F. Pertinent records about my correspondence with the DoED on the subject of FOIA Request Case No.: 22 – 03530 – F have been hereby attached to this e-mail under Exhibit 1. Please be advised that I have additional concerns with your failure to grant my request for a fee waiver and expedited processing in light of the DoED processing of my FOIA request submitted on (or around) October 14th 2020 about the rape and murder of Jeanne Ann Clery. As you maybe aware, the FOIA request I had submitted about the Jeanne Clery Act (and the way I was informed what constitutes “affirmative and effective consent”) was assigned Case No.: 21 – 00103 – F and via email dated February 16th 2021, the DoED had granted my request for a fee waiver. Pertinent records about my correspondence with the DoED on the subject of FOIA Request Case No.: 21 – 00103 – F have been hereby attached under Exhibit 2. Based on the DoED processing of these 2 (two) FOIA requests mentioned above, I very much regretted the DoED failure not to grant my request for a fee waiver and expedited processing (although it is my judgment that the DoED processing of those 2 FOIA requests were problematic for other reasons I have partly explained in the content of FOIA Request Case No.: 23 – 01164 - F). Please be advised that your correspondence from March 03rd 2023 strongly gives the impression (at least to me) that the DoED is a very much politicized federal agency of the U.S government when it comes to processing FOIA requests that are submitted about the activities of your federal government agency. Also, please be advised that if ever in the future, I decide to file a Civil Complaint against the DoED for your processing of my FOIA requests (including FOIA Request Case No.: 23 – 01164 – F), I will let the judicial branch of the U.S government know of this discrepancy within your federal government agency. I will also inform the judicial branch of the U.S government that your processing of my FOIA requests further served to undermine public confidence in the activities of your federal government. If you wish to avoid unpleasant litigation against your federal government for your processing of FOIA MICHAEL A. AYELE (A.K.A) W 1

FOIA APPEAL 03/06/2023 Request Case No.: 23 – 01164 – F on the merit of my request for a fee waiver and expedited processing, I would strongly advise you to rectify your decision not to grant my request for a fee waiver and expedited processing. According to a September 06th 2019 article published on Inside Higher Ed, “Michigan State University will pay a historic $4.5 million fine to the U.S Department of Education after fumbling its response to the sexual abuse of hundreds of athletes by former team doctor Larry Nassar. The Education Department’s sanctions are the latest development in one of the most massive sexual abuse scandals in higher education. The university, facing a torrent of lawsuits accusing officials of disregarding sexual assault by Nassar, reached a $500 million settlement last year with more than 300 of his victims who attended Michigan State. (…) Michigan State entered into two agreements with the Education Department, the agency announced on Thursday, ending its probes into the university’s breaches of Clery and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the federal law banning sex discrimination and sexual violence on college campuses. One of those resolutions dictates the university will investigate – and possibly punish – employees who may have known about the sexual abuse on campus and Nassar’s misconduct, including Youatt and Simon. These disciplinary measures could range from the revocation of tenure or honorary or other titles to prohibition from the university grounds to the removal of employment benefits or pay reductions. The department found Michigan State officials had not addressed Strampel’s alleged sexual harassment. Youatt for years ignored continual reports of Strampel routinely making sexist and inappropriate comments and sexual references around students and others, according to the department’s findings. In one case, Strampel reportedly told a story about having sex with underage women while at a conference in Thailand but brushed the accusation off during his employee review with Youatt in 2015, saying he had never been to the country.” i Given the DoED processing of my past FOIA requests, please be further advised that I will continue to harbor many concerns about the impartiality of your federal government even after (and if) this FOIA appeal is filed with the DoED. In response to your request for clarification, I hope you will perform a thorough search of the DoED records by taking into account the September 06th 2019 Inside Higher Ed article, which I have mentioned above. It is my opinion that the offices of the DoED most likely to have records about the sexual abuse perpetrated by Larry Nassar at Michigan State University (MSU) are [1] the Office of Civil Rights and [2] the Office of the Secretary previously headed by Elizabeth Dee Devos. As previously noted, I hope you will reconsider your response. Be well. Take care. Keep yourselves at arms distance. Michael A. Ayele (a.k.a) W Anti-Racist Human Rights Activist Audio-Visual Media Analyst Anti-Propaganda Journalist MICHAEL A. AYELE (A.K.A) W 2

FOIA APPEAL 03/06/2023 Work Cited i A Record Fine for Underreporting Sex Crimes. Inside Higher Ed.: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/09/06/education-department-fines-michigan-state- 45-million-not-reporting-nassar-crimes MICHAEL A. AYELE (A.K.A) W 3

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY FOIA Service Center September 2, 2022 Mr. Michael Ayele P.O.Box 20438 Addis Ababa, N/A Ethiopia FOIA Request No. 22-03530-F Dear Michael Ayele: This letter is in response to your request dated August 29, 2022, requesting information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Your request was received in this office on August 29, 2022. Your request was assigned to the appropriate office(s) within the Department to search for documents that may be responsive to your request. You have asked for a waiver of all fees, including duplication fees, associated with processing your request based on your requester category as Education/Non-Scientific requester. Based on the information you submitted for a fee waiver, that request is granted. You have the right to seek further assistance from the Department’s FOIA Public Liaison, Robert Wehausen. The Department’s FOIA Public Liaison can be reached by: Mail: FOIA Public Liaison Office of the Secretary U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave., SW, LBJ 7W104 Washington, DC 20202-4500 E-mail:[email protected] Phone: 202-205-0733 Fax: 202-401-0920 If you have any questions, or would like the original signed copy of this letter, please contact the FOIA Requester Service Center at (202) 401-8365 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Sincerely, Elise Cook Government Information Specialist

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY FOIA Service Center September 2, 2022 Mr. Michael Ayele P.O.Box 20438 Addis Ababa, N/A Ethiopia RE: FOIA Request No. 22-03530-F Dear Michael Ayele: This letter is in response to your request dated August 29, 2022, requesting information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Your request was received in this office on August 29, 2022. Your request has been assigned to the appropriate office(s) within the Department to search for documents that may be responsive to your request. You have asked for expedited processing of your request. That request is denied. The Department has concluded that you have not demonstrated a compelling need for the information. In addition, you have not substantiated that there is an urgency to inform the public concerning any actual or alleged Federal Government activity. Enclosed with this letter is a general informational sheet for Expedited Processing. Should you still wish to claim that your request should be granted expedited processing, you must provide more specific and detailed evidence to support your claims under each statutory requirement described in our FOIA regulations available on the internet at: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foiatoc.html and outlined in the attachment to this letter. You have the right to seek assistance and/or dispute resolution services from the Department’s FOIA Public Liaison or the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). The FOIA Public Liaison is responsible, among other duties, for assisting in the resolution of FOIA disputes. OGIS, which is outside the Department of Education, offers mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. They can be contacted by: Office of Government Information Services National Archives and Records Administration Mail FOIA Public Liaison 8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2510 Office of the Secretary College Park, MD 20740-6001 U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave., SW [email protected] LBJ 7W104 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448 Washington, DC 20202-4500 202-741-5769 E-mail [email protected] Phone 202-205-0733 Fax 202-401-0920

Page 2 – MichaelAyele FOIA Request 22-03530-F Lastly, you have the right to appeal this determination. You must submit any appeal within 90 calendar days after the date of this letter. Using the services described above does not affect your right, or the deadline, to pursue an appeal. An appeal must be in writing and must include a detailed statement of all legal and factual bases for the appeal; it should be accompanied by a copy of this letter, the initial letter of request, and any documentation that serves as evidence or supports the argument you wish the Department to consider in resolving your appeal. Appeals may be submitted using the on-line form available at www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foia- appeal-form.pdf. Appeals can also be submitted by: E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 202-401-0920 Mail: Appeals Office Office of the Secretary U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, LBJ 7W104 Washington, DC 20202-4500 If you have any questions, please contact the FOIA Requester Service Center at (202) 401-8365 or via e-mail at [email protected] (please include the case number). Sincerely, Elise Cook Government Information Specialist Enclosure

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