My Wish for PSU....

[WebmasterAlex]

During the game, Paterno's son, Jay, a normally low-key quarterbacks coach, punched the air and yelled, "Let's go!" and high-fived fans on the way into the stadium, ESPN reports. A few players appeared to have tears in their eyes, and three wore shirts that read "Joe Knows Football."

And after Penn State's loss, Jay Paterno broke down in tears as he told ESPN, "Dad, I wish you were here."

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20545055,00.html

Interesting, People attributes it to an ESPN story that they link to but that story does not mention it.
Either way I'm sure they wore their jersey's for the game so there is no way the fans would know this.

 

[YodaGirl]

See, THIS is what bothers me. Nobody condones what happened, but Penn State has educated hundreds of thousands of good, honest, hardworking and accomplished people. Graduates are proud of their alma mater, and why shouldn't they be? I'm sure that PSU is not the first, and will not be the last, university to have a terrible scandal like this.

It is a horrible, sickening situation, but I agree with this.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Yes, exactly. I initially thought maybe he was a small guy or a young kid himself..to find out he was a large man of 28...wow. He could have done a whole heck of a lot more. And they would have to pry my dead body out there before I was leaving that little boy behind with that slug.

Kelly

I don't honestly think it would have even come to violence. Read Sandusky's words in the grand jury report. When confronted by the mother back in 98 it sounds like he was tearful and apologetic.
Almost like he wanted someone to stop him
OH yea that's next on my list after why didn't Mike beat the heck out of him.
How did the Police and District Attorney not prosecute him in 98 after listening to that phone conversation! Now if someone could explain that one to me..would have saved a LOT of kids

 

[kellyg403]

I don't honestly think it would have even come to violence. Read Sandusky's words in the grand jury report. When confronted by the mother back in 98 it sounds like he was tearful and apologetic.
Almost like he wanted someone to stop him
OH yea that's next on my list after why didn't Mike beat the heck out of him.
How did the Police and District Attorney not prosecute him in 98 after listening to that phone conversation! Now if someone could explain that one to me..would have saved a LOT of kids

Its really deplorable how many times this man could have been stopped and wasn't. Its really reprehensible how many people knew something and just kept whistling in the wind. Pretending they didn't hear anything, see anything, know anything. It seems like there are so many reasons to be angry and staring in horror at so many people.

I think ultimately in the end I am just shocked.

ETA to clarify I am not shocked that something like this could happen, I am just shocked that it atually DID happen
Kelly

 

[FireDancer]

They might want to start by nixing the banners in support of a rapist enabler and getting rid of his son as coach.

Yes. There should have been no mention what so ever by even one person in that stadium of Joe Paterno today. Joe Paterno is no longer a football coach. Joe Paterno is now someone who in one way or another enabled the rape of children. Every child raped after at worst 1998 and at best 2002 by Sandusky was raped because Joe Paterno, Mike McQueary, and many others did not do what was necessary to prevent it.

The people in that stadium should have known better than to be nostalgic for Joe Paterno or do anything what so ever to even slightly appear to be supporting him. That is what I would have done if I were a Penn State fan at that game. I would have been more concerned about finding out who knew what, when they knew it, and purge them from the program than about a score in a football game. Penn State football should be consumed with finding every person who knew anything and I don't care who they are and get rid of them. Once the purge is done they can start to concentrate on a scoreboard again.

That is what I wrote about when I said what people expect of Penn State fans, players, coaches, administrators, and alumni. That isn't what I saw out of at least some of the people at that game.

 

[cornflake]

I'm happy they lost. Maybe some of my anger is misplaced, but I couldn't help but be glad Joe's rabid supporters got another let down.

Seriously. Very happy they lost.

I know the football team players did nothing wrong (that anyone knows about or has disclosed, I'm assuming the players had no part in or knowledge of any of this).

I saw many students out there, bravely, considering what was going on, holding signs and rallying for Paterno's ouster.

However, I saw and heard many, many more students angry that Paterno was fired, going on about how important football and Paterno were to the school, etc.

I can't quite wrap my head around that, any more than I can around McQ turning around and walking out of the room and not calling 911. I just cannot. There's no excuse.

I think it's far too soon, and there are enough people on that campus who appear to simply not get it, for there to be some wonderful 'we'll overcome this!' moment with a winning football game. Let them lose - not to punish players for things they didn't do, or to taint them with something they weren't involved in that should not be part of their story, but to maybe bring home to some people who seem to need it explained that football is not that important, that this was not a blip that's over so what's the big deal, that a guy who did a lot of good doesn't get a pass for something really horrible.

 

[PeterPan09]

Back in the 1980's, I went to a small college about 30 miles south of Penn State's main campus. I dated a Penn State student, went to a couple of football games and even owned a Penn State sweatshirt. According to some of the opinions out there, I should just load my gun now and put a bullet through my head because I was a part of this evil, evil place.

I think everyone needs to step back and get a little bit of perspective here. The horror is real, but it is NOT the fault of every single human being that ever stepped on a Penn State campus, nor is it the fault everyone involved in the charity that Sandusky used to procure his victims.

If I had been at the game yesterday, the sign I would have held up was "Joe, how could you??!!!" I understand how people felt about him, I was up there and I remember the culture-however, it is extremely clear that he is NOT the man everyone thought he was.

The bottom line is, every time you make an institution or a human being your "god", you are going to be hurt, betrayed or disappointed in some way. People and institutions cannot live up to that.

It is possible to be sad for the actual victims of this crime and those other innocent people who have been swept up in this and are being considered evil by association. We don't have to see everything in black and white.

 

[castleview]

Back in the 1980's, I went to a small college about 30 miles south of Penn State's main campus. I dated a Penn State student, went to a couple of football games and even owned a Penn State sweatshirt. According to some of the opinions out there, I should just load my gun now and put a bullet through my head because I was a part of this evil, evil place.

I think everyone needs to step back and get a little bit of perspective here. The horror is real, but it is NOT the fault of every single human being that ever stepped on a Penn State campus, nor is it the fault everyone involved in the charity that Sandusky used to procure his victims.

If I had been at the game yesterday, the sign I would have held up was "Joe, how could you??!!!" I understand how people felt about him, I was up there and I remember the culture-however, it is extremely clear that he is NOT the man everyone thought he was.

The bottom line is, every time you make an institution or a human being your "god", you are going to be hurt, betrayed or disappointed in some way. People and institutions cannot live up to that.

It is possible to be sad for the actual victims of this crime and those other innocent people who have been swept up in this and are being considered evil by association. We don't have to see everything in black and white.

You're reading into that. People are upset that too many people did nothing and that students were more concerned about the interruption to the football program and their fairy tale about Joe.

Totally agree with the second bolded statement though. Hopefully, we can learn and never do this again. But judging by the fact that some people are way to into football or consider the media reporting a slap in THEIR face, I doubt that will happen.

 

[Wadecool]

Yes. There should have been no mention what so ever by even one person in that stadium of Joe Paterno today. Joe Paterno is no longer a football coach. Joe Paterno is now someone who in one way or another enabled the rape of children. Every child raped after at worst 1998 and at best 2002 by Sandusky was raped because Joe Paterno, Mike McQueary, and many others did not do what was necessary to prevent it.

The people in that stadium should have known better than to be nostalgic for Joe Paterno or do anything what so ever to even slightly appear to be supporting him. That is what I would have done if I were a Penn State fan at that game. I would have been more concerned about finding out who knew what, when they knew it, and purge them from the program than about a score in a football game. Penn State football should be consumed with finding every person who knew anything and I don't care who they are and get rid of them. Once the purge is done they can start to concentrate on a scoreboard again.

That is what I wrote about when I said what people expect of Penn State fans, players, coaches, administrators, and alumni. That isn't what I saw out of at least some of the people at that game.

Well said!

 

[zurgswife]

PSU Alum: Penn State Students, Alums Blinded by Loyalty to Joe Paterno

By Zac Wassink
By Zac Wassink | Yahoo! Contributor Network*–*Fri, Nov 11, 2011
http://news.yahoo.com/psu-alum-penn-state-students-alums-blinded-loyalty-231700735.html

FIRST PERSON | I'm not a Penn State lifer. Far from it. My oldest brother was a diehard follower of the Michigan Wolverines, and I, like all younger brothers who look up to their older siblings, chose to root for the maize and blue. I continued to do so for more than a decade after he passed away at the age of 20 (after he lost a battle with lymphoma), and it never occurred to me that attending Penn State would cause me to have a change of heart.

Funny thing about Penn State though: It grabs you almost immediately. The traditions, classic blue and white uniforms and seemingly eternal head coach who has been there longer than your parents have been alive are all pretty hard to resist.
Meeting Joe Paterno certainly didn't help matters. I've proudly told many friends and fellow Penn Staters about those two brief encounters. Paterno truly is, pardon the cliché, a larger-than-life personality, one who also has the ability to make you feel like it's his honor, not yours, to be having a 30-second talk.

On November 8, days after the Jerry Sandusky case was made public, a friend and fellow Penn State alum asked me why this entire matter hurt so much. I told him it's because "We Are" is more than just the start to a popular phrase used by Penn State students and fans. It was a motto that, up until last weekend, actually meant something special to everybody in the Penn State family.

I've since had an extra 36 hours or so to think about the entire scenario. There's another reason all of us, myself included, feel especially gutted and even somewhat guilty regarding this matter. We at Penn State were so enamored with Joe Paterno's legend that, for decade after decade after decade, we built him up on a pedestal as high as the Tower of Babel. Then, a large group of those supporters attempted to catch that same legend when it plummeted back down to earth.

Neither Penn State students rioting Wednesday night nor otherwise intelligent adults publicly supporting Paterno through thick and thin, even after the release of the sickening 23-page grand jury report, are "idiots." Such a strong loyalty causes individuals to think and act differently than those who don't feel such emotions toward an entity.

It was, and still is for some, absolutely impossible that our Joe Paterno, the Joe Pa beloved for generations, was capable of doing anything other than the right thing regarding anything resembling the Jerry Sandusky case.
Except he didn't; and he admitted that he didn't. In a statement released Wednesday morning, Paterno told the world, "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." That was all I needed to see to know that Paterno could no longer be affiliated with Penn State. When you admit that you "could have done more" regarding a case that involves the sexual abuse of any amount of minors, you have to go. It doesn't matter if you're (arguably) the most legendary figure in a sport or the manager of the local grocery store.

Joe Paterno apologists can save me the "legally and morally obligated" line I've been seeing over the past couple of days. We know that Paterno and others within Penn State football were aware of allegations made against Sandusky early last decade, and that Sandusky was banned from bringing children onto campus at that time. Regardless, Sandusky was seen at a PSU practice with an underage male as recently as 2007. Former Penn State players, such as linebacker Paul Posluszny, have remarked that Sandusky was seen "all over the place" several years after the 2002 allegations. One friend of mine posted a picture online of Sandusky at Beaver Stadium during Penn State's last home game. How is it possible that nobody, not Joe Paterno, Mike McQueary (the then graduate student who reportedly witnessed Sandusky sexually assaulting a minor in 2002) or anybody else, prevented Sandusky from hanging around? It's unfathomable to me.

Penn State football begins and ends with Joe Paterno. I've heard it for decades. Serious mistakes were made by those at the top of the Paterno PSU administration, some by the man himself, and ignoring that fact because of all Paterno did for the university is absolute madness. Don't tell me I don't "get it." I've studied in the Paterno Library, and heard the stories about Joe Pa donating more to the university than we'll ever know. No amount of money or players positively impacted by the man excuse his inability to properly act in this case.

My message to the world outside of the Penn State family is this: Please be patient with us. We are absolutely heartbroken that such heinous acts were even possible, let alone that they allegedly happened right underneath all of our noses. Had you told me one week ago today that Paterno would be unceremoniously fired by the PSU Board of Trustees before Saturday's Nebraska game, and that the university would be rocked by what is quickly becoming the most disturbing scandal in the history of collegiate athletics, I would have laughed in your face.

My message to the Penn State world is this: Joe Paterno is no victim here. I understand what you're feeling, and I too still have admiration for the man who did so much for my beloved Dear Old State for decades. I also realize that, if this is all true, Sandusky, not Paterno, is the true monster in all of this. You can't be a scapegoat when you're the guy at the top, though. Young lives were forever damaged by the decisions and actions of individuals in the Paterno administration. The board of trustees made the difficult but correct call in firing Joe Paterno. Now we all must do what we can to heal Penn State.

Let's hope it doesn't take 60-plus years to do so.

 

[marcyinPA]

PSU Alum: Penn State Students, Alums Blinded by Loyalty to Joe Paterno

By Zac Wassink

Excellent! Thank you for posting this!!!

 

[allison443]

PSU Alum: Penn State Students, Alums Blinded by Loyalty to Joe Paterno

By Zac Wassink
By Zac Wassink | Yahoo! Contributor Network*–*Fri, Nov 11, 2011
http://news.yahoo.com/psu-alum-penn-state-students-alums-blinded-loyalty-231700735.html

FIRST PERSON | I'm not a Penn State lifer. Far from it. My oldest brother was a diehard follower of the Michigan Wolverines, and I, like all younger brothers who look up to their older siblings, chose to root for the maize and blue. I continued to do so for more than a decade after he passed away at the age of 20 (after he lost a battle with lymphoma), and it never occurred to me that attending Penn State would cause me to have a change of heart.

Funny thing about Penn State though: It grabs you almost immediately. The traditions, classic blue and white uniforms and seemingly eternal head coach who has been there longer than your parents have been alive are all pretty hard to resist.
Meeting Joe Paterno certainly didn't help matters. I've proudly told many friends and fellow Penn Staters about those two brief encounters. Paterno truly is, pardon the cliché, a larger-than-life personality, one who also has the ability to make you feel like it's his honor, not yours, to be having a 30-second talk.

On November 8, days after the Jerry Sandusky case was made public, a friend and fellow Penn State alum asked me why this entire matter hurt so much. I told him it's because "We Are" is more than just the start to a popular phrase used by Penn State students and fans. It was a motto that, up until last weekend, actually meant something special to everybody in the Penn State family.

I've since had an extra 36 hours or so to think about the entire scenario. There's another reason all of us, myself included, feel especially gutted and even somewhat guilty regarding this matter. We at Penn State were so enamored with Joe Paterno's legend that, for decade after decade after decade, we built him up on a pedestal as high as the Tower of Babel. Then, a large group of those supporters attempted to catch that same legend when it plummeted back down to earth.

Neither Penn State students rioting Wednesday night nor otherwise intelligent adults publicly supporting Paterno through thick and thin, even after the release of the sickening 23-page grand jury report, are "idiots." Such a strong loyalty causes individuals to think and act differently than those who don't feel such emotions toward an entity.

It was, and still is for some, absolutely impossible that our Joe Paterno, the Joe Pa beloved for generations, was capable of doing anything other than the right thing regarding anything resembling the Jerry Sandusky case.
Except he didn't; and he admitted that he didn't. In a statement released Wednesday morning, Paterno told the world, "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." That was all I needed to see to know that Paterno could no longer be affiliated with Penn State. When you admit that you "could have done more" regarding a case that involves the sexual abuse of any amount of minors, you have to go. It doesn't matter if you're (arguably) the most legendary figure in a sport or the manager of the local grocery store.

Joe Paterno apologists can save me the "legally and morally obligated" line I've been seeing over the past couple of days. We know that Paterno and others within Penn State football were aware of allegations made against Sandusky early last decade, and that Sandusky was banned from bringing children onto campus at that time. Regardless, Sandusky was seen at a PSU practice with an underage male as recently as 2007. Former Penn State players, such as linebacker Paul Posluszny, have remarked that Sandusky was seen "all over the place" several years after the 2002 allegations. One friend of mine posted a picture online of Sandusky at Beaver Stadium during Penn State's last home game. How is it possible that nobody, not Joe Paterno, Mike McQueary (the then graduate student who reportedly witnessed Sandusky sexually assaulting a minor in 2002) or anybody else, prevented Sandusky from hanging around? It's unfathomable to me.

Penn State football begins and ends with Joe Paterno. I've heard it for decades. Serious mistakes were made by those at the top of the Paterno PSU administration, some by the man himself, and ignoring that fact because of all Paterno did for the university is absolute madness. Don't tell me I don't "get it." I've studied in the Paterno Library, and heard the stories about Joe Pa donating more to the university than we'll ever know. No amount of money or players positively impacted by the man excuse his inability to properly act in this case.

My message to the world outside of the Penn State family is this: Please be patient with us. We are absolutely heartbroken that such heinous acts were even possible, let alone that they allegedly happened right underneath all of our noses. Had you told me one week ago today that Paterno would be unceremoniously fired by the PSU Board of Trustees before Saturday's Nebraska game, and that the university would be rocked by what is quickly becoming the most disturbing scandal in the history of collegiate athletics, I would have laughed in your face.

My message to the Penn State world is this: Joe Paterno is no victim here. I understand what you're feeling, and I too still have admiration for the man who did so much for my beloved Dear Old State for decades. I also realize that, if this is all true, Sandusky, not Paterno, is the true monster in all of this. You can't be a scapegoat when you're the guy at the top, though. Young lives were forever damaged by the decisions and actions of individuals in the Paterno administration. The board of trustees made the difficult but correct call in firing Joe Paterno. Now we all must do what we can to heal Penn State.

Let's hope it doesn't take 60-plus years to do so.

Good article. Many, many people from PSU feel this way.

 

[luvtheworld16]

It's a shame that what the OP intended to be positive, starting this thread, has been turned into more Penn State bashing by so many on the DIS boards. None of us have all the facts. It is still an ongoing investigation. More information will be coming out. That said, this article has some interesting ideas although all of you Penn State haters will refuse to be open-minded enough to read it. I did not write it however I do agree with what the author says.

As for Paterno, this is where things get complicated without the facts. Do I think it is plausible that Mike McQueary, out of respect for an OLD man that he respects, didn't come out and say the words "*** rape"? I think that's entirely possible. If Joe got a watered down version of the facts, then I don't know what else he was supposed to do. He referred McQueary, the guy with the story, to the people in charge. McQueary apparently felt more comfortable giving details to those guys, and that makes sense to be honest.

This all changes quite obviously if Paterno knew a lot about the prior activities of Sandusky. But that hasn't been proven or strongly suggested even.

We also seem to be forgetting that Paterno didn't see anything. He wasn't a witness. What is he going to call the police and say? I heard from someone that something weird might have taken place in our showers. Looking back, the correct move was to refer McQueary to the police. "Mike, call the cops." But that's assuming that McQueary was completely up front about what he saw. If he didn't give Joe a ton of detail, then why would Joe immediately move to calling the police? It all hinges on the facts, which people have conveniently filled in for themselves.

Likewise, it is VERY easy to assume to that Joe had to know something after we have read a grand jury report. But again, try to look at things through the lens of the person involved. Joe had (apparently) no knowledge of anything in the report. Instead, he knew Sandusky as a trusted friend, coach, and a person who had the respect of the community. It's easy to see Sandusky as a monster now, but it was probably a little more unbelievable then. This again comes with the caveat that if Joe knew of Sandusky's past transgressions, then he is a lot harder to defend. Without knowing how long this has gone on, it's hard to say. Given Paterno's history, I give him the benefit of the doubt in this spot.

Likewise, I'm not sure why Paterno is expected to launch some investigation. He is not the police. He is a football coach who (it seems) received somewhat vague allegations of something that happened in his building. He didn't see it. There's also the fact that he passed things along to the next person up the chain who, presumably, would have more time and resources to handle the things appropriately. The fact that one of those superiors was at least partially in authority over the police department complicates matters here. Can this be described as going to the police? Weakly. But it does complicate matters. This wasn't a case where Paterno sat on his hands. It wasn't a case where he quietly told the AD to take care of it. This was a case where he told two of his direct superiors what he had been told. He also told McQueary to tell them the details.

Perfect move? No. Call the cops. In hindsight, that is the right move. But Joe wasn't a witness.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

And THIS is exactly what I expected this week and I certainly hope that more will follow. THIS is how you react to someone like Paterno. THIS is how you respect and remember the victims.

Bravo Mr. Wassink!

(And yes--I am aware that there are others that are like him. But this week, here, on the news and in my personal life--I became aware that there are those who are NOT thinking like this. One has a business for children and LIKED Paterno on Facebook on her business website. It just was not a good choice for her to do that on her business facebook page.)

PSU Alum: Penn State Students, Alums Blinded by Loyalty to Joe Paterno

By Zac Wassink
By Zac Wassink | Yahoo! Contributor Network*–*Fri, Nov 11, 2011
http://news.yahoo.com/psu-alum-penn-state-students-alums-blinded-loyalty-231700735.html

FIRST PERSON | I'm not a Penn State lifer. Far from it. My oldest brother was a diehard follower of the Michigan Wolverines, and I, like all younger brothers who look up to their older siblings, chose to root for the maize and blue. I continued to do so for more than a decade after he passed away at the age of 20 (after he lost a battle with lymphoma), and it never occurred to me that attending Penn State would cause me to have a change of heart.

Funny thing about Penn State though: It grabs you almost immediately. The traditions, classic blue and white uniforms and seemingly eternal head coach who has been there longer than your parents have been alive are all pretty hard to resist.
Meeting Joe Paterno certainly didn't help matters. I've proudly told many friends and fellow Penn Staters about those two brief encounters. Paterno truly is, pardon the cliché, a larger-than-life personality, one who also has the ability to make you feel like it's his honor, not yours, to be having a 30-second talk.

On November 8, days after the Jerry Sandusky case was made public, a friend and fellow Penn State alum asked me why this entire matter hurt so much. I told him it's because "We Are" is more than just the start to a popular phrase used by Penn State students and fans. It was a motto that, up until last weekend, actually meant something special to everybody in the Penn State family.

I've since had an extra 36 hours or so to think about the entire scenario. There's another reason all of us, myself included, feel especially gutted and even somewhat guilty regarding this matter. We at Penn State were so enamored with Joe Paterno's legend that, for decade after decade after decade, we built him up on a pedestal as high as the Tower of Babel. Then, a large group of those supporters attempted to catch that same legend when it plummeted back down to earth.

Neither Penn State students rioting Wednesday night nor otherwise intelligent adults publicly supporting Paterno through thick and thin, even after the release of the sickening 23-page grand jury report, are "idiots." Such a strong loyalty causes individuals to think and act differently than those who don't feel such emotions toward an entity.

It was, and still is for some, absolutely impossible that our Joe Paterno, the Joe Pa beloved for generations, was capable of doing anything other than the right thing regarding anything resembling the Jerry Sandusky case.
Except he didn't; and he admitted that he didn't. In a statement released Wednesday morning, Paterno told the world, "With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." That was all I needed to see to know that Paterno could no longer be affiliated with Penn State. When you admit that you "could have done more" regarding a case that involves the sexual abuse of any amount of minors, you have to go. It doesn't matter if you're (arguably) the most legendary figure in a sport or the manager of the local grocery store.

Joe Paterno apologists can save me the "legally and morally obligated" line I've been seeing over the past couple of days. We know that Paterno and others within Penn State football were aware of allegations made against Sandusky early last decade, and that Sandusky was banned from bringing children onto campus at that time. Regardless, Sandusky was seen at a PSU practice with an underage male as recently as 2007. Former Penn State players, such as linebacker Paul Posluszny, have remarked that Sandusky was seen "all over the place" several years after the 2002 allegations. One friend of mine posted a picture online of Sandusky at Beaver Stadium during Penn State's last home game. How is it possible that nobody, not Joe Paterno, Mike McQueary (the then graduate student who reportedly witnessed Sandusky sexually assaulting a minor in 2002) or anybody else, prevented Sandusky from hanging around? It's unfathomable to me.

Penn State football begins and ends with Joe Paterno. I've heard it for decades. Serious mistakes were made by those at the top of the Paterno PSU administration, some by the man himself, and ignoring that fact because of all Paterno did for the university is absolute madness. Don't tell me I don't "get it." I've studied in the Paterno Library, and heard the stories about Joe Pa donating more to the university than we'll ever know. No amount of money or players positively impacted by the man excuse his inability to properly act in this case.

My message to the world outside of the Penn State family is this: Please be patient with us. We are absolutely heartbroken that such heinous acts were even possible, let alone that they allegedly happened right underneath all of our noses. Had you told me one week ago today that Paterno would be unceremoniously fired by the PSU Board of Trustees before Saturday's Nebraska game, and that the university would be rocked by what is quickly becoming the most disturbing scandal in the history of collegiate athletics, I would have laughed in your face.

My message to the Penn State world is this: Joe Paterno is no victim here. I understand what you're feeling, and I too still have admiration for the man who did so much for my beloved Dear Old State for decades. I also realize that, if this is all true, Sandusky, not Paterno, is the true monster in all of this. You can't be a scapegoat when you're the guy at the top, though. Young lives were forever damaged by the decisions and actions of individuals in the Paterno administration. The board of trustees made the difficult but correct call in firing Joe Paterno. Now we all must do what we can to heal Penn State.

Let's hope it doesn't take 60-plus years to do so.

 

[Planogirl]

Many people here are saying that others should feel a certain way or react a certain way. Like it or not, you can't force people to behave in whatever way you prefer. As distasteful as it might seem to some of you, the football program will still be important to some people and some will even defend Joe Paterno. I think that all we can hope for is justice for the victims because that's what really matters here. That and making sure that something like this never happens again.

 

[topdog]

I have a question regarding this whole situation.

Why is the finance VP got involve with this? I can see the athletic director got involve since this is a football program but finance VP??? It doesn't make sense. The president, yes. Finance VP, I just can't make that connection.

Joe Paterno might not be the witness but obviously the message from MQ must be graphical enough for him report to school administration. Even if JP did report the incident to the police, what can Penn state possibly do to him?? The outcome couldn't possibly be worse than now regardless what the investigation comes out true or not had there been one.

I am not a football fan so I don't or perhaps I will never understand how important is football to people. What I do understand is there are so many people who worship JP regardless what's his action might be and willing to look the other way no matter what. That's a lot power for a man who is only a football coach. I can only imagine what kind of influence he might have should he goes into politic.

What's so strange to me was when I saw the breaking news the night when the trustee fire JP, the media has no problem finding any one who support JP to speak in front of the camera. However, when they find some one who support the trustee's decision, they all decline to speak in front of the camera.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

I have a question regarding this whole situation.

Why is the finance VP got involve with this? I can see the athletic director got involve since this is a football program but finance VP??? It doesn't make sense. The president, yes. Finance VP, I just can't make that connection.

Joe Paterno might not be the witness but obviously the message from MQ must be graphical enough for him report to school administration. Even if JP did report the incident to the police, what can Penn state possibly do to him?? The outcome couldn't possibly be worse than now regardless what the investigation comes out true or not had there been one.

I am not a football fan so I don't or perhaps I will never understand how important is football to people. What I do understand is there are so many people who worship JP regardless what's his action might be and willing to look the other way no matter what. That's a lot power for a man who is only a football coach. I can only imagine what kind of influence he might have should he goes into politic.

What's so strange to me was when I saw the breaking news the night when the trustee fire JP, the media has no problem finding any one who support JP to speak in front of the camera. However, when they find some one who support the trustee's decision, they all decline to speak in front of the camera.

You have to understand the system. The campus is patrolled by the Campus police force. Under Pennsylvania law they are a "real" police force and not just campus security and they are responsible for law enforcement on campus.
The Police Department falls under the jurisdiction of the VP for finance so he's really in charge of the PD that had jurisdiction over all of this. It was natural for the Athletic director to bring him in on it

 

[JessicaR]

You have to understand the system. The campus is patrolled by the Campus police force. Under Pennsylvania law they are a "real" police force and not just campus security and they are responsible for law enforcement on campus.
The Police Department falls under the jurisdiction of the VP for finance so he's really in charge of the PD that had jurisdiction over all of this. It was natural for the Athletic director to bring him in on it

They may be real but that does not mean they follow proper 'public' protocol. As is evident in this article. Not saying take it as gospel just take it into consideration.

On Campus, a Law Enforcement System to Itself

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/12/us/on-college-campuses-athletes-often-get-off-easy.html

 

[FireDancer]

Back in the 1980's, I went to a small college about 30 miles south of Penn State's main campus. I dated a Penn State student, went to a couple of football games and even owned a Penn State sweatshirt. According to some of the opinions out there, I should just load my gun now and put a bullet through my head because I was a part of this evil, evil place.

I think everyone needs to step back and get a little bit of perspective here. The horror is real, but it is NOT the fault of every single human being that ever stepped on a Penn State campus, nor is it the fault everyone involved in the charity that Sandusky used to procure his victims.

If I had been at the game yesterday, the sign I would have held up was "Joe, how could you??!!!" I understand how people felt about him, I was up there and I remember the culture-however, it is extremely clear that he is NOT the man everyone thought he was.

The bottom line is, every time you make an institution or a human being your "god", you are going to be hurt, betrayed or disappointed in some way. People and institutions cannot live up to that.

It is possible to be sad for the actual victims of this crime and those other innocent people who have been swept up in this and are being considered evil by association. We don't have to see everything in black and white.

I don't think many people are blaming everyone that stepped foot on campus. Only one poster on a thread that has since vanished for some reason was the only one I have heard say the entire school or student body is in the wrong.

Most people, including me, want everyone who had anything to do with this cover up gone. That will be a long list but included in that list is Joe Paterno. I fault anyone that knew anything. I do think anyone that supports Joe now is supporting a man who was complicit in covering up the rape of children and that coverup lead to other children getting raped. Those children would not have been raped had Paterno, McQueary, Curley, and a long list of other people done whatever was needed to stop Sandusky sooner.

Outside of the people who knew what was going on and did nothing and subset of students, former players, and alumni that continue to support that monster now I have no problem what so ever with anyone that has gone or is going to Penn State. They are merely attending a University that had corrupt leadership. I don't blame them any more than I blame the Enron employees that had no knowledge of the accounting fraud but at the same time I would hope none of the innocent Enron employees, after what was being done was learned, would walk around turning over media vans or holding signs supporting the people who allowed it to happen.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

They may be real but that does not mean they follow proper 'public' protocol. As is evident in this article. Not saying take it as gospel just take it into consideration.

On Campus, a Law Enforcement System to Itself

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/12/us/on-college-campuses-athletes-often-get-off-easy.html

Absolutely, it would not shock me at all if law enforcement dropped the ball here and if they did, being sworn law enforcement officers they should pay the heaviest price of all after Sandusky