<p>MOWC-- thanks for sharing the article. I have mixed emotions about what else should happen.</p>
<p>Wow. Where is the “holier than thou” part of saying that there is much that is good about Penn State, and why can’t there be acknowledgement of all that is so terribly wrong, acknowledgement of wrongdoing, and STILL be some pride in the things that are right? The leukemia research? The carcinogen research? The green revolution research? Thon? Again, I will warn PSU alum that the Freeh report is very bad. But should it close the university? Is that the only solution? I only meant that PSU will have to move forward. I don’t think all the snarky sarcasm was deserved.</p>
<p>And if you arrive to State College from other directions, you can’t see the stadium at all. You can see the top of Old Main if you know where to look. If I drive to your town and see WalMart first, does that make you evil capitalists? If your hospital is smaller than your school, clearly you have no compassion for the ill and are classist education elitists? It was a silly metaphor.</p>
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<p>I bet one wrongful termination lawsuit from Sandusky would look pretty good to the Penn State about now. Instead they are facing dozens of much larger lawsuits from Sandusky’s vicitms. I bet aggressive tort lawyers are practically parachuting into town to get the jump on offering their services to the abuse victims and their families.</p>
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<p>I agree with the others. I was with you, greenbutton, right up until you said “But we are still Penn State.”</p>
<p>It is Penn State people hanging on to that sort of fierce football-style boosterism during a crisis; a crisis that calls instead for a lot of circumspect self-examination and firm but quiet resolve to make things better going forward that suggests that the many, if not most, of the people in the Penn State community haven’t learned anything from all this.</p>
<p>Would people have the same reaction if, instead of “We are still Penn State,” people said, “We are still proud of Penn State”?</p>
<p>My reaction to this is colored by “We are Virginia Tech,” which was used there to symbolize pulling together in a time of crisis–if that’s what Penn State people mean by it, it’s OK by me. I think some people are interpreting it as meaning, “We are still Penn State, and we don’t care what you think.”</p>
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<p>I agree with you. All those schools are so obsessed with their football programs that they too would be in danger of sweeping serious crimes under the rug to protect the teams and their attendant cash streams. Same for most of the big basketball powerhouses as well. </p>
<p>I certainly hope they are all paying attention and have learned something from Penn State’s predicament and will take steps to correct any comparable problems they already have and establish strict safeguards to prevent further problems in the future.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately, at least in some places, if you call the town police, they’ll just turn it over to the campus police.”</p>
<p>I doubt that is true of child sexual abuse. Child Protective Services should also be informed. If there is an investigation, they are involved.</p>
<p>The University of Michigan is way more than football. That’s crazy talk.</p>
<p>I too hope other schools and other institutions, be they religious, corporate, non profit, pay attention. Hopefully one lesson that should be learned is that sweeping serious crimes under the carpet to protect teams and attendant cash streams does NOT work. crime doesn’t pay. It can ruin lives and it is likely to have a huge financial impact to PSU over the next few years.</p>
<p>From the articles I have read just today, it appears that PSU is in damage control mode, no surprise there, seeking funding and putting on a fresh face in hopes to move forward. </p>
<p>The sad truth is this will only incense those who need to see PSU in the “making amends mode” and I don’t personally see that happening. It appears that they are distancing themselves from the larger issue of Spanier, Curley and Schultz and their actions/inactions. But clearly they are miles away from even considering shutting down football, which I am mixed about. I don’t know that that would benefit victims. </p>
<p>But why not demand that football profits for the next year, or five years, be used towards education, prevention, treatment of child sexual abuse. Something. Something meaningful that would be a statement of true regret, and a message of repairing the real damage.</p>
<p>fwiw—I didn’t hear greenbutton sounding holier than thou. I heard pain and recognition. My s just graduated from a top 10 LAC, wonderful school, he forged incredible relationships with his professors who were such giving, intelligent and kind human beings. But like many schools his school also has a problem with frats and binge drinking. Not sure it’s being handled as well as it should so I’ve shared my perspective with the appropriate people. It doesn’t take away from the good that is there. I know this is hardly the same as what occurred and it sickens me that the administration turned a blind eye at PSU but if someone maligned my son bc he went to this LAC, it would be wrong and unfair.</p>
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<p>The problem with the “We are Penn State” thing is that it is an actual popular football cheer, chanted at Penn State games for decades prior to the current scandal. Thus, it seems jarring and out of place in the context of horrible crimes. However the folks chanting it may have meant it, it definitely comes across as expressing an attitude of fierce determination to put all this fuss behind us so that we can focus on what’s really important, namely the next victory on the gridiron.</p>
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<p>Yes, I suspect that’s true. But the post I was responding to was one where the poster said she had advised her D that if she was ever raped on campus, to call the town police. With all the alleged date rape and too-drunk-to-consent rape, etc., cases on a major college campus, I would imagine that many municipal police departments are only too happy to hand those investigations over to the campus police - at least at some places.</p>
<p>totally agree coureur, I was going to say that…it echoed the chant and all that accompanied Sandusky’s crimes. I didn’t think that was how greenbutton meant it to sound though. but I do see that PSU seems focused on the next win, and that is a serious mistake in my view. especially just days after the verdict. just so missing the mark…</p>
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<p>Why not take a five-year hiatus from playing football? That would be a real “statement of true regret.”</p>
<p>But it won’t happen. Because They Are Penn State.</p>
<p>The students at PSU have nothing to be ashamed of. Nor does the average employee or professor. It is just plain silly to put blame on every entity at the university. It also, IMO, waters down any positive that could come from this horrible situation. Putting the blame where it truly belongs and making those people accountable will give momentum to any societal changes that might occur around the issue of child abuse. To haphazardly throw blame at innocent bystanders invalidates the idea the something can and should be done about sexual abuse. It feels like a tantrum.</p>
<p>What PSU needs to do, at this very moment is to acknowledge that this issue didn’t come about at the hands of ONE man. It wasn’t ONE man. It was, in part, the powers at the university. Like the bishops and archbishops in the Catholic church who knew that children were being victimized and did nothing, there will be no healing until amends are made for their significant contribution to the victimization.</p>
<p>I think Penn State should continue to have football, but they should all promise not to enjoy it.</p>
<p>Seriously, I don’t see the point of punishing a bunch of innocent people. Even if the powers that be at Penn State decided to suspend football, it wouldn’t hurt THEM.</p>
<p>very well said EPTR. I just took a look at PSU’s website and found ZERO info about Sandusky’s conviction. If I missed something I apologize, but I checked latest news, outreach, for new students etc. In my view, there needs to be an actual acknowledgment that this happened and their position re: the victims. What are they telling students? </p>
<p>This is as we say “a teachable moment” a time to lead. </p>
<p>I am an adjunct at a small LAC where there was a problem with ducks, and it was planned for them to be removed. Well the company to do so wrongly killed these ducks instead of removing them to another location. The university apologized at a townhall and on the website to the students for whatever role they played in a miscommunication that caused this outcome. Students were upset and we discussed it in my class. Wonder what students are experiencing at PSU after this verdict. Particularly any students who had their own history of sexual abuse. I hope they are supporting those students.</p>
<p>greenbutton–how do you know how bad the Freeh report is already?</p>
<p>I don’t think greenbutton meant it to sound so bad, either, but it did come off a little pretentious. :)</p>
<p>The football program will never be shut down, suspended, not even one game not played because of this, so the point is moot.</p>
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<p>Take care of the innocent people. Honor the football scholarships (after all, they are student-athletes and should welcome more time to devote to their studies without the need to carry out their end of the bargain, right?). Provide generous severance packages or find alternative employment on campus for the employees affected.</p>
<p>Yes, I know it’s not going to happen. Because the university is worried about fixing its image, not making the fundamental cultural change that would remove its one real claim to fame.</p>
<p>Can you really imagine anyone shouting “We Are Penn State - we do leukemia research?” Or “We Are Penn State - the place of carcinogen research?” Or “We Are Penn State - the green revolution research place?”</p>
<p>No, it’s all about football. Until that changes, the place will be forever tarred with the legacy of 2011.</p>
<p>The “we are penn state slogan” began when the Southern Methodist Univ. wanted Penn State to leave behind it’s two black football players back in the days of segregation (1947). Penn State refused by saying “We are Penn State” to show the their solidarity and the fact that they stand together.</p>
<p>So the slogan outsiders so hate was created to do the ethical and moral right thing when it was not a popular and accepted thing to do.</p>
<p>We are Penn State is a year round chant at all functions. It is a greating when you are wearing Penn State apparel. It has transcended football. But outsiders would not know that because outsiders only hear it at football games on TV.</p>
<p><a href=“http://sportsfountainhead.blogspot.com/2009/02/origins-of-we-are-penn-state.html[/url]”>http://sportsfountainhead.blogspot.com/2009/02/origins-of-we-are-penn-state.html</a></p>
<p>Did you also know that Penn State University has a budget of 4 billion dollars for this year. The football team brought in $70 million before expenses.(2010 #'s) </p>
<p>The football team pays for itself and helps fund all other PSU sports teams. Those include teams that train some of the great athletes that you will see at the Olympics. It funds intermurals and club sports in order for student to learn and live healthy living styles.</p>