<p>Nothing PSU does just now should make ANYONE happy. But they could make a lot of amends.</p>
<p>(I think the NCAA is going to come down on them like a ton of bricks, and they can, as I linked previously. So they might as well get out ahead of the curve.)</p>
<p><<i think="" the="" ncaa="" is="" going="" to="" come="" down="" on="" them="" like="" a="" ton="" of="" bricks…="">></i></p><i think="" the="" ncaa="" is="" going="" to="" come="" down="" on="" them="" like="" a="" ton="" of="" bricks…="">
<p>And there are many here who will be popping open champagne bottles if that happens.</p>
</i>
<p>rosieleem: Actually it’s not really a different subject . . . I was reluctant to bring this up, but Sandusky likely didn’t just invent this behavior from whole cloth, and it’s also likely that some others around (possibly Paterno included) are used to practicing suspended disbelief to avoid rocking the boat and shaking the all powerful institution . . . and I don’t mean Pen State football.</p>
<p>This addresses the problem of abuse. It is a pretty good little article.</p>
<p>[How</a> to stop the next Jerry Sandusky - baltimoresun.com](<a href=“http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-sandusky-20120625,0,5623549.story]How”>http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-sandusky-20120625,0,5623549.story)</p>
<p>“I do feel bad for many worthy PSU alums, staff, faculty and students who were nowhere near this scandal, but the needs of us all make it imperative to stop condoning child abuse.”</p>
<p>Well, as a PSU alum, daughter of a brilliant PSU professor (deceased), sibling and friends of PSU alum, wife of a PSU alum I would say…please do not expend energy feeling “bad” for us. Yikes…no one I know condones child abuse. My personal PSU connections are generous, strong, opinionated, open minded, smart people who are doing just fine. So while any sincere and well intended offers of sympathy are appreciated – they’re just not needed. I must say, however, that while sympathy is not necessary general polite and respectful behavior is welcomed - especially on a parents forum. It is difficult to read the “barf” and general bullying insults and comments towards the extended Penn State community. I don’t communicate in that manner – my parents taught me better.</p>
<p>Never went to a Penn State football game during my entire time there. I don’t even know the rules of football. As the daughter of a professor I did get a good tuition discount but as the 6 of 8 children I needed to work hard to pay for my books and living expenses…as did most of my friends. No money for football tickets. My Penn State years were great and I have wonderful memories. </p>
<p>Both the Sandusky and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia verdicts were announced on the same day. Guilty…thank God. My hopes are that both of these verdicts are discussed and stay news worthy and relevant and that real action is taken by lawmakers and all of us to protect our children from these monsters. The pedophiles are out still out there …no more cover ups and protecting. No more silence and passing the buck.</p>
<p>Rosieleem: I’m going to send you a pm. Father Burke, along with Father Soave, was sent to our small town even though the Catholic church knew they were pedophiles. The higher ups in the church figured they could “hide” them in our small community.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Nice. Bullying and insults disguised as good manners.</p>
<p>^^ I’m so sorry, nysmile - this kind of story is heartbreaking</p>
<p>I know this post isn’t about Sandusy, but it’s another example of “hiding” known pedophiles. Here’s the story related to Father Burke and Father Soave as mentioned in my response to rosieleems’s post.</p>
<p>[Priests</a> Who Preyed: A History Of Cover-up](<a href=“http://www.indyeastend.com/Articles-i-2011-04-27-97558.113117-Priests-Who-Preyed-A-History-Of-Coverup.html]Priests”>http://www.indyeastend.com/Articles-i-2011-04-27-97558.113117-Priests-Who-Preyed-A-History-Of-Coverup.html)</p>
<p>^ it’s unbelievable that it was Friday, same day Sandusky was found guilty that the church bishop was the first one ever found guilty of covering up. how is it possible with all the cases in the Catholic Church that noone prior to that was held accountable? but I do hope it influences the outcome of the PSU perjury trial. I do hope they are held accountable.</p>
<p>and I hate when I read the offer to pay for counseling costs, (as in the article above) as if everything can just be all fixed up with a few counseling sessions, sadly, human beings are not cars and do not work just like new with a new paint job.</p>
<p>It’s that ripple in a pond effect . . . there are likely so many out there with similar stories.</p>
<p><<and i="" hate="" when="" read="" the="" offer="" to="" pay="" for="" counseling="" costs="">></and></p>
<p>Would you rather they NOT pay for counseling?<br>
Counseling may not provide an instant (or complete) “fix” - but it sure can help.</p>
<p>Rosie. It seems you joined cc today and posted 6 comments on this thread. It appears you have some agenda coming to this thread and college confidential. Your very first word of your very first post was “barf” In response to another post.</p>
<p>Cc has a very nice and intelligent group of people with the ability to discuss matters in an adult way even when things are highly charged. </p>
<p>I hope you can join in with us and discuss our issues in an adult manner.</p>
<p>I think the point was the counseling is a poor substitute for a zero tolerance policy on the front end. Counseling will help the past victims, but until they get their house in order it is a bandaid at best. Better to avoid the wounds in the first place, and those changes don’t seem to be happening very fast. Counseling is a local level concession but does nothing to impact the larger structural problem.</p>
<p>I checked back to the article linked in post 4979. I found the final lines most unsettling</p>
<hr>
<p>Quote:
Holtz (Lou Holtz) said O’Brien’s message to his players should go something like this:</p>
<p>“There’s been a lot of great things here, but they have been marred by an individual. But it’s time for us to move on. You can’t let one man tarnish the tradition of Penn State.”</p>
<hr>
<p>This is the Sandusky as scapegoat fall guy approach. Yes, he was the perpetrator and is ultimately responsible, but it wasn’t just one man who tarnished the tradition. He has had a lot of help. As long as people believe that Sandusky can just be excised and things go on apace there is no lesson learned.</p>
<p>Here is my take, penn state benefitted hugely from it’s football program. The entire community benefited. The leaders of that program failed to protect children. Not just one, but many. The perceived leader of Penn state, at least he made more money then its president, had statues erected to his honor, had kids rioting tom defend him, did little with regard to sandusky. He allowed Sandusky to have a veil of goodness and kindness and respectability by letting him us the campus, the sports team as a carrot to lure in little kids. Oh of paterno has him Around he must be okay. Until Penn state admits paterno and his minions played a hand in enabling a pedophile, no they can’t do enough.</p>
<p>As well, the piddling amount of money donated needs to be ties ten.</p>
<p>And no need to bully the newbies. I saw nothing wrong with rosies posts. The comparison to the catholic church is valid. Its the same mentality.</p>
<p>“You can’t let one man tarnish the tradition of Penn State.”</p>
<p>You sure can, if it’s Joe Paterno. Whose wife is now collecting $13 million from Penn State, much of representing the years JoePa didn’t come forward squarely, and harbored the slime bucket (and filled his own personal coffers through his partners at Second Mile, to whom he never let on.)</p>
<p>The first act to make amends? The statue is gone.</p>
<p>Well said - behead the statue of Joe Pa, who is now a legend for burying his head while his friend and anointed coach is waiting destroyed the dignity of the school & everyone around him.</p>
<p>Better yet - bolt the statue of Joe
Pa inside the shower stall so they have to see it every day.</p>
<p>AdvicePlease wrote: </p>
<p>“Well, as a PSU alum, daughter of a brilliant PSU professor (deceased), sibling and friends of PSU alum, wife of a PSU alum I would say…please do not expend energy feeling “bad” for us. Yikes…no one I know condones child abuse. My personal PSU connections are generous, strong, opinionated, open minded, smart people who are doing just fine. So while any sincere and well intended offers of sympathy are appreciated – they’re just not needed. I must say, however, that while sympathy is not necessary general polite and respectful behavior is welcomed - especially on a parents forum. It is difficult to read the “barf” and general bullying insults and comments towards the extended Penn State community. I don’t communicate in that manner – my parents taught me better.”</p>
<p>heh. Leave it to someone on CC to get offended when another poster is sympathetic that the PSU community is taking, and likely will further take, a lot of blame and retribution for the sins of a few in power in the football program. All this protest (don’t feel bad for us) seems like further denial. No one suggested you condone child abuse, so where did that come from? And who would ever feel bad for someone who does!? It is because the vast vast majority of the PSU community had nothing to do with this crime that is exactly why you are to be pitied. You don’t condone it but your school did and its reputation is under attack. Perhaps just pointing that out makes you cringe. </p>
<p>However, there are some Penn State defenders on this thread crying out that those calling for harsh penalties are only out to get their beloved football team. They can’t imagine what good shutting down this sports activity would do–claiming it would be the innocent Penn St. supporters who will suffer. But by making the consequences so hard to bear for sports-mad colleges, they may (it can only be hoped) finally find a harsh incentive to never condone criminal behavior again.</p>
<p>Maybe I’ve missed it, but I haven’t seen a clear statement from Penn State acknowledging responsibility. Something along the lines of “We allowed football to become so important that it overshadowed the safety of children. We covered up crimes, not just Sandusky’s crimes, but the crimes of football players which were never reported to authorities. We understand that our motto of ‘Success with Honor’ rings hollow when in fact we teach young people that the laws do not apply to them. We understand that our vaunted ethics and integrity are meaningless in view of the fact that we knowingly harbored a dangerous criminal for many years. We knew that Sandusky was a felon, and our failure to aggressively pursue his arrest and conviction has ruined untold lives. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to change the culture that led to this, including making changes to the football program if necessary. We believe that football is less important than getting our priorities straight.” </p>
<p>Something like that would go a long way toward telling me that they are really truly sorry – not sorry that they got caught, but sorry for what they failed to do. (Curley and Schultz pleading guilty would also help.) When every statement stops sounding like it was vetted by a lawyer, then I’ll begin to believe. But so far, Penn State looks to me like it’s in damage control mode, when it really needs to be in soul-searching mode.</p>
<p>ETA – I’m not talking about the larger Penn State community. Obviously many, many students, alums, and parents are heartsick about what happened. But I see no evidence of heartsickness from the administration.</p>