Penn State's problems go beyond football

[annasdad]

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/sports/ncaafootball/penn-states-graham-spanier-enjoyed-success-and-secrecy.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/sports/ncaafootball/penn-states-graham-spanier-enjoyed-success-and-secrecy.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

In his 16 years as president, Spanier and his administration had a history of circling the wagons in the face of criticism or scrutiny, fitting into what many say was an insular Penn State culture that preceded his tenure. It occurred when high-profile Penn State employees came under fire, when student actions threatened to embarrass the university, and when people sought to obtain information that almost any other public institution would be required to release.</p>

<p>…</p>

<p>Paul McLaughlin said he experienced a prime example of that habit of closing ranks. A decade ago, he says, he told Penn State officials, including Spanier, a horrific story: years before, when he was a boy, a professor had sexually molested him repeatedly, sometimes on the Penn State campus. He even said he had a tape recording in which the professor, who still taught at the university, admitted to the abuse.</p>

<p>But McLaughlin said he was rebuffed.</p>

<p>“He told me whatever I wanted to get from the school, I wasn’t going to get it, and this was a guy with an impeccable reputation, and unless he was convicted of a crime, they weren’t interested,” McLaughlin, now 45 and a private investigator in Phoenix, recalled of his short phone conversation with Spanier. “When I offered to send him the tape, he said, ‘Don’t bother.’ That was his exact words.”</p>

<p>…</p>

<p>Two former department chairmen said one of the expectations of their jobs is that they tailgate before football games, mingling for hours.</p>

<p>“The football games, that’s where the money is,” one said. “Several times a year, thousands of alumni come back, and it’s a chance to stroke them and show off to them, and I was told I should be a part of that.”</p>

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[sevmom]

<p>So,annasdad, There aren’t enough anti Penn State posts/threads out there already to your liking?</p>

[MomofWildChild]

<p>Gee, I think annasdad doesn’t like Penn State! Anyone else get that impression?</p>

[Consolation]

<p>He delights in creating threads with provocative headlines. (Remember “boys will be boys”?)</p>

[qdogpa]

<p>Actually, why shouldn’t this be a seperate thread? Adding it to the 3000+ reply thread on Sandusky would get lost in the flow…PSU Administration is a disaster,and should be penalized by whatever means,and the clowns on the BOT should ALL resign before they get caught up in the scandal, because some are deeply entrenched in the coverup</p>

[annasdad]

<p>Right, it’s all annasdad’s fault. Penn State is blameless. Oh, don’t forget the mainstream media, which delights in digging up this dirt. But don’t comment on the substance of the allegations; I guess there’s nothing to be said that can address those.</p>

[vlines]

<p>Wow, annasdad, did you force sandusky to molest children and PSU to ignore the behavior too? I bet McQ called you, not HIS dad after he saw sandusky in the shower…</p>

<p>I knew there had to be a scapegoat outside of PSU that they could pin this on…it just took enough digging for answers by the people on CC to find the answers. And you have been right here on CC the whole time! LOL</p>

[greenbutton]

<p>Oh now, don’t be cranky. I think there is nothing NEW to say about the situation, nothing NEW that actually falls within CC’s categories…although I suppose you could petition the mods for a whole new forum: </p>

<p>Things We Hate About _____ University
or maybe</p>

<p>Things That Could Never, Ever Happen to My University Because We Are Perfect People</p>

<p>I think the substance of the allegations have been commented on thoroughly, occasionally eloquently, often irrationally, and certainly with certainty.</p>