Penn State Scandal

After the devastating week that the students, faculty, alumni and supporters have been dealing with at Penn State, the university trustees have just announced that Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier have officially been fired. President Spanier is to be replaced immediately and Mr. Paterno will not be finishing the season even after he released a statement that he would step down as head coach of the Nittany Lions after 46 years. To say the least, everyone involved is devastated and worried that this community and team that have been so strong and unified have shattered right before their eyes.

Most of the debate right now surrounds the role that Paterno played in the scandal and whether he should be so severely punished. Technically, Paterno did act by reporting the allegations to his boss – even though the story was dramatically downplayed. However, I don’t think it matters if any of these officials were “in the right” according to state law. It is very clear that all parties who were told about the incident by the graduate student who witnessed the sexual assault did the bare minimum. Having no personal encounters or previous knowledge concerning who these people are in their everyday lives, I cannot comment on their morals or intentions. However, after reading 20 pages of sickening details from the current eight sexual assault cases, I am appalled that the stories were covered up and pushed aside in the name of reputation and status.

During a statement to the press, Paterno claims:

“I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief…With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”

While he may truly feel for the children and their families, the most stifling fact that I found out was that not only did Paterno (along with Gary Schultz and Tim Curley) not call the police, but they made no effort to learn who the victims were and how they were affected by the horrific events; the more anonymous a victim is, the easier it is to detach from their pain and suffering.

Vice chairman of trustees John Surma said he can only hope that the 95,000 students and countless alumni will support or at least trust that the unanimous decision “is in the best long-term interest of the university, which is much larger than athletic programs.”

If anything, this is the greatest lesson we can take from this outrage. No matter how humiliating or devastating something may be to our status or name, it is crucial to stay humane in every way possible. If these men realized there was something larger than themselves, they would certainly not be experiencing the degradation that they are today.

My heart goes out to all the victims and their families, along with those who are associated with the university and tormented by these terrible events.

(Image via blaizezephyr under a Creative Commons license.)