This past week, we had interviews for people applying our new board. The interview for one person in particular was very interesting. Before each interview, we had read over the application and had a short discussion about what we wanted to ask this person, what specific questions we wanted answered. In this conversation for this one person, the questions we were brainstorming were very leading--instead of asking a general question, they were phrased in a way that begged a specific answer. One thing to note is that this person was on board before and was applying again. We all had our preconceptions about what the interview would be like because we had interacted with this person all year. From the leading questions in the brainstorming session, I got the impression that the other people conducting the interview with me had already made up their mind that they wanted this person on board. I really wanted this person to prove themselves with their answers to prove they wanted and deserved to be on board. 

I pointed out that I thought the questions were leading during the brainstorming session, but that didn't prevent the questions from being asked in a leading way. In the interview, we asked questions and got exactly the answers we wanted to hear. We will never know if we had asked those questions differently if we would have gotten different answers. 

Following the interview, we had a very long conversation about this person. I held a very strong belief and was not convinced otherwise during the interview that this person did not deserve to be on board. From the way they presented them self at previous event, represented this organization personally and on social media and conducted themselves at events and meeting, I was convinced that this person was not representing this organization in the best light, would not serve as a good role model for other leaders and the actions of this person were harming the organization, not helping it. The others in the interview had different beliefs--they felt that this person had done bad things but had done more good and that the good qualities outweighed the bad ones. 

When it comes down to public perception of and organization, one bad thing can forever destroy the reputation, out-shadowing any and all good behaviors that person once had. 

We decided on conditionally accepting this person on to the board, saying that one bad representation whether at a meeting an event or on facebook would mean that this person is no longer on board. I feel that these conversations have been had before and that this conditional acceptance is delaying the inevitable and only going to do more harm to the name of this organization. I hope I am proved wrong. 

Anthony wrote a blog this past week about the economy in Europe. One point that I thought was interesting was using a mirror to hold up to ones self to look at the consequences of ones actions. While self reflection and criticisms from others can be useful, it's a real sign of strength to critique oneself. Also, one should take into considerations the affect ones actions have on ones neighbors. The actions of one are not isolated, they affect many others in ways one would not think to consider. Those are the actions one must be wary about when making decisions. Courtney wrote about a recent texting ban that is only waiting to be signed by the governor to be enacted. She talks about the benefits of this law and I have to agree. Having driven with my sister who constantly changes the music playing on her iPod, she pays more attention to her electronic device than the road. The law should be enforced and apply to all electronic devices.

Facebook has been flooded with this Sandusky Scandal the past few days. There were people posting links to Collegian articles, criticizing Paterno and Spanier for "turning a blind eye," and creating events to show our support for our school at the game this weekend. These results showed some very interesting ways to deal with this problem. The first is that people are posting links with news articles so that others can get informed about the issue. Before we can criticize and form our own opinions, we need to be informed and know what's going on. I applaud those who made comments regarding a specific article--it shows that they wanted information and wanted to know what was happening. I also admire those who posted an article and asked others to get informed without writing their own opinion. 
For those who criticize Paterno and Spanier, I question what the best response to this situation would be. Would having the current President and football coach step down from their positions make everything better? Would it show them admitting their compliance? Would staying in the roles they have help move the University through this scandal? Would having stable leadership be the right answer? I'm not sure what the right answer is--whether they should step down or stay where they are. I do know that this scandal will be a PR nightmare for the University, but I'm not sure if Paterno and Spanier will alleviate the problem. 

Finally, I am really encouraged when I see the facebook statuses and events urging students and alumni to continue to support this fantastic institution. The actions of a few do not define everyone. The men playing football this weekend should still be supported by all of their fans. Football fans still need to show their love and support for this fantastic program, even if a few of the leaders have caused a few problems. Why should this incident define us when we can raise 9.56 million dollars For The Kids every February, when we are the number 1 school to recruit from, when we are a top research institution according to the National Science Foundation, when we have the largest alumni association in the world. We are still Penn State.

I know I'm a few hours late with this blog entry, but I have a good excuse. I came home to surprise my family and visit with my dad this weekend. My dad had surgery on Monday and has been recovering in the hospital all week. I've been calling my mom between every class every day to find out how's she doing, and if there have been any updates about my dad. I could hear how stressed and worried she's been all week. And I thought a surprise visit home would be the best medicine. I coordinated with my sister who was able to get out of the house Thursday night and pick me up from the bus stop. When we got home and we showed mom what she had "found on the way home," it took a few minutes for my mom to comprehend that she was seeing me. It was a good surprise. 

Today I spent the day at Fox Chase Cancer Center visiting with my dad who is post-op day 4. He's doing really well. In the surgery, they took out the tumor in his pancreas and it didn't look like the cancer had spread beyond the one organ, which is a really good sign. Today he was able to take a shower, go on three walks around the halls of the hospital, get his breathing up to the 3500 level (you know the little blue disk you have to blow up to a certain level), and soundly crush me at scrabble. There were a few visitors from school and my mom was there for most of the day with us. The nursing staff and doctors we met were really nice and helpful. Here's to a night full of sleep and relaxation. Back to Happy Valley in the afternoon. Sorry for the delay again :)