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.
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.
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