Nittany Lion Weeps Tonight

I spent the day at Penn State University York Campus for the Annual Counselors Day. It was obviously a day of somber reflection for the staff doing the presentations. The day highlighted the extraordinary university without diminishing the truly heinous abuse. PSU has helped thousands of young people make their dreams come true. And is now responsible for its share of nightmares too.

In light of the current scandal of epic and catastrophic proportions, Paterno's demise is starting to read like a Greek tragedy. Why he would not actively see to it that Sandusky would be held accountable and punished for his actions, is beyond me. It is not just inattentiveness, it was incompetence in the things that matter most. And, I am not talking football games, wins and losses, and the scoreboard. How Joe, how?

Anyone who doesn't think that the football program is directly guilty of creating the aura that blinded those in positions of authority to the deviant actions of Sandusky and his soiled Second Mile organization which helped foster the abuse of underprivileged children using the prestige of PSU football, are not being straight. I have had students in the Second Mile program. It makes me sick to think that one of them could have been raped because I recommended them to go.

I have no affiliation with PSU (being a Temple alumni) so I have to be careful not just to kick the lion when he is down. Yet, Sandusky deserves to be given a one way trip to the Big House. And the PSU administration, needs some serious jail time. Graham Spanier's "Unconditional Support" of his two administrators makes his dismissal deserved. Talk about being morally obtuse. That he could not stand for the children rather than his employees was unconscionable. This is not one of those innocent til proven guilty matters. The Grand Jury has done its homework. The Board of Trustees at PSU is to be commended for its swift and decisive action. The university is at stake and they acted like it. Sandusky will have his day in court but only a fool would think he is innocent morally. We as a society have become paralyzed by legalese when we use words like alleged.

One wonders if this is not also a bigger commentary on our idolatrous affection with college sports. The money, the prestige, the power of college football, bringing inappropriate accolades to a university that should first be known for training young people to be ethical and educated members of our society. PSU is that on the whole but its top leadership failed to act when action mattered most. They fumbled around and ultimately buried the abuse of young boys at the hands of a pedophile, trampling on innocence in the pursuit of sexual and sadistic gratification. The Grad Assistant was brave to report the incident to Joe Paterno but a coward to not step up and doggedly pursue justice when it was clear that no one else would.

There are a lot of unanswered questions here. But, this much is true, the Nittany Lion weeps tonight. We can weep for it (the student, the professors, the staff, the community) but more for the victims.