Over the summer, NCAA sanctions were placed upon Penn State due to the involvement of administrators in the Sandusky scandal.
Jerry Sandusky, former football coach at Penn State, sexually assaulted a minimum of eight boys on university property. Administrators are accused of failing to report these crimes when they learned about them.
While the institution cannot continue as it was before without penalty, the NCAA sanctions made against Penn state were unfair to the new coach as well as the players. Not only did the players have nothing to do with the scandal, but these players were quite young when it happened.
“The players who are playing now were watching Barney when the aforementioned horrendous events took place,” said Mr. Hershey, Southern Lehigh Hight School English teacher and Penn State alumnus.
Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, and even Joe Paterno are the people at fault here, but unfortunately for Penn Staters everywhere, these four guys happened to be some of the most important people in the Penn State administration. Their failure to act accordingly and indirect perpetration of Sandusky’s crimes reflect badly on the school. But I think that it is unfair to punish an entire population of well-to-do Penn Staters for the crimes committed by these five men.
“Alas, though, if Shakespeare has taught us anything, it is that multitudes pay for the sins of the few,” Hershey said.
When another university, Ohio State, was charged with failure to monitor, the penalties were linked directly to the active football team; however, the players at Penn State were completely uninvolved in the crimes that took place. Why should Ohio State and Penn State receive similar punishments for two completely unrelated crimes?
In the midst of these horrible events, the Penn State community should continue to focus on the aspects of the school that make it a great place to study or work.
“Penn State has a strong academic program, and it keeps getting better all the time,” said Howard Pickering, a former Penn State University professor.
Corrine Renner, a recent Southern Lehigh grad and current freshman at Penn State University Park, shares a similar view.
“Penn State is my home and nothing the press or media says will affect the community here,” she said.
I truly believe that these troublesome times will be Penn State’s greatest hour. Now is the time for students, teachers, and alumni to stand united and to take more pride in their school than ever before.
