“… This week, Lader, a rising senior and aspiring lawyer, filed a defamation and breach-of-contract lawsuit in federal court in Philadelphia alleging that Brownstein’s parents - donors to the university and active alumni - used their influence at the school to manipulate a baseless disciplinary proceeding against her that ended with her being placed on academic probation and threatened with expulsion.” …
Wow!
I’m gonna get some popcorn for this one.
This sounds like it could have been the ultimate outcome of a thread here if the OP had not been able to get a change in rooms.
What I can’t figure out is why neither of these girls is willing to give up the off campus apartment? Is there really no other place to live at Penn State?
Plus, we were considering adding this school to S17’s potential list. Having second thoughts…
Why? Because there are at least two dumb students there? Why not visit and decide for yourself?
As far as “not being anywhere else to live”…the semester starts on Monday. The on-campus housing lottery was months and months ago, and with over 40k students, nearby off-campus housing also fills up quickly. Sure there are places to live. They’re just not open at such short notice.
Not just the spoiled girls issue, but I was iffy on Penn anyway after the Sandusky scandal and also because it’s NPC doesn’t seem really favorable to us. Plus, it’s a big sports school and my son isn’t into that at all. He’d be looking at the theater program. I told S17 to check out the programs he’s interested in on their website and if he thinks it something he’d like to explore, we’ll go to a local event he received an email about. Only if he is still interested after that would I consider spending money to visit the school. Penn wasn’t really that high on my list of schools for him, it’s only there because it has the program he wants and his friend’s sister goes there and likes it, but she’s a party kid and my son isn’t.
I was not aware of the housing situation there. That puts the refusal to move in better perspective. If the two young women, who I guess were at least somewhat friendly previously since they apparently chose to be roommates on the study abroad trip, have to live together, I hope it works out for them. I find the entire situation very sad.
Not to be nitpicky but “Penn” is the nickname of the University of Pennsylvania, another school.
If your son is a very good student he could also consider applying to the honors college, Schreyer. That would add some scholarship money and other nice perks. Either way I’m sure he’ll have many good options. The relatively steep price can definitely be prohibitive for lots of families, especially OOS.
^ right, @bodangles . This is PSU, not Penn. Maybe in this particular case, they should call it PU ;))
I am glad I have sons.
@Bodangles - I called it Penn State in my first post. I know they are different schools.
Also, although I think that my son is a wonderful, talented and intelligent person, I don’t think he is honors college material, which is why the NPC isn’t particularly favorable to us, and we are OOS. I don’t know how my friend is paying for it and it’s not my place to ask…
@jym626 - I’m glad I have sons as well, 4 of them, but I do also have a daughter. Thankfully, she dealt with her first year roommate drama by becoming an RA.
Yes, because everyone knows that male college students never do anything stupid 
The write of the article needs to stop using ‘she’ and star using the name. I got lost in the “she then said x” but “she refused”.
And it sure helps when Mom enters the fray from 3000 miles away.
This ado between 2 females really has nothing specific to do with Penn State. Could happen anywhere. The Sandusky scandal, and the school’s reaction to it, may be a different story.
Well, it sounds like the university got mixed up in this as well, right? Granted, it is nowhere near the issue with the Sandusky nightmare, but they are a party to the lawsuit.
ThRe school is a party to the lawsuit because the one whose mother did not get involved claims that the mother and father of the other girl used their status and influence to manipulate the school’s disciplinary process against her.
Still, the situation could happen anywhere. Doesn’t make the school look bad, like when a sexual assault by an athlete is covered up.
It only makes the school look bad if the young woman’s claims that the system was manipulated against her by wealthy alumni parents turns out to be true. It’s all still allegations and she said vs. a different she said at this point. It also looks bad when sexual assault by athletic personnel is covered up as seems to have happened based on the Sandusky case.
I do agree that this could happen almost anywhere.
What is the Sandusky people keep referring too?
Sandusky was a former coach (or other type of employee, I am not a sports person and don’t know the terminology) at Penn State who worked for Joe Paterno, the long-time and legendary coach of the college football team. Sandusky ran a separate youth football program for underprivileged boys and was convicted of molesting some of them over the course of a number of years. Some of the incidents allegedly occurred at Penn State, in the locker room, such as Sandusky showering naked with boys (if I recall what I read correctly). There was an ancillary scandal involving what Paterno knew and when and what he did or didn’t do when he did find out. Paterno passed away but I honestly don’t remember if it was before or after the trial, although it was after the story broke. Sandsusky is appealing his conviction.
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/05/penn-state-joe-paterno-jerry-sandusky-sexual-abuse-scandal
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sandusky-case-bombshell-did-6-penn-state-coaches-witness-abuse-n569526PlaySandusky Case: Did Six Coaches Witness Abuse? Facebook Twitter Google Plus Embed
As many as six assistant coaches at Penn State allegedly witnessed “inappropriate behavior” between Jerry Sandusky and boys, stretching as far back as the 1970s, NBC News has learned.
A man who says he was a victim of Jerry Sandusky was paid a settlement by Penn State. He said in a sworn deposition that he told Joe Paterno what happened in 1976.
The information, which comes from court documents and multiple sources with direct knowledge of legal proceedings, raises new questions about how long the abuse went on, why no one stopped it and whether there could be even more victims than previously known.
Sandusky — who worked in the football program at Penn State under legendary head coach Joe Paterno for three decades — is serving 30 to 60 years in prison after being convicted of molesting 10 boys he met through a charity starting in 1994.
It’s important to note that many people are upset at the tone of Eric Barron’s recent letter to the school community (he is the president of Penn State). You can read it yourself to decide. He took over when the former president was forced to resign as a result of the scandal. The University paid 59.7 million dollars to 26 men over the allegations of abuse. Sandusky was found guilty of raping boys on all counts. And yet, the new school president downplays it.
And many people were upset about the school community’s reaction. Students threw beer cans at the media and defended Sandusky before the facts were out. Instead of defending the boys, the sports frenzied student body came out in support of the coach and football. Sports Illustrated ran a really fabulous story about this. Read it–it includes details from the testimonies.
Many people, myself included, are saddened by the fact that such serious offenses can be overlooked. Is it because we give sports such high standing at universities above all else? There are many interesting questions that this case raises–
and…I’m not spending my money there.