The Impact of Campus Scandals on College Applications

It would seem that some of these scandals are reflective of how the university / administration handles things (eg Penn State / Sandusky cover up) and others are reflective of a few bad seeds but the university acts appropriately (eg a hazing that results in injury or death - but the university was not aware, the fraternity broke clearly stated rules and the university acted appropriately to suspend or expel the fraternity). The terms really need to be defined here to make it meaningful. Is it just any negative media coverage?