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<p>[Things</a> Are Out of Control: Cancel the Season - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/11/10/should-penn-state-cancel-its-season/things-are-out-of-control-cancel-the-season]Things”>Things Are Out of Control: Cancel the Season - NYTimes.com)</p>
<p>unfortunately for all your morally self righteous people out there, people go to jail for legal violations, not moral violations (necessarily)</p>
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<p>And unfortunately for you, it seems, self-righteous people are allowed to discuss perceived moral transgressions and create a public outcry that gets people like Paterno fired.</p>
<p>Paterno has set himself up as the most moral of college football coaches. He failed himself and children. He is scum. I hope he lives the rest of his life answering tough lawsuit questions and being humiliated in public.</p>
<p>Did no one catch that the then Grad Asst and now Asst Coach (I keep forgetting all the names involved) cannot be on the field on Saturday because he has had death threats? Why, because he reported a child being molested? Really?</p>
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@amtc I believe you are referring to McQueary, who recieved death threats and will not be at the game. No, NOT because he reported a child being molested. But because HE WALKED IN ON A CHILD BEING RAPED IN A SHOWER… and merely reported it, yet didn’t bother to stop it as it was occuring.</p>
<p>That’s not what I heard in the news report. Guess facts are hard to come by in this story.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I think the rioting DID show their true colors.</p>
<p>They should have rioted if Paterno had NOT been fired.</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game where Harvard and Penn will play for (probably) the Ivy League title. Both alumni clubs have planned a joint party, we’ve booked a venue, I have a guest coming, I can’t wait. But if the NCAA wanted to cancel every football game tomorrow to send the message that we’re all worshiping football and its heroes at the expense of everything that matters more, I don’t think I’d have any grounds for complaint.</p>
<p><<unfortunately, i="" think="" the="" rioting="" did="" show="" their="" true="" colors.="">></unfortunately,></p>
<p>The rioting kids represented a small percentage of the student population. Are you really willing to condemn the whole study body (and huge alumni group) based on the stupidity, immaturity, over-reaction of a few thousand kids?</p>
<p>From the folks I have talked to - most of the students (former and current) support the outsting of Paterno and Spanier. And many wrote letters/emails to the BOT stating their opinion.</p>
<p>And keep in mind the tremendous work being started - by students and alums - to raise funds and awareness for victims of child abuse.</p>
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<p>It is a party school after all. </p>
<p>[#1</a> Party School | This American Life](<a href=“http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/396/1-party-school]#1”>http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/396/1-party-school)</p>
<p>in my mind, the most damaging thing I saw in this whole scandal vis-a-vis Penn State as an institution as a whole, was NOT the scandal itself. It was the scene of the student rioting chanting “one more game”. That did it for me. That image, regardless of whether it’s truly representative of the student body or not, was MOST damaging. The scandal could be attributed to a few bad apples. The riot told me what the heart and soul of Penn State tradition is all about: Football above everything else! That’s not a university with high academic standing. it’s a sports enterprise. </p>
<p>You can say forever that it’s only a minority of the students. Tell that to moderate Muslims who have nothing to do with the 0.001 % of their population who actually go and blow themselves up in a suicide bombing, and ask how they feel on a daily basis singled out at the airports for extra security. Compared to the terrorist % in Muslim population, close to 10% of students at Penn State rioting is astronomically higher percentage. We constantly question and demand why moderate Muslims are not condemning the terrorists in their midst and we hold them sort of culpable because of the lack of this collective damnation. So, those of you who really love Penn State, the best thing you can do now to restore the tattered image due to the rioting is swift and decisive condemnation, NOT coming up with excuses and blaming the media</p>
<p>I have a suggestion to salvage their rep: take some of the 50M (I am told) the Penn State football program brings in each year and use it to endow a professor of ETHICS. If there isn’t a suitable department to place this in there, create a new one. It’s certainly needed.
I strongly believe the Penn State football season should end right now - quietly.
Start 'er back up next year with entirely new staff. I don’t have any issue with current players, they can stay or leave as they wish.</p>
<p>Wait, I have another great idea, if I do say so myself:
install an OMBSUDSMAN at Penn State who can serve as a neutral source for reporting (even anonymous) with the understanding this could protect against what some has used as an excuse for the inaction when crimes or shady-appearing actions were occurring: the fear of loss of a fancy or top sports job.
It would be clear the OMBUDSMAN would be of the highest reputation - not someone on a witchhunt or who could be “used” to get back at anyone - but it would provide a safeguard to prevent future such horrible acts from occurring or other ones bad people might dream up to commit there.
Most of us have experienced a lot of shock and horror about these crimes and incidents and the surrounding climate; why don’t we hope Penn State officials read these threads and learn something from them to improve their school.</p>
<p>Clarification and addition:
Some of us KNOW right from wrong - we just do - and we would have stepped in immediately to save that poor boy who was being assaulted in the shower, for example. I would have screamed and rushed over there. I KNOW this.
Still, there are some who swift, conflicted feelings about WHAT TO DO in these unanticipated situations. While I still know that the right thing in the case above would be to rescue the boy and notify police immediately, it is true there are OTHER possible scenarios where time might not be of the essence and where one might be unsure where to go - perhaps one HEARD something several times leading to suspicions rather than witnessing a criminal act - and my OMBUDSMAN would the place to go.
Yes, I know we don’t want a gestapo police state either and there would need to be full understanding of the fact that people are innocent until proven guilty and there would be the possibility of someone disliking someone else and trying to mess up their career or reputation, so safeguards and procedures would be built in to this office of the Ombudsman.</p>
<p>Penn State students can show their TRUE colors by not showing any support for the fired and disgraced former head coach.</p>
<p>I am glad the rioting idiots made the YouTube HALL OF SHAME forever.</p>
<p>The board of trustees set that riot in motion by annonceing at 10:00 at night that Paterno was fired as the media frenzy tried and convicted Joe paterno without ever hearing his side. Throngs of students went into the street and as expected a few bad apples turned it into a mob scene. Shame on the Board of Trustees.</p>
<p>They should have waited til mid day when the students were in class and working jobs. </p>
<p>Just another example of what a cluster bomb the administrative reaction to the GJ report has been</p>
<p>Yes, let’s time announcements for mid day so adults won’t riot in the streets. </p>
<p>I don’t feel bad for Penn state students, players, bands, etc at all</p>
<p>They basked in the glory of that football program, used its reputation and glory as some sort of central unifying body, gained from the money the program raised, and now we are snoozed to feel sorry for those not directly involved. Fallout happens and when you rise to such a high level and intwine football so incesttually into a school, community, politics, business and charitable relationships, when they fall everyone is going to feel the consequences.</p>
<p>And sadly, little boys got abused in the process so the behemoth of Penn stae football could roll on</p>
<p>I wonder if our founding fathers would have established a different judicial system if they could have envisioned the effects of television and the internet on the ability of someone to get a fair trial in this country. This thread is a perfect study guide for law school. Not only is there an assumption that all of the charges have been proven, but anyone having anything to do with them are also being condemned by association. Posters are judging others’ opinions or reactions as being wrong, somehow less than they should be, or as being excessive. There’s a lot of unrestrained vitreol.</p>
<p>One might view this as being the same as charging everyone who lived in Salem as having a lack of ethics that permitted witchcraft to flourish…or, depending on your mindset, that didn’t stop the destruction of the poor souls who were labeled witches. </p>
<p>It’s obviously hard to defend child molestation, so this is an easy bandwagon to jump on. I guess Casey Anthony is no longer the most hated person in America. I wonder who will be judged by the public next week. </p>
<p>The anonymous holier than thou posters who are quick to judge everyone associated with this case also bring to mind that ABC TV show, “What would you do?” If you watch that show a few times, it becomes clear that many people don’t actually live up to their own high standards.</p>
<p>If nothing else, this situation presents a wonderful teaching opportunity (which is consistent with PSU’s mission!). Having a reasoned dialogue about how people are reacting to the charges while we wait for more facts is an opportunity to explore ethical issues with our children.</p>
<p>I agree with you, Nonzeus.
We also need to look at how poorly and ineffectively the Legal System and the Child Protection System have handled this up till now.
They have been trusted to do their job, let alone, and…?
If the GJ statement had not been released, the public would not know, and there would not be this mob furor, this mob lynching…</p>
<p>But HECK maybe NOW the system will get on this thing!</p>