<p>On the bright side, the PSU scandal saved my procrastinating kid from the agony of actually writing the Schreyer’s Honors College essays. It was perfect timing, in fact.</p>
<p>I will rephrase my statement: No, PSU has not chosen to focus only on football.</p>
<p>Do you not think the larger than life statue of Joe Paterno reflects our society’s values? Why fault Penn State for the acknowledgment of a man who has done much for the football program and who has made huge philanthropic contributions to the school? I’ve been on many campuses of football powerhouses and haven’t seen many statues of academic professors anywhere. Just saying.</p>
<p>I think the statue of Paterno reflects Penn State’s values. They are the ones who put it up. I hope after all this they smarten up and take it down, or at least saw off the statue’s bronze feet and replace them with feet of clay.</p>
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<p>Same here, but I also haven’t seen any statues of the football coach either. Penn State has shown a particular focus on football. </p>
<p>There may be another statue of a football coach out there somewhere, because Penn State is not the only football-crazed school. But if there are any, those schools are in danger of having same misplaced focus as Penn State.</p>
<p>Apparently, statues of coaches are not so uncommon. Alabama has statues honoring five previous coaches. Barry Switzer of Oklahoma also is memorialized with a statue. Remember Dan Devine from Notre Dame? Check out his statue-also that of Bobby Bowden at FSU, Grambling’s Eddie Robinson, oh yes Knute Rockne, Jim Owens at Washington…… I’m sure those schools also have their most accomplished academic professors honored in a like manner, because they have their priorities aligned correctly, unlike PSU. Right?
PSU’s football-craze is not different from that of other schools.</p>
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<p>Wrong, as I’ve said repeatedly on this thread (posts #10 & 23), Penn State is not the only school with misplaced priorities. Sad to say the phenomenon of a school focusing heavily on football (or basketball) and defining its public identity primarily as football (or basketball) school is not confined to Penn State. </p>
<p>There are several colleges that are so focused on their sports that if their big-time program fell into the toilet, the way Penn State’s has, people would be left scratching their heads and wondering what was left at that school, because football (or basketball) was all they ever heard about. Penn State just took it to an unusual level, particularly in the form of worship of Joe Paterno. And for that folly they are now paying the price.</p>
<p>PSU’s football-craze is not different from that of other schools.</p>
<p>Well, there might be a few, but PSU does take it to a cult-like extreme. Their over-the-top football focus was my biggest concern before the scandal broke, but I somehow convinced myself that it was normal, just something I didn’t fully understand. Now it’s clear that my doubts were well-founded.</p>
<p>The football programs at many of these big athletic schools pay for themselves. That’s why I never understood why folks get so riled up about it. The dual purpose is to provide entertainment for the masses of weary students who have worked through the week and need a chance to blow off some steam, and to allow alumni to get in touch with their college chums and do something that reminds them of their days at university. Yes, they do make money for the school, but certainly not at academics expense</p>
<p>The Ivy League has NCAA teams. Northwestern and Stanford have them. Notre Dame, USC and Michigan have storied programs and they don’t come at the expense of the school’s academic prestige.</p>
<p>I am convinced that the cover-up, and we do not know the extent of the cover-up to be sure, isn’t so much what has upset people so much as the crime committed. If people are legitimately more disgusted by JoePa for supposedly covering it up than Sandusky for actually doing it, then I think they are seeing things that aren’t there.</p>
<p>Before Nebraska joined (and they ruined it by the way), the Big 10 was the only other NCAA conference besides the Ivy League to have every member to be included in the AAU (so obviously they are all extremely research focused) and you can readily see that they (and the other schools I’ve mentioned) are highly ranked on the USNWR lists. </p>
<p>I don’t even like Penn State, but don’t try to argue that the formula for school’s notoriety is determined by the equation “Athletic relevance * Academic prestige = Some Constant” (That is to say that as one goes up, the other goes down) because that’s stupid. They are not necessarily (or usually) related.</p>
<p>Penn State can be a respectable school with or without the football program in shambles. If you can’t see that, then YOU’RE the one who’s caught up in the program’s history.</p>
<p>I personally do not have negative view of PSU students, no different than than Duke students. At least PSU students would have something to talk about at interviews. The only thing I would do, if my kid was senior at PSU, is to help him/her to rehearse a well thought out answer to say at interviews.</p>
<p>sax, you forgot a couple:</p>
<p>Aiding, abetting, and protecting child rapists: PENN STATE RANKS FIRST</p>
<p>Covering up child rape: PENN STATE RANKS FIRST</p>
<p>Minimizing child rape: PENN STATE RANKS FIRST</p>
<p>annasdad -just out of curiosity, prior to the past few weeks, what was your opinion of Penn State?</p>
<p>People who would hold the horrible situation against students who had nothing to do with it are idiots.</p>
<p><<people who="" would="" hold="" the="" horrible="" situation="" against="" students="" had="" nothing="" to="" do="" with="" it="" are="" idiots.="">></people></p>
<p>Agree, 100%.</p>
<p>The issue is not that “they hold it against the students,” but rather that they hold it against the institution, and it is the institution that awards degrees and, since the institution is tarnished, the degree is tarnished. “Penn State” now means something immediately different in people’s minds than it did before. Unfortunately, “Penn” is also touched (unfairly) as well.</p>
<p>^Does Michael Jackson immediately mean something different to you? PSU graduates make competent emplyees and will be valued by successful employers.</p>
<p>My son was “instructed” to apply and attend PSU last year by his GC. She insisted it was a safety and a great fit.
We really didn’t understand the allure and decided against even applying. Scandal or not, no regrets.
Especially with their OOS COA</p>
<p>Michael Jackson was also abused by Sandusky? I learn something new everyday on CC. Wow.</p>
<p>^Oh, I am sure you know more than that unfortunately.</p>
<p>^^ Yes, I have also learned from you that “PSU graduates make competent emplyees.” I will have to get my own “emplyee” soon.</p>
<p>Michael Jackson still represents good music despite his personal life. PSU may have mishandled the sex scandle, but it doesn’t take away quality of its education, students are taught by its professors, not by its administrators or football coaches, and I am sure most of those students are there for the education and not for football. I am also certain most of PSU students do not condone what happened and they would have done something about it if they were aware of the situation.</p>
<p>The thing to remember is that this is one bad incident, it doesn’t mean PSU administration has been acting badly all the time. Brand value is important, and most institutions do everything possible to protect it, but it is hard for me to condemn an institution over one incident.</p>
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<p>In the first half of the 20th century the Ivy league schools were football powerhouses. They gave scholarships and recruited the best players and were perennial contenders for the national championship. They were in danger of becoming what Penn State did become - football factories in danger losing sight of their real reason for existence. But they wisely chose to give up most of the athletic fame and revenue and retrench themselves back into colleges focused primarily on academics. They got rid of athletic scholarships and banned participation by Ivy schools in any post season bowl games. They refuse to feed at the bowl game money trough.</p>
<p>They still have football and lots of other sports besides. They still love to win the Big Game against their traditional rival school. They occasionally win championships in one or another of the minor sports. But mostly sports are viewed through the lens of being something for students to participate in rather than be rabid fans of. Except for the annual Big Game, most football games are played in front of underflow crowds. </p>
<p>At Harvard, superstar professors such as say Michael Sandel are much more famous on campus than the football or basketball coaches despite the fact that football team is a winner and contends every year for the Ivy league championship (and won it this year - winning all seven of its conference games and crushing Yale in the big game).</p>
<p>That’s the way it should be. Colleges should be, first and foremost, institutions of higher than learning that, oh by the way, also play some sports on Saturday- rather than, first and foremost, pro sport farm teams that, oh by the way, also hold some classes and award some degrees. It’s a question of priorities and focus.</p>