6811375 responses to “Voices From The Classroom”http%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldinconversation.org%2F2012%2F01%2F26%2Fvoices-from-the-classroom-92%2FVoices+From+The+Classroom2012-01-27+00%3A09%3A22Lana+Taylorhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldinconversation.org%2F%3Fp%3D6811
From the recent events I have once again been dismayed by people. While it’s great to see everyone support Joe Paterno I have a lot of questions for why people support him now when just a month ago he was just as bad as Sandusky in the eyes of many. Unless someone can give me another reason I feel it is because people are far too impressionable. When the news broke of what Sandusky did the media went off and people just lost their minds. I was astonished to see that Joe Paterno’s name was even mentioned in the early going. To me it was and still will be seen as the media trying to make a story with name people could latch onto. No one knows who Curley, Schultz, Mcqueary, or even Sanduky were, but everyone knows Joe Paterno. Now that the media had everyone’s attention the story could unravel. With the good Paterno name being thrown in with all the atrocious things Sandusky did people slowly began to tie Paterno to the incident. Making everyone begin to wonder what did Joe do here? As the truth began to come out on what Joe knew or rather what he was told, people began to hold the scandal more on his head. Most Penn Staters rallied to support Joe Paterno and even riot ensued. All these issues here go back to what impressions were made on people. To Penn Staters firing Joe Paterno midseason, after he had already announced that he would step down at years end, was an unjustifiable crime. We know the truth that behind this scandal was man that gave everything he had to help others, a man who gave everything to build his football program and more importantly his school into the place it has become. Without Joe Paterno it is more than likely that many of us wouldn’t be here. We had the impression that Joe Paterno was a super human. In all honesty look at the man’s track record. He is truly a super human that no force should be able to tear down. But to the rest of the uneducated world Joe Paterno was a part of this scandal and the school took action. They held the impression that Joe Paterno was a man who was comfortable with what had happened here. The board could not let this school be one that people got the impression of as a child raping hell hole. Foolish as these people may be the truth is people behave on what they perceive as real not what reality actually is. Now that Joe Paterno has passed the word of all the good he has done is being released to the masses. Much more people are beginning to see Joe Paterno for who he really was. Suddenly the majority supports Joe Paterno. In fact they love him. It’s amazing to see how ready the minds of so many people are just waiting to be molded. To look even deeper I bet most people fail to realize that Sandusky wasn’t even an active coach at the time of the allegations. That hasn’t been a fact planted right in front of people this whole time and thus doesn’t leave them with any new impression. It is slightly upsetting to me to compare the human race to clay waiting to be sculpted but I cannot see it any other way. Even I say that I have been this way. When word broke in Auburn about Scam Newton I jumped onboard and called out the future Heisman winner as a cheating fraud. My old girlfriend at Auburn got mad at me all the time and said “You don’t even know who Cam is. You have no idea what good he has done to others and all the good things he has accomplished. All you know is the one bad thing the media has brought out.” I’m not saying Joe Paterno and Cam Newton are equal in virtues, however, now that the shoe is on the other foot I understand. I let impressions get me the same way people have recently done to Joe Paterno. As the Mighty Mighty Bosstones would say, that’s the impressions that I get.
Over the last few months I've thought about many different topics that I would not have normally thought about. However, one, somewhat non-controversial, topic was brought to the foreground in my mind–the way the media portrays major news. While in recent years I have been growing increasingly skeptical of the media's coverage of major news events, but sans an experience to compare my own first hand observations with the media's reporting, it has been difficult to form an opinion on actually how accurate, or should I say inaccurate, the media is with stories such as what happened here in State College. From my own opinions and research into the matter, it was easy to determine that the media’s policy of ‘report first, ask questions later’ was very evident. A perfect, self-contained example of this policy was in the “announcement” of Joe Paterno’s death by CBS. On the night of January 21, 2012, CBS falsely reported Joe Paterno’s death, when in fact, their only source for this claim was an article published by the student-run blog, Onward State, who also had an incorrect source of information. Had CBS taken the time to verify their sources, or even acquire a second source this error may not have been made. The same can be said for their (the media overall; not just CBS) reporting of more analytical news, such as Joe Paterno’s involvement in the events that transpired. The media did not take the time to attempt to look into the exact legal circumstances surrounding the issue at hand, but rather report what got more viewers, which is negative news. But can you blame them? They are a business just like any other and if reporting negative news sells more than reporting positive news, then it is obvious which way the media will spin the story. However, this is what I have learned; do not listen to the story that the media reports. It is most certainly biased towards a certain agenda (whichever agenda has the potential for high ratings, and subsequently, higher views). And yet, we all listen to the news and use their reporting of the facts to form our opinions on a given situation. This is an extremely dangerous habit to enter in to. So then how does one not enter into this path? Can any form of large media be trusted? For a large national news story, essentially, no, they cannot. Fortunately, though, we now have the ability for individuals to communicate cheaply and easily via the Internet. So what’s the best source for news then? A de-centralized news source from various people geographically near, or familiar with the topic at hand which provides an easy way to cross-check an individual’s account for accuracy.
Megan Lee
After all the events concerning the scandal here at Penn State, I’ve learned to empathize to a greater extent. I always thought that one of my greatest attributes was my ability to really empathize with others. When I first heard about the Sandusky scandal and how Joe Paterno was involved, I was really upset. I didn’t understand why anyone would ever let child molestation slip by so discreetly. I thought less of Joe for a moment. I expected him, and everyone else involved, to do more than keep it on the down low and do whatever it took to make sure it never happened again. However, the more I thought about it, I realized I would have done the exact same thing as Joe did. If I ever found out that someone extremely close to me, my uncle for example, was guilty of committing a deed as serious as child molestation, I would want to take care of matters under the table. I wouldn’t want people who don’t need to know about it to know about it. I would put my trust in “my uncle” and hope that he would stop doing whatever it was that he did, and getting authorities involved wouldn’t be necessary. There was a situation in my family years ago that was very similar to this. I didn’t understand it at the time either, but now I do. There was an abusive relationship between my aunt and her, now, ex-husband and she chose not to reveal the real reason for their divorce. She kept it on the down low and told the legal that the reason for their divorce was that things simply weren’t working out. I thought that was absurd, because I thought the only way he could change and the only way he would get help was if people knew and they forced him into some sort of treatment. I didn’t understand the reasoning behind her decision or the love that steered her in that direction. As I’ve matured I now understand the power of love for one’s family. That situation is so similar to what Joe went through. Empathy is an extremely important life skill. People who aren’t able to empathize with others tend to be ignorant, rude, and narrow-minded. I feel like when this scandal was initially released to the public, a lot of people were against Joe’s decisions. Then as time went by, we slowly realized that he meant no harm and he had good intentions. You can disagree with someone’s actions and decisions and understand where they’re coming from at the same time. In my opinion, the life lesson I learned during all the events since November that impacted me the most is empathizing.
i am a senior and i have learned more about how people act in the past few months at than i have learned in the past few years. i will start with the bad. i learned that people will act far outside any moral or ethical considerations to protect themselves without regards for others. i have learned that people will do anything for a quick buck (did anyone see the guy selling joepa shirts out of a duffel bag outside of the BJC after the memorial) i have learned that we as a nation and a s a community will pounce on each other and try to harm each other at times of tragedy when instead we should be banding together. i have learned that there is an incredible amount of hypocrisy in the world. i have learned that "outsiders" love to see what you stand for fall and that Schadenfreude is alive and well in all facets of our society. i have learned that no matter how hard you work and strive for good, a reputation is easily shattered and is almost impossible to repair. i have also learned that people like to hate and hate to learn, and that a lot of the problems that the community is facing with regards to image etc could be helped if everyone on all sides stopped to empathize with each other and took a long time to learn. i have also learned about the good in people. i have learned that sometimes people stand together amidst tragedy to support each other and to support who we love. i learned that we as Penn Staters and as people can change the world very easily. i have learned that the actions of a can improve the actions of many. i also learned personally how to i should stick up for what i believe in.
Through the events of the past few months I’ve learned that humans look for things to use to bring others down to their level. When we see someone whether they are a celebrity of an iconic figure head, we are so ready to bring them down because when we see them we envy them and their life. We ask ourselves why we can’t be like them. Or why we aren’t on their level. We see that as being something wrong with us and not them. As humans we are draw to bad news. Not just to bring others down to know what to stay away from. We look at situation like what happened with Joe Paterno and we say to ourselves that if we were in his shoes that we would have handled the situation better. We would have been better than him. But the truth is that we never know. We never know how we would react to claims like that. I would like to put it out there that most of what has been said about him have all been claims. That is important because that says something else about humans and how we are able to take information that we don’t even know is true and take a position based on what we think is true or what we want to believe is true. Is the case of the media, there job is to take a stance. You see the media already has a stance on a lot of these issues and events either wall on one side or the other. In our, we fell on the wrong side. And to them, it didn’t matter how hard we work or how much money we raise for THON (most of them don’t even know what THON is). They saw what happened and they saw us, and it was easier for them to just put us all in the same group. People are so ready for information to be spoon fed to them that they don’t even wait for facts or try to filter people’s opinions from the news. Another thing that I’ve learned is that when something traumatic happens like in our case, people don’t know how to handle the situation. A lot of people come here with this idealistic view of this university and what happened shattered that view of this university. It was confusing. When people get confused they don’t think things through and that’s what happened in our case. Humans are very narcissistic and controlling creatures. Instead of letting things run their natural course we are so ready to interject ourselves in a situation and take control in a way that we think is best to move forward. This can be dangerous because we tend to over reach, jumping to far too soon. I think that’s what happened on both sides of the situation we found ourselves in.
Prior to coming to Penn State, I never really felt a deep connection to this place and it really was just the place that I came to learn, acquire a degree and go out into the workforce. In the beginning of a really knew as to why some people have such a deep profound love for this place. I always thought it was the football program that was able to take some 40,000 people and a multitude of others in Centre County and bring them together. This love for this football program served as a patriotic symbol and belief that everyone seems to share.
In a strange microcosm Penn State could be compared to America. For it was not until the tragic events of 9/11 occurred that many people nationwide, assembled together, backed up the government and started to support this country 100%. Many people raise their flags, sang their songs. Felt there was an injustice done. They wanted answers and they wanted them now. To this day a lot of things are still unclear. One thing remains constant and that is the unwavering support of the American people for their country. In a small way you could compare Penn State in the same way.
When news got out about the horrible things that Sandusky had done, It horrified the Penn State population that a monster like this was harboring in this neighborhood and was commit such heinous crimes against humanity. It was like a huge punch in the eye that left a black eye that in some ways can almost never be healed. And just like Americans stormed Afghanistan in search of retribution for those actions. Small amount of the Penn State population stormed the streets in search of retribution and answers for not only Sandusky's actions before Board of Trustees hasty actions. Was Sandusky did was a huge attack on the Penn State Way. Penn State always had the squeaky clean image and a great reputation. This reputation was that it provided a quality education not harbored predators that were praying on people's innocent children. Even throughout all this Penn State community was able to come together raise their flags and stand by their school.
Before all these events occurred at Penn State I didn't really care much for the school. Not only was there an inside attack on the institution that boiled my blood but the outside attack from the media and the press made me angry as well. It is not until you been through the storm and rain that you can really appreciate something. I now possess a deep down appreciation for his Penn State institution because of what we've been through together. It is not just me I viewed as the whole entire population of Penn State. It is not just football that can connect us and is now hardship, tribulation, and disappointment. We have overcame these things and it has brought us closer together, building the foundation of loyalty, trust and interpersonal connection between us all.
I think one of the things that was pretty surprising, and that I learned this year was what Sam said about people that have been abused and the amount that they have in our class even. Being from Haiti, you'll hardly ever hear stories about abuse because people keep it in all the time. I guess its the culture of Haiti that makes it really hard for people to say things like that or do even things like coming out of the closet. Just like Sam said before that, there are things that we kind of know but we just never think about and that was one of them. I myself have someone that I know in my family that has been abused, but my family being so huge, I did not really think that, that might be a common occurrence in other families. My dad has eleven brothers and sisters, and my mom has 10 brothers and sisters. So I would think that my family would of been kind of special, but I guess almost every person thinks their family is special compared to others. Other things that I learned this year was more about the American people which are very interesting. One thing that I noticed is that American people really like to watch youtube videos. Even if they’re with a group of friends, they’re able to just stay a long time just watching videos about anything. I don’t understand how they can do that but I guess that’s a special characteristic of the American people. In Haiti when a group of friends hang out, we actually hang out, joke around, talk about things, and enjoy life. One other thing that I noticed about kids here is that you guys love to party, or maybe just like to drink. Being over here I talked to several of drunk kids and realized that they like to talk and vent about their lives to almost anybody. It could maybe just be me, but people tell me all their shit for some reason. The way people live nowadays, guys especially don’t ever like to ever really talk about their problems to another person for some reason, and it feels like the only way the ever get to get all of the built up stuff out is to get drunk and say it when they don’t care. Girls on the other hand (guys are also beginning to be this way too), talk on each other backs all the time. Girls can have a super close friendship with another girl or guy, some way they always find a way to talk on each other backs. I really don’t understand where this world is coming to. The problem is also that this is mostly America, and of course America has the most influence on every other nation in the world. So in other words, the whole world is screwed.
This is my second semester at UP and I must say that since I've been here, I've learned that some people are very quick to jump on the bandwagon. As caisha61 said, I too have noticed a lot of hypocrisy. If this were to happen at another school, we WOULD have our eyes glued to the screen. The thing is, We would only be seeing one side. We as Penn Staters saw both sides. I don't think its right that we as people are more interested in info-tainment as opposed to getting the whole true story. When I went home for thanksgiving for instance, I was flooded with bold statements made by other people who did not even know the whole story. Just what the media told them. Sometimes I wonder what's the point in having news if its not told respectfully and its entirety? In november, the media totally slayed and Joe Pa only concentrating on the negative things because unfortunatley thats what people want to hear. It's "interesting". Once the one sided people believed what they want, they ridicule the individual until there is nothing left. A noticeable example, Michael Jackson. For decades this man was slayed by the media and people who always believe what they hear and never bother to find out for sure, harassed him to no end and when he died, that's when people came out and said how much they loved him as opposed to the people who have stuck with him through everything. I just wish people take the initiative to learn everything about someone before they go around making bold statements not caring what they do to others because despite what some people say, words do hurt and can ruin a person.
On another note, I've learned and appreciate the sense of togetherness that is Penn State and I hope to all hopes that something like this will never happen to ANYONE else.
This is a really tough question to answer without taking a side. We, as a Penn State community, have been through a lot these past few months. We've been attacked, judged, cast out, and disrespected by so many people all because of one man and his actions. The saying, "One bad apple, can spoil the bunch" came true for us.
Joe Paterno remained humble and peaceful through all of this. His name has been slandered in a vicious way and he still never got out of his character. If its one thing I learned is to never let them see you sweat.
That saying really describes Joe's actions throughout these months. Personally, if my name and legacy was torn apart because of the media and one man, I would have lost it. I would have had interviews pressing my point and telling the media to fuck off. But joe did no such thing. He Ignored what people were saying and continued to live his life.
I truely admire Joe Paterno. He has done so much for the community. That's why he had so much support and love. He loved any and everyone and always showed that. I never got a chance to meet Joe, but I loved him and had so much respect for him. That really says a lot in my opinion.
1.We hate the offenders of child sexual abuse, or even as broad as child abuse; we also hate the people who do not do anything when they know the bad thing is happening. But the worst thing is that the hatred in our mind never goes away even the people who we hate already passed away. Forgiveness is essential for human being. I know it is extremely hard to forgive someone. The world is changing everyday; people will change. If the one who we hate so much lives in the guilt by what he/she had done, he/she also wants to make an effort to be a better person, why do we make ourselves live in a dark room and curse that person all the time? It is time to move on. Forgiveness never comes so easily, but if we try, it will come eventually.
2.Do not always blame other people of not doing anything, ask ourselves, did we report to the police when we witness a theft down the street? Maybe some of you do, some of you don’t, why? Because we always think someone else will do so. That is not true at all! Everyone has his/her own responsibility to make the society better. When I was in elementary school, there was a girl who abused me physically and emotionally for three years, none of my classmates told the teacher even though everyone knew how horrible was that. And I was threatened by that girl if I told anyone this, she would give me a even harder time. I have been living in the great depression since 7 years old, eventually my counselor had to hospitalize me in order to find the best solution to make me feel better. I always asked myself, if, if there was a person who could actually stand forward and protect me at that time, I would not be as severe depressed as now. Like now, if there was a person who can report to the police about child sexual abuse, there would be less children have trauma in their lives. The only way to make our society be happier and better, is not to blame other people of doing bad things, yet to take your own responsibility to change things, even just a little bit will make a great difference in other people’s lives.
3.Death happens to everyone. So do not do anything you would regret when the person dies. Something you can take back when he/she is alive, but you can never take his/her life back.
4.Even greatest people make mistakes. These mistakes will not erase whatever he/she had done. Like Joe Paterno’s memorial, no one can deny how much he contributed in making Penn State a great University.
Through the mist of all the shock and tears that have been shed the past couple of months, and especially the last couple of days I feel that a great lesson came to light for not only the Penn State community, but for people around the nation. The question about morals has always been one that people have talked about many times and there are certain instances where people seem to have no problem stating how they “think” they would react in a particular situation. However, through the mist of the investigations and scandal I think that morals are one that has been greatly tested. Joe Paterno, a man who has lived from what we know to be a moral life made a mistake morally in the eyes of many. Although, he may have done what was legally correct at the time the question of whether or not what he did was “morally” correct is still in debate. While wrongfully (in my opinion) being crucified by the media thoughts and feelings poured through and everyone seemed to have an opinion on the matter. I completely understand why many individuals would be upset with Coach Joe Paterno and I understand why they would chastise him for not doing more especially when he had such an influential voice here in Penn State. Joe Paterno has also chastised his own self for not doing more. However, I do feel as though morality is one of those things that people will never truly know what they will do in a situation such as the one in question unless they are put in such a situation. It is always easy to be high and mighty and extremely opinionated when you have never experienced what Mr. Paterno has. Saying things like “I would have done more” is very easy however; I also feel that it would be very naïve of someone. Things change and certain situations make you react in ways in which one may never have believed a day in their lives they would react. Also, I think I have not only learned, but realized how in our justice system, we as a society are really quick to judge people by their actions without taking a step back and putting ourselves in their positions. In fact we will never know what is going on in someone’s mind unless we walk a mile in their shoes even if it is for a moment. Our justice system has always takes pride in the saying “innocent until proven guilty.” However, I feel that many times society seems to forget that and tend to find people guilty and think that those people need to be proven innocent which we all truly know is not the case.
I have learned a lot from the events that have transpired following the scandal with Sandusky, the firing of Joe Paterno, and his death. First of all, I found myself in the middle of a huge news event, something that I have never experienced before. The some what closed off world that is Penn State was rocked to its core. A place that is so close knit and small faced large scale media attention that we have never seen before. All of a sudden, our small town garden of eden was shaken to its core. The very thing that separated us from other big schools and football programs was turned on its head. We used to brag about how our school had never had a major NCAA violation and then, all of a sudden, we were stricken with one of, if not the worst, scandal to ever happen in major college athletics. One of the things I have learned from this is that we are in no way invinsible. Even the best have their downfalls and their dark secrets. I learned that there seems to be a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to a big money maker like NCAA football. It is kind of amazing how quickly everything comes crashing down. Around the nation people see Penn State as and embarrassment when it used to be a place of great respect and for a lot of people, that was a hard thing to accept, including myself. Its hard to believe that a place you found so pure and clean can be tarnished so greatly. Perhaps we should not hold things in such high regards. Perhaps we should expect to be let down. Perhaps everything that we hold dear in our lives have their secret flaws.
This is how I feel about the man himself, Joe Paterno. The man that we saw as the doer of all good and a face of reason in college football. In a time of illegal recruiting and tattoos, we saw Joe as above it. I learned that Joe was a great man. His memorial service shows that. He effected so many lives in such a powerful way and our views of him should not change necessarily. He still was a face of change, of old, of pure; but he was also human. We all have our grave mistakes, the things that haunt us when we lay in our beds with only our thoughts and perhaps this was Joe Paternos. He did what was required by law but not what was necessary. It is easy to say that we would be brave enough to report but it is hard to put ourselves in his black Nike shoes and his rolled up pant legs. REST IN PEACE JOE.
What I learned the most, in all the events that have occurred these last few months, especially those surrounding Coach Joe Paterno, is how people react to legends, heroes, and their mistakes. There were four main reactions that I saw: denial, vitriol, acceptance, and the worst ignorance. Many people, especially those that are a part of the Penn State community, were in complete denial over the recent events. They grasp on to the fact that Joe Paterno did nothing wrong, legally. Even though Coach Joe stated himself that he wish he did more, they still affirm that he did nothing wrong. On the other side of the arena are those that spew vitriol. There were those that held Joe Paterno at the same level as the alleged perpetrator, Sandusky. They claim that Paterno did nothing. He did not go to the authorities to protect his team, legacy, and the money. Even though Paterno was not in legal trouble and even though there were many others involved in the case that did not go to the police, the put Paterno on an impossible pedestal. They claim that he was the ultimate force at Penn State, and as such he had the absolute power to determine the outcome of this case. Then there is the party of acceptance. These are the people that admired Coach Joe Paterno. These people believed in many of Joe’s beliefs and looked up to him. However, he was not an untouchable legacy in their eyes. He was a great human being, but he was not set on an impossible pedestal. As such, these people had the easiest time accepting the fact that Joe Paterno was a human and as such he shared human tendencies, tendencies such as making mistakes. They recognized that Joe Paterno could make a mistake, and although it was a huge mistake they were able to accept it and move on with life. The last reaction was ignorance, those who knew little of the story but felt like they had to put their two cents in. This ignorance stemmed comments such as “he raped kids so he deserved to die.” There is just so many things wrong with this statement. These people not only come off uneducated but uncaring. They condemn a man that they know very little about. But it also shows the fact that they just do not care. That do not care they are uneducated. They do not care enough about the world around them to learn more. These people just saddened me. It just really hit home how few people care about the facts, their education, and the world around them. But from the other three reactions, I learned how scary it is to have an idol and to be an idol. As an idol, there will always be people that stand behind you. Unfortunately, there will always be people willing to tear you down. But most of all, I saw the risk in having a complete idol. It becomes difficult to see that person as human and it is simply devastating when you can no longer hide from the fact that they are. What I learned is that it is good to look up to someone, just always remember that they are human. It is far less dangerous. So that is how I have decided to react to everything and to take away from this experience. I will have heroes, people I admire, and people I try to emulate. However, I will always be my own person. Coach Joe Paterno did so many amazing things. He set the bar high on how to live a good and fulfilling life. He taught us how to live with honor. He also showed us that everyone can and will make mistakes. It is a part of life.
I do not think I can comment on what I learned about humanity in reference to the recent events at Penn State without taking a side. My stance is that I support Joe and disapprove of how the media handled the story. I lost a great deal of respect for journalism, and the media in general as I witnessed that their job is to print the best story possible, and not to print the most accurate story. The media often told only one-sided reports of the scandal and the side that would sell the most papers was the side that demonized Paterno. This caused me to become more aware of this one-sided story telling in any news/media report.
I got mad those who were quick to judge Penn State students; accusing us of caring more about football than about the victims, when in fact we were protesting the lack of media attention about the victims and Sandusky, as well as protesting the punishment and demonizing of non-guilty persons rather than the guilty persons.
I got angry at people from outside of Penn State who were ignorant of what Joe Paterno means to this school and people in this area; saying that we are all just insensitive idiots who care more about football games than about the victims. This is far from the truth; the media showed the riots in a bias way and gave PSU a horrible reputation. Almost no one here thought a destructive protest was necessary, but when there are that many severely upset and severely angry people in a large crowd, when has that ever not turned destructive? I am not making excuses to condone the events but I'm angry at the media for bashing Penn State when this could have happened anywhere. JoePa is way more than just a coach to Penn State students… he is more than a hero, he is completely and utterly beloved. When you fire someone that beloved… without all the facts and without legal grounds to fire him people are going to get upset.
Any other school or city given the same circumstances of a beloved legend that is well respected and adored by so many for his generosity, character, values etc. who is wrongfully fired when he did his duty, and the board admitted they were firing him before they had all the facts, would very likely have responded in the same way. Paterno is the greatest coach in college football history, and arguably the greatest football coach in history, period. I feel that had a similar scandal occurred during the height of Babe Ruth’s career when he was the greatest baseball player to ever live and idolized by so many; New York City would have rioted if he was fired from baseball when those firing him admitted they did not have all the facts and that he did nothing wrong. I did not partake in the riots, and I am not condoning the damage they caused in anyway. I am only saying I am upset at the news reports of Penn State students being called buffoons, etc. as this would have happened anywhere if there is a crowd of that many extremely angry, upset, and hurt people in one area, a riot is bound to happen. PSU students were not 'blindly following Paterno', as the media makes it seem, we had grounds to be upset at rash actions by the board, and at the media's sensationalizing of the story.
In addition, many people did not understand our anger at this situation because they did not think about how the story would be different if this scandal had happened at a school with a no-name coach. The face of evil in the media SHOULD have been Sandusky, not Paterno just because of his popularity. Had this story taken place at a school with a no-name head coach who reported what he had heard it to his superiors, to the head of campus police (who are the police that have jurisdiction over events that occur on campus), and to the President of the University itself—would that head coach be the one demonized on every news channel and on the cover of every paper? No, this no-name coach would be barely a footnote in any news reports, and not at all blamed for terrible events that had happened. Instead, the actual perpetrator of the crimes would have been the one demonized. If there were a no-name head coach, the news reports would have been about Sandusky, the officials who covered it up, the victims, and the real story as it should have been; however, since Paterno is a huge name and a legendary coach the outcome of the news reports were entirely different.
I learned not to believe everything I read or hear in the news; I learned to look up both sides of an issue rather than believing the first one I hear. I learned just how different an event, such as the riot over the firing of Paterno, could look completely opposite when it is viewed as an insider rather than as an outsider. I hope to take that lesson with me in the future; I will try to imagine any news story or scandal from an insider’s point of view as well as from the way it looks on the outside in the media’s portrayed before making judgment. It struck me to realize that had this happened to a popular figure that I immensely disliked I would be on the other side of the issue. For an example I am a Yankees fan and they have a heated rivalry with the Red Sox; if this story had come out about a coach or player associated with the Red Sox I would be on the complete other side and support their firing and would greatly disapprove of those supporters rioting. This shows just how different an insider or an outsider’s perspective can be.
As a senior Psychology major, I can cite numerous studies and experiments which demonstrate just how immensely powerful the media is on us both consciously and unconsciously; therefore, I believe the media must change its goal of trying to write the story that will sell the most papers, to the goal of writing the story with the most truth.
I learnt a deep lesson about life and the test that it puts people through.
I learnt that a persons ending is not far from being a true reflection of who a person is. A structure of integrity and charity could easily be cracked and later demolished by the creeks of injustice and oppression. It is difficult to live a life of integrity and charity but its more difficult to maintain that life's ideals and beliefs when no one is watching.
We need to question whether a good man who says nothing and does is a indeed a good man or rather a sustainer for evil that flourishes. It easy to put blame on other when we are not in the shoes of those who are tested. But when so many of us fail the test what does that say about our society? When the teachings of 'Greed is Good' overshadow the teaches of "Treat others the way you want to be treated" what does that say about us?
The events that transpired over the last three months at Penn State have left us all a little disillusioned, but most of all, confused. Upon hearing the announcements, my emotions immediately went into hyperdrive. I think a lot of students would join me in agreeing that they didn't know what to think. There was no emotion that manifested itself over another and I was trying to come to terms with all of them. As the days went on, I found myself using one word to describe how I was feeling, time and time again; disgust. I wasn't disgusted with one man or one media source or one paper or one reporter or one rioting student or one acquaintance using social media to tarnish PSU's name, but was disgusted with all of them.
News story after news story broke, and with each report I found myself criticizing the accuracy of what was being presented to the world through that outlet, in that moment in time. I couldn't believe the negativity that seemed to surround every report talking about our coach, our school and my peers. Most accounts were gravely exaggerated, and I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with the media.
I am not naive. I always knew that the media exploited version of the truth, but I have never before been a part of something where I could see what was actually happening and then see how the media's twisted into something else. It was baffling. It was unsettling to see how much of a difference there was between the two sides of the story. Until a few days ago, I wasn't going to do much with this new found realization. I was content in thinking that the media did a grave injustice to our university by bringing us into that whirlwind. I was happy to point my finger at the media and paint Penn State students and University as the victims. After listening to Sam talk in class the other day about how the media does this to everyone, I realized that he was right in that if this had happened at another school, I probably would have reacted how every non-PSU person reacted. From this I realized that everything portrayed in the media really needs to be taken with a grain of salt, no matter how true it may seem to be, and that I should think twice the next time I judge someone/something/some other institution for the "poor" decisions they make in the future.
Like most people, I condemn the media for much of the hysteria and misleading information surrounding the events that have occurred at Penn State over the past couple of months. As soon as ESPN broke the initial news of Jerry Sandusky's alleged actions, it became the only story they covered for the next weeks. This obsession over a very sensitive and personal news story caused all sorts of uproar in the Penn State community. The demand for breaking news on the story became so high that ESPN centered many of its programs around different investigations and news alerts from State College. The media blew the story to a titanic scene and released information condemning almost all Penn State officials involved, including Joe Paterno. The media presented the news story in a way that glossed over many of the details regarding the way the situation was handled. Therefore, those not close to the situation were receiving incomplete information and in return formed impartial and misinformed opinions about the story and feel the "right" to voice their newly formed opinion based on the media's portrayal of the story (which they believe is 100% correct).
What I learned most from the past couple months is that the media's supply in their industry is backed by a demand from society to hear interesting and controversial news topics. Therefore, the media was essentially allowed to crucify Joe Paterno because of an initial allegation that was later found out to be not completely accurate. The Penn State board of trustees had no choice but allow the media to continue with their actions and accusations because it generated an interesting and hot topic. ESPN focused on releasing the most breaking news and prided itself on releasing the newest information first because the demand for that news insisted upon it. However, this does not always work when the "newest" news is not always guaranteed to be accurate when everything is said and done.
I learned mostly that society is simply just a bunch of consumers. The media and news stations needed to point the finger at somebody and have attempt to put the blame on anyone they could or anyone that was even remotely involved. If you are not close to a situation or know the facts on both sides of the story, it really is unfair to form an opinion about it because you can not say truthfully that you are giving an informed position. And yet the media still finds a way to justify their stories and "news" to be the truth which allows millions of people to form unjust and unfair positions on sensitive topics that affect more than just those involved. I strongly disagree with how the media, especially ESPN, handled the breaking of the news from Penn State.
i've learned that one bad decision can erase 10million good ones in some peoples eyes because people just dont give a fuck! the media is the devil!! *billy madison mom v* but seriously yea the joepa thing just showed me what i already knew about the media and people. but losing my good friend november 13 taught me alot. it taught me that you really need to cheris the people you love and let them know that you love them. you really need to treat people right to make a difference. joey brought sooo many together by just being a real geniue caring person. smh………joey….joey was great and his passing not only motivated me to really succeed in school but also my psu greater Allegheny family. he really brought us together and we tell eachother we love eachother all the time.
What have I have learned from this? Wow, this has probably been the most eye opening experience I have gone through thus far. I learned that even through despair, human beings can overcome any event, if there is a strong enough bond among people of a certain kind of group–that group being Penn State, and the biggest alumni network in the world. When we found out about the events, Sandusky’s alleged sexual abuse charges, Joe Paterno being fired and ultimately Joe’s passing, I felt a not a fear bond, but a love bond; a love bond that would be tested by the entire world spitting on Penn State. The only way we would survive was to bond together and be strong. We made it through all the media attention.
. We made it through the most incredible coach in college football being fired. We made it through the death of Joe, who was the face of our University. We made it through the tarnishing of our beloved coach’s reputation. We made it through the tarnishing of our University’s reputation. Yet, we would not let that hold us back from being what “this place” is all about, love for each other. It’s the most amazing thing. There is an instant bond when meeting another Penn Stater. No matter who they are, you feel as though you know them, and you know they feel the same about you, which makes it so special. Its so strange how love works, and it surprises the hell out of you when you find it in places you never thought. I know the riot of the night we all found out made us look even worse, but that riot really showed me that I was not going to deal with this situation alone. The riot showed me how many people had the same feelings as me.
There were feelings of anger, sadness, fear, and unknowingness. It also showed the rest of the world that we were unhappy about the events that transpired and were not afraid to show our feelings. I know it sucked when the media showed it as a destructive event, putting people in danger but it also showed our anger and love we have for Joe. Imagine if there was a riot every time a coach was fired, its ridiculous to even think of. That shows the love we had for the man and how important he was to us.
Ive learned that love can turn a scared group of people, into a strong group of people. Love can overcome everything and will continue to for the rest of my life. I’m thankful that I’ve had to put these thoughts onto paper because it really helps me reflect. Thanks Sam
the recent events that took place are things that are not new (news wise) scandals, abuses, charges, assults and such are things that have been around for a while, Penn State is not the first, and not the last University to have gone through this, aside from that, these events also made me realize that some of the things on a larger scale, like one mistakes can erase a person's many good deeds, JOE PA has been a great influence on people in the University, he has Helped the community, the students, the Athletes and everyone, from what i have heard of known from him, he has always been giving his time and money to people and places, he was very dedicated and he has helped coach people to be the best they can be, on the field and off the field. He has taken part in many good deeds and helping his players reach their goals, be it continuing their dreams in football or to become great in another field (doctor, scientist, teacher, etc) the important thing I have learned from him is that he made a promise to his father to make a difference and impact on people’s life, to make something good of himself which he did, his promise was true, he had made in impact, he was a good person, he did all these things he promised and planned to do when coming to Penn State. I understand that he, like may of us, Did make a mistake, (I wish he took the extra step to keep these things from taking place, and prevented it ) If he noticed that his report to the university didn’t make any changes and differences in taking control of the situation, he could have and should have taken the extra step in reporting the abuse and actions that took place when he witnessed or saw or heard of these things, if he reported all the information that he was aware of, and things were taken care of, how would we have treated him then? He’s a human being, he assumed that the people around him were people he trusted, he was not aware that they had a hand in on this. I don’t blame him personally, we al have cases where the people we trust end up hurting us more. I think instead of the animosity and aggression and taunting directed towards Joe pa, (everyone pointing the finger to one person) we forget that not all the details are yet clear and that we are all to blame for everything, if we were in situations and cases like these, would we speak up? Report them? We are also equally to blame, cases like these are really paid attention to much because we choose not to speak of them. Instead of bringing them up and causing awareness we prefer to push it to the side, ignoring them.
Joe Pa had a Great heart, his intentions were to help not hurt. He has impacted many, the person who I think should be held responsible was the person who was the downfall of the whole thing, the person who started and didn’t mind continuing what he knew was wrong, there is only so much one person can do. No on is perfect, we ALL have flaws, and imperfections, its easy to blame and point the finger at one person when we can all do something to make a difference in out community and our world, its about the little things that can make a big difference.
Also, the Media is to blame, they tend to overlook or exaggerate stories and news just to bring out the worse in us all. Besides since when does the media shed the real light on anything? No one knows the actual truth in things, for some ignorance is bliss and knowledge is pain. Either side of the spectrum can effect us all in various ways unimaginable,…the best we can do is look to eliminate what is wrong, stand up to those who where victimized, heal them and not look down to them, or ignoring them, people like that have hard time coping with things they did not intend for them to happen, even when they speak up, they are judged for why not showing up sooner…its easier said than done, we have to place ourselves in peoples shoes and understand and feel what they feel. I bet Joe Pa didn’t have a easy time knowing what he could have done, it bothered him as it bothers me seeing all these things that happen to everyday people that could be prevented and such.
I still look at Joe Pa’s accomplishments, influences, achievements and all the other great things he has done, sure that mistake was not anything short of catastrophe but what is important is the fact that he realized and apologized for it (its never to late to say sorry) in the end he is still the Face of this town and University, maybe with a minor scar just to show that one flaw he had but if you look at the big picture, that could be overlooked, and become a part of him, just like we all have scars of flaws and mistakes. Cant judge when you too are also judged in others eyes and by people.
It takes a while for all these thing to sink in and realize things despite its difficulty and such.
What We Are is PENN STATE….What matters is carrying his Ideas, Dreams and personality and spread them to others and make our environment a better place not only for ourself but others as well, we can enjoy things, not hate them!
The events from the past few months have both affected people in a number of ways and affected a large number of people. Being a Penn Stater from the day I was born, this has hit me very hard. I have created feelings toward so many people based on how they have reacted and have also created my own reactions on the situation as well… and quite frankly, up until the last few days, I have actually realized that making these assumptions was wrong on my part. I have learned so many things from joe paterno in my lifetime. However, I think that in the last few months, especially in the last couple of days, I have learned the most from him. Joe Paterno led by example and leading by example was what he did best. He displayed his character on and off the football field by having success with honor and putting academics first. And I cannot help but admire and aspire to be anything like what that great man was. I know that many people are on both ends of the spectrum on how they think of joe after the scandal and being a joe pa fan my entire life i am obviously on that side. At no point did i think that he had done anything wrong even though he absolutely may have. I just kind of put that off to the side even that may have been a very wrong thing to do.. Tho=roughout this entire process i have learned to see both side of the story and obtain a better understanding of why people feel the way they do. I also now realize that it is not wrong for people to be completely against joe.. Even though there is a part of me that thinks that it is so wrong to not love him, it is completely necessary to have both type of people and even people in the middle in this type of situation and in life. Another thing that these past few days have done is made me love my university. I don't know why it is that this scandal has made me love being a penn stater so much more but it has.. I think it is the type of unity that is created in situations like this one, where only people on the inside, or at penn state, really can understand what kind of man joe paterno was, and what kind of establishment penn state really is. I think that it is such a giant tragedy that this has happened to penn state university but there is no where in the entire world that i would rather be that here supporting this place and these people. I was talking to my dad the other day about this (also and alum) and he was just torn up about it… one thing that he said that really stood out to me was that there is no college like penn state anywhere else in the united states… no where at any university is a library named after the football coach, and the football stadium named after a pres. ( or at least i think beaver was… if not he did still do a lot of great things for psu).
We have watched a man be at his highest feeling of greatness and highest feeling of shame all in a couple of months. One day Joe Paterno has won record 409 wins and voted “winningiest coach” and the next, he’s being fired after being accused of not doing more to help Sandusky’s victims. One minute everyone loves Joe Pa and the next people are questioning everything they ever believed. It was confusing how you can still want to love an icon like Joe Paterno who you have always trusted, knowing that he knew this disgusting secret that he didn’t report to the police. Outsiders to the Penn State community have challenged us constantly with the question “how could you still support someone like Joe Paterno?” For most of us, we come back with the typical response of a loyal, stubborn Penn Stater: “it’s not Joe’s fault… the rules state that he only has to report such information to the officials directly above him”…”he did what he was legally supposed to do”… “He’s not the one that was raping the young boys; focus on Sandusky”. And although the people who say that may be right, I came to terms that, after clarified through Sam’s lectures, everyone makes mistakes. We say that all the time about our friends, family, workers etc that people aren’t perfect and everyone makes small mistakes time from time. But I’m talking about that it is normal for good people in this world to make terrible mistakes that they will have to live with forever. We are so quick to judge, criticize, and change our whole outlook on person based on one action. Joe Paterno made a mistake. Legally obliged or not, he could’ve done more and he has apologized for it. It does not mean we should forget about everything good he has done for this school and so many people. He has impacted many lives and people will forever be grateful towards him. Penn State has held this man on such a high pedestal for decades, no one can live up to their “perfect” image all the time. We are only human. Nothing is black and white. I’m sure it was not an easy decision for Joe and it is not one people should have an opinion on unless they were in his position. I struggled, as I’m sure did many others, for days after the whole scandal broke wrestling with my feelings of what do I believe. I had to listen to family, friends, the media, that never attended Penn State, tear us apart for supporting a “villain” like Joe Paterno. We were deemed “annoying” and “cult –like animals”. I have never seen so much hate and anger come from people in this world who know and understand so little. I learned to ignore it all. I don’t have time to explain myself to ignorant people what it’s like to have a passion for something. The last few months, I learned just how strong of passion and pride I have for this school. I will remember this year, my sophomore year in college, for the rest of my life. And I will always be Penn State Proud and Paterno Proud. It is something “from the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.”
What I've learned in life is that you must forgive people. Like my grandfather use to say "Just think what I would say in that situation" and to move on. God bless him he has passed away but he hasn't faded one bit in my heart. He will always be there till I die. But the importance of the life your born into is not chosen. Whether your upper class, middle class, or lower class you just have to except the fact that your there and the only way to get out is to educate yourself. Learn about the world not just where you live. To expand your mind to the full extent. Learn to always think in other peoples situations not just your own. Joe Paterno being a big part of the Penn State Community does hurt people but he will never leave the community as a whole. He will always be in our hearts till we all die. To think of it when we are at his funeral if you think of it at another perspective and new child somewhere in the world is either born on that day or his celebrating his birthday. While one legend dies another will be born.
Over the past few months I have learned a lot about the way people react to scandals in the media and the bigotry present in some of my closest friends. When the Sandusky scandal first broke everyone was tearing down Penn State any chance they got without really knowing any of the information. I have stopped talking to a number of my friends from high school mainly because they felt it was right to blame the entire university of Penn State for the actions of a few people.
As far as Joe Paterno and his role in this I agree with Phil Knight in saying that Joe Paterno did what he was legally required to do and moved on with his life. If all of us were had our mistakes broadcasted to the world then we would all feel part of what Joe Paterno had to go through during his final weeks. I saw first hand how media can twist a story into whatever they want it to say. The riots could have been so much worse for the amount of people that were there but the media only showed the one news van flipping and the small amount of people who were acting ridiculous. Joe Paterno did so much for this University, however; ultimately he was judged soley on his actions many years ago. It is true he could have done more but he also could have done way less. It seems in this whole scandal we are looking to blame those people who did not do more in reporting the allegations rather than the man who committed the haneous crime.
If this one event effects the standing of this University that it will be a shame. To judge an entire university off of the actions of a few men is a terrible way to live, however; I will stand by Penn State because I can see what we are really about and stand for. We try our best to stand with the victims while also supporting our university and home. This whole situation has shown me how easily people can turn on you. Joe Paterno was beloved and raised as the most iconic man in college sports until in the span of 3 months that entire support system started to crumble. I have learned how to handle the bigotry in people at least a little better than I had known before. Anger never makes people understand things more and sometimes neither does reason.
The impact the media has on the world I think was the greatest lesson in all of this. We saw how easily the media can change people views through slanted reporting that no one questions. Through all of this I think I have learned to never accept things fully as they are told to you. Always question their sources and look for the idea the media is trying to project.
What have I learned from all the events that have unfolded here at Penn State? Throughout the time that everything has been occurring I have not given much thought to this question. One thing I have concluded about human beings from observing the students and faculty here on campus is how they are prideful despite the adversity that we have faced here on campus. Many students discussed the negative views they have received as a result of the events that occurred on campus, and yet they remain prideful about being students of Penn State. In regards to the situation specifically, Joe Paterno has served as an iconic figure here at Penn State for so many years. Everyone has grown to love him and care for him. When he was evaluated for his actions or lack of action in the child sexual assault situation it outrage everyone. For example, students demonstrated their anger by rioting on the street downtown and standing outside his home. This showed that people are loyal to the people they care for because no one wanted to go against him even if he was in the wrong. In my opinion, after the events occurred here at Penn State I felt different about attending Penn State. Penn State is known for its name and reputation which is why I attended it; however that reputation was brought down by the actions of one man.
Another lesson I have learned is that life is unpredictable. People can be very naïve take everything for life as it appears. However we cannot control or predict what will happen. In the case of the events that unfolded at Penn State, many might argue that Joe Paterno could have done something to prevent the abuse that was happening to children on campus. However, people could not even grapple or imagine that Joe Paterno could have done anything wrong. In my opinion, they have allowed their love for him as an icon to blind their beliefs and values just because it was him. This to me proved that at the end of the day we are all humans and cannot predict the actions of everyone. We are all raised with different values and views and in life we act on those beliefs. There is no guarantee that everyone will choose to act the same way.
The most important lesson I have taken from everything that has transpired here on campus is that everyone is for themselves. In criminology, I learned that the prevailing belief or value is “Look out for number one.” Apparently, this is a value that many parents instill in their children. This relates to events that occurred very well because the main issue on campus was that the people that were aware of the child abuse that was going on did not do enough to alert the community or authorities of what was going on. This demonstrates that people chose to do what was in their best interest in regards of the situation without thinking about the children or the bigger picture.
Before the scandal broke out in February I held a generally favorable view about people in our society. I believed that people, adults especially usually did what was morally and ethnically right with little indecision. Furthermore, morals and ethnics were aspects of our personalities that became superior with age. Prior to the incident I assumed that this was the norm of our society, to do what was morally and ethnically correct by others, but after this incident I’m beginning to believe that this is in fact the exception to the norm. And perhaps one of the reasons why I’m was under this assumption is for the fact that we tend to idolized people who are moral and Ethic greats, Like Ghandi, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther king. Or even when the local news feature stories of everyday people who are doing great things for others at cost of them because it is what is consider to be right. However it is rarely shown when people do things that are ethnical wrong unless it is something huge like what happened here at Penn State, or a murder or crime. But for crime we tend to view those people as the expectation to norm or that the most be something wrong with those people who commit crimes. What is be coming more apparent to me, especially in our culture is that the majority of Americans live by the saying “ Look at for number one” which basically means if you are looking out for number one then you are always looking out for yourself and your interest above all others. Our society tends to think about what their losses will be if they make a move to help others before doing so, and if those losses are to high to others no matter what the consequences to the others our will tend to to help them out to save ourselves.
Before the scandal I used to think that most Americans and even myself would do just the opposite of this but now I’m wondering if this is true for most Americans, myself included.
Another thing I realized from this scandal is that people of different status of Americans are judge differently for doing the same crimes or offenses. For instances if it had been a janitor who was accused of not telling about a the supposed sexual abuse of a trail then opinions of if he was right or wrong. Because a janitor doesn’t hold such a higher member in society people would have probably been unanimous in saying that the janitor was wrong in what he did, and how could he not told?
But the main point I got from the whole scandal is that we live in a society where we do and foremost look at for number one.
I learned that people are not perfect. We had someone that is as close to perfect as anyone has known; yet ended up not being perfect either. Paterno lived his whole live up to the highest standard, raised his children to live to that standard, but he still was not perfect. We are all human beings and it is in our nature to make mistakes. The issue is how catastrophic those mistakes are when they affect other people, other things, or both. In JoePa’s case, his mistakes allowed a child molester to keep on doing his heinous acts. Did JoePa do anything to facilitate Sandusky? No, obviously not. But when given the chance to stop the actions, it is argued that he failed. For reasons that I cannot completely understand, people seem to think that Paterno understood the gravity of the situation, and still did not do anything. I do not agree with this at all. If JoePa had full knowledge on the situation, we would assume he would have done what people have expected him to do. Additionally, he admitted to making a mistake. He knows now that he could have and should have done more. In this world, it is one thing to make a mistake, but it is another to dance around the mistake. JoePa took ownership of what he did wrong, and say how he regretted doing it. I think this should make amends to it slightly. Although the actions he did (or did not do) can never be done again, that does not change the fact that he admitted to doing wrong and stepped up and came to terms with it. If for 85 years someone makes the mistake of underestimating one situation, I would say that is a pretty high success rate.
Humans being mess up. Human beings err. JoePa is no different. I learned that even humans on the highest of plateaus are still that: humans. We can hold someone up to the highest standard but he/ she is still only human. We also need to give credit where credit is due. JoePa could have easily said “I went to my higher authority, which is exactly what I was told to do, so I don’t see anything wrong with what I did.” But he did not. He admitted he messed up, and knew that he would have handled the situation differently the next time. As humans, we must assume that he grew from this error as a person, even if it is a 76 year old man. This scandal has taught me a lot, but nothing more overriding then the fact that even people who have set the highest moral standard still are susceptible to failure
The events that have been going on at Penn State since November have taught me so much. I have seen first hand how emotions can cloud people's thinking. It seemed that no matter what side people were fighting for their emotions kept them from understanding or even considering the other side. I even found myself being swept up in the emotions. It wasn't until days after Joe Paterno was fired that I finally sat back and took a look at things from the other side. After doing so I stepped out of the fight completely. Removing myself from the situation made me feel a lot better, and it put me at ease. I understood where each side was coming from and just accepted the heated situation for what it was. Life went on. Then when Joe passed away and people were talking about how they were happy that he had died and how there was a spot for him in Hell I did not get angry. I can't say that I was excited about the comments or anything, but I wasn't ready to write any nasty sort of comments back. People are allowed to feel and say what they want, and while I have the choice to say what I feel in return, I don't need to anymore. Looking at both sides of the situation helped me to calm down and accept everything without saying hurtful things about anyone. I'd love to say that I wish more people were able to do that, but I'm so at peace with all of it that I don't even care what anyone else is doing or saying. I'm never going to forget this because it has helped me so much. The other thing that I've learned from all of this is that people make mistakes. To me, it isn't fair that we put Joe Pa so high up on that pedestal. While his defenders were saying that he is just a man who makes mistakes it doesn't look like any of us really treated him that way. He did so many great things, and he has certainly earned our love and affection, but somewhere in his life we forgot that he made mistakes just like the rest of us. I see nothing wrong with honoring people for their services to us, but we have to do it in a way where we give them some room for mistakes. I'm not quite sure how to do this, nor am I sure if we will ever know. However, there is nothing we can do now to change these unfortunate circumstances. We put Joe Pa on the pedestal we thought he deserved to be on without considering the fact that he in the end was just a man. We must learn from this and think twice next time before we accept people as perfect instead of human.
The events surrounding Joe Paterno in the past few months have taught me a lot about the perspective of context. As Laurie suggested, I chose not to form an option on all the events because there were so many unanswered questions. I was unsure of the real role Joe played or didn’t play in the sex scandal of Jerry Sandusky. I was unsure of what he did or didn’t hear, who he did or didn’t tell. I was unsure if this meant there were other deep, dark secrets surrounding the man that we didn’t know about. I was unsure of whether any of us even had a place to pass judgment. However, what I was sure about is that I had fellow students who were extremely upset, angry and hostile toward the Board of Trustees for firing Penn State’s legendary football coach, yet I remained unemotional. Maybe it’s because I’m not as attached as I would have expected to be to Joe Paterno at the time, but I could see the story from all sides. The Board of Trustees was in a crisis situation with the image of their University on the line. Whether their decision was right or wrong, they cut their losses for fear of much greater retribution later on instead of saving the face of their football coach. It’s all rather confusing, those days in early November, and the jury is still out as far as I’m concerned on what is right and wrong in the situation.
But moving into Joe Paterno’s struggle with lung cancer and eventual passing brought up very different feelings for me. It took him out of the institutional context for me and put him into a human form. I have had too many loved ones struggle with cancer, and the manifestation of his humanity in my mind brought him into my heart. Cancer sucks. If I hate one thing in this world with my entire heart, it’s cancer. It’s unfair, unyielding and discriminates against no one. And cancer brought down a sports icon, a university legend. And as happens in most situations of passing, the life of Joe Paterno was remembered for blessings it brought to this world. And although there was the constant undertone of knowing that the man made a mistake, a big mistake, that was not the focus of his life and death, nor do I think it needed to be. As Sam pointed out, we all make mistakes. And some mistakes are pretty ghastly. But he also made great triumphs, in athletics but more importantly in humanity. He instilled lessons in the minds of many young man that go so contrary to the world we are thrown into here at college. He was an advocate for morality, spirituality, diversity, work-ethic and not worrying what others think about you. And that’s how he was remembered on the day of his passing at Penn State: stark contrast to how he was thought of two months ago with a cloud of neglect and incrimination hanging over his head. In the context of the Sandusky scandal, Joe Paterno may have been at fault to a degree in allowing the lives of a few to be a living hell. But in the context of Penn State, State College, and the entire life of a man, he was a glorious figure who made this world a better place.
The tidbit of wisdom I’m taking out of this entire scenario is that judgment can and will be passed about anything and everything. However, anything and everything can be put in a different context where your mind and heart might have a very, very different opinion. So tread lightly in the realm of judgment.
Following all of the events and actions (riots) that have happened here at Penn State in the last months, I and I'm sure others have been taken for a whirl wind. I'm not too sure about how I could react to something so big and the allegations brought forth to certain individuals, but I am one to base my opinion off of facts. I am shocked as I'm sure other people are too, shocked by all of the victims now coming out, and certainly from the passing of Joe Pa and how that has had an impact on this campus. So coming to this campus a proud student and hearing such great things, then witnessing it all fall apart in ways I saw Happy Valley to no longer be happy.
All the back lash that this campus received when the news broke out was something that was surprising, but also not needed nor fair. People who knew nothing about the actions past (students) were getting blamed and bad things were said about almost anything related to Penn State. For example I had an internship, and just after a week of all the news breaking through, I was sent an email telling me that I wouldn't be needed that the internship was no longer going to be going through with. I was enraged; I worked so hard to get that internship and it was taken from me because of something I had no control over.
I've learned that decisions were made based off of the media, and that people responsible were getting away clean or less severely than ones who weren't responsible. It showed me the severity of such a crime, and how students really reacted to things of this manner. I saw students come together and really become advocates for child abuse. I have seen our school get slandered all over the papers and internet, yet still us students still had our Penn State pride. I have learned and witnessed first hand is that we as a community/university have all united. We truly are a family. We came together in many ways, and have been working hard to turn the negative words said by others into positive things.
Despite the way things were handled in the past, we have learned how to react to things and be prepared for the future so things like this won't happen again. I know that I have thought of ways that I would have handled the situation, but I can only hope that this doesn't happen again here or anywhere.
With all the recent events that have happened one thing that I learned is that when someone dies, people all of a sudden change their mind about them. When the scandal first broke all anyone said was “fuck Joe Pa,” they all blamed him and stuff like that. Now what most of those same people are saying is “oh what a legend” and stuff about what a great person he was and how much he did for the school as a whole not just as a football coach. Given there are still the people that say they were glad he was dead, which in all honesty is disrespectful. How can someone talk ill of the dead, in my book that is the ultimate disrespectful thing to do. Anyway the people that all of a sudden flip flop should really just keep their mouths shut. You were just trashing him like a week ago about what a terrible person he is and now all of a sudden you think you have the right to say what a good person he was. No you don’t you should just shut up. Sorry but stuff like that really bothers me just because of how hypocritical people are, especially when there are people that have been behind Joe Pa throughout the whole thing. They are the only people that really have a right to say how much they love him and everything like that. Given I understand that people say things in the heat of the moment, but still there are certain things that people wouldn’t say even in the heat of the moment. And then even if they do say something to say the polar opposite a week later is ridiculous.
Another thing that I learned in recent events is how much a death and scandal can bring people together. The entire Penn State community came together in such a good way when the whole scandal broke because we only had each other. The whole world was against us and looking down on us and saying what terrible people we were as a school (which was completely stupid but that’s a whole other issue). Everyone saying that made us get closer to those that were on the same side as us, the ones saying that we as a school didn’t do anything wrong. When Joe Pa died it brought us all together again, because that was someone that almost everyone that has ever been to Penn State looked up to and really cared about. He did so much good for the school and for all the people that go there so we all loved him for that. We all came together to say goodbye to someone that we all looked up to.
All of the recent events at Penn State have really made me question things I never would have thought about and I have learned several things from what has happened here. I am a senior here now and will be graduating this Spring. It’s so unfortunate that all of this drama had to happen right before I leave this wonderful university, but the events have allowed me to put everything into perspective and have allowed me to look within myself before I go into the “real world.” First, I have learned that just because people are in powerful positions does not mean that we should listen to and follow everything they say or do. We always need to think for ourselves, question what is going on, and take accountability for our own actions. I mean, at this prestigious university, the honorable President, athletic director, legendary football coach, and many others made questionable choices over the years, while they were in positions of power. Their titles didn’t cause them to make ethical decisions. This just shows that everyone makes mistakes. On that note, the biggest thing I have learned has come from the whole ‘JoePa’ situation. Joe Paterno was really the only one to come out and admit that he made a mistake and should have done more to protect the victims of Sandusky’s alleged sexual abuse. I think this is really honorable. I think we all try to be the best people we can be. Speaking on a personal level, I really try to do the right thing all the time, but EVERYONE makes mistakes. I just said I try to do the right thing, but I constantly make mistakes that I have to learn from. I think the best thing a person can do is admit their mistakes and learn from them so they don’t do it again. With that said, I believe in second chances, especially if a person truly understands what they did wrong and are willing to make it right. I think this lesson, which came right before I am about to graduate, will help me as I enter the real world and into the work force. I know that I am I going to be faced with so many choices and decisions in my life and I will have to make ethical decisions on my own. I am going to have to think about how my choices can affect so many around me, like the choices of the leaders at Penn State affected so many people. I also know that I am going to make mistakes along the way and I only hope that I can cop to it, like JoePa did, and try to make them right. He was a true example of honor and I hope I can be like him throughout my life.
What I have learned about life and people is that separating fact from opinion is incredibly hard for most. Not only is it incredibly hard to grasp even if you want to but you also have to factor in that nobody wants their opinion to be wrong so they associate it with fact and do not care even if it is no obviously not a fact. An example would be the news in this whole case. I listened to ESPN, ABC, NBC, CNN, FOX (they’ve already been discredited in my eyes) and all these news stations bashing Joe Paterno, saying he was wrong, saying he didn’t do enough, saying all this stuff that honesty was not their place to say. Their job is to say fact and report fact, not give opinions on what they think, these aren’t talk shows, and these are news stations. I lost so much credibility from the news networks because of this. Another example would be my grandfather. He is convinced Joe Paterno knew everything and that he should have gone to jail and died there… this man also told me Joe Paterno was more powerful than the governor of Pennsylvania. And after reading this, my grandfather sounds like a complete idiot and irrational thinker, but I can tell you he is a very well respected attorney and campaign specialist in the greater Atlanta Area. He is called all over the country to help run different political races. So my grandfather is not stupid in any way and not irrational in anyway. But to here him talk about Penn State, Joe Paterno, and all of this, hit home so much that people just do not care about the facts, they hear a little and are too lazy to educate themselves further. I have read a lot about the Joe Paterno case, I am not some crazy die hard supporter for Joe Paterno, I did not cry when he died, was only saddened because of his family’s hurt for losing a loved one, I never had any plans to attened his funeral because I did not know the man. That does not mean I did not respect him. And because I respected him, I made sure I knew the facts that were out, before I judged him. I am not saying that “hey there is NO WAY possible that Joe Paterno knew nothing and that it wasn’t some huge cover up starting with him and that everyone is just trying to cover his back.” I am not saying that, all I am saying is that there is in no way, in any shape or form enough evidence to say Joe Paterno did any wrong, and I was genially disappointed when he came out and said he was sorry because every news agency took that out of context. At the beginning of that statement he said “knowing what I know now.” And everyone knows that hindsight is 20/20. Wrapping this up I’ve just learned that hey the world is an unfair place, people are stupid, and I just have to stay on my path and on my plan to continue to buck the trend and change the world.
Throughout the events that have unfolded since last November, I have learned a lot about the way our society is run these days. First off, we take someone who has committed a crime, give him time in prison, and then continue persecution on someone else. Why not simply focus on the person who has committed the crime? Societal systems in America are too complicated. Whenever something happens, inspectors must investigate everyone down to the last person involved. As someone from a foreign country, systems in places like Asia simply punish the one person that has committed the crime. They focus more on the core aspect of the crime. Looking back at the way Americans carry out scandals like the one at our school makes me feel ashamed and disappointed. We have someone who is so inspiring and phenomenal, Joe Paterno, and criticize him as if he’s the one who committed the crime. Of course he was wrong on his behalf, but the punishment that he has received is beyond ordinary. This really shows that Americans are impatient when it comes to negotiation. They take seconds to assess the situation and lay down a decision. I believe it’s completely wrong to simply fire someone who has dedicated 60 years of his life to creating a better place for students to learn. In a way, it can be called betrayal. If someone dedicated 60 years of their life to help create a better world for you, would you turn your back on them? If you say yes, then you must have no heart or compassion at all. Many relationships in the world are built this way. Throughout all of the achievements and contributions Joe Paterno has accomplished during his lifetime, we can truly see that he cares about Penn State. There is no other school in the country that has an academic figure as acknowledgeable as Joe Paterno.
On the other hand, some of the events that occurred during the unfolding of the scandal were outrageous and damaging towards our student body and image. For instance, many of the riots downtown were unnecessary. As an eyewitness, the violence and damages that the students created were simply dumb. This shows how immature and uncivil college students are. We see something that is worthy of our facebook or twitter feed, and like magnets, we are immediately attracted to the event. While at the riot, I heard chants like “USA!” or something about Joe Paterno. Yet, we’re missing the central issue here. It was Sandusky who committed the crime. It was Sandusky who molested innocent children and kept it a secret for several years. The entire situation of the scandal leading up to the death of Joe Paterno was simply handled disastrously. There wasn’t a single decision that was reasonable or directed towards the scandal.
All in all, I really hope American society can improve the way things are run, supported with reasonable evidence and credible decisions. Simply put, our political system is corrupt and incompetent with other countries. If we can realize the issues that must be fixed, then our society will be much more structured with poise and competence.
Through all of the events of late i have learned several things. the first and most important thing i think i have learned does involve JoePa. It's not so much my stand on the issue, but something that was said that i realized to be exceptionally true. While most everyone is wrestling with the issue of JoePa's actions or lack thereof, we have all forgotten one thing. While we hold him to almost super-human standards, a hero, someone we all wish was immortal, the bottom line, is that he wasn't…he wasn't immortal. He was a human being, that said, like every other human, we make mistakes or we do things we are not proud of, or we may wish we had done something. However, i have learned that no matter how high a pedestal we place people on, we must always remember that they are first and foremost human beings and should be allowed forgiveness and grace and mercy.
I've also learned that even in the face of tragedy and horrible circumstances, great things can happen. As sad as it is to say, the Sandusky scandal has given courage to other across the nation who have been sexually abused, to come forward and name their attackers. this situation has also brought the issue of child sexal abuse to the forefront of our minds and has caused thousands to get involved with helping victims and their families. Penn Staters raised over half a million dollars for RAINN. WE came together as an even stronger community to show the world who WE really ARE. Alumni have raised their monitary gifts and support of the university to show us, the students that they believe in our success, and that despite the actions of that disgusting pervert, the two asswholes who covered for him and the witness of the crime, that WE ARE…PENN STATE. WE ARE ranked 20th best institution in the world. WE ARE home to the largest student-run philanthropy, one which saves the lives of children every year. WE ARE number one for corporate recruitment. WE ARE not a university to be defined by the actions of a few, that happened years before our time here. This is what i have learned, and i believe i am a better person for it.
A lesson that I have learned…where do I begin? One thing that I can pick up from the top of my head at this moment is in class, Sam posted a clicker question regarding standing up for people who you are most close to. The question asked: if the one person who you love the most, whether that is a spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, family member, or friend, committed a crime as strong as Jerry Sandusky’s, whose side would you be sitting on at the court room? The officials, not even arrive at the court, or your loved one? Surprisingly and unsurprisingly, the majority answered their loved one. I learned that in terms of macro-analysis, meaning of all others around you, they will see the “right” answer or side to be the side that is charging against. However, in terms of micro-analysis, meaning to just yourself, you take the side who is being charged against (in most cases). This, I believe strongly, is for the majority of humanity. No matter what culture you are from, what country you are from, what faith you believe in, or where you were raised and nurtured, you will most likely defend the one who you love the most even if they are a murderer of one or many. If this is true, then why do we all see it as not when it comes to macro? I believe it’s because you didn’t truly think it through. You need to see it through the eyes of the other, which, sadly, many do not do. I step back to look at the macro and micro before I give my personal thought and once you do, you realize how much one side is wrong, visa versa. What I also learned is that good people, not all, are remembered, even if they have committed a mistake that thousands and thousands of others despise. Joe Paterno, a man who I have never met before, I was able to know very well without even speaking a word to him or shaking his hand. This man has sacrificed so much of his time for the sake of Penn State, and who is Penn State? We, the people, are. He dedicated his time to us, each one of us. Everybody makes mistakes, but step back and look at the macro and micro before you judge. Don’t just focus on one chapter of this man’s life, look at the whole book. People make judgments so fast that they blind themselves. People are giving a power that makes us the dominant life form on the planet and that is our brain. To think is not as easy as to walk, talk, or sit. It takes energy, effort, and mind power to think. Thinking is why we are here today, but we neglect it as though it’s just a benchwarmer.
The past events here at PSU, from the Sandusky scandal to the recent passing of Joe Paterno, have revealed a lot about trends in human behavior, judging from the reactions of the masses. This has brought to mind several observations. The first is the sheep-mentality that we as people often possess. How often do we desire to follow the masses? The truth of this matter is portrayed by societal trends. We keep up with the latest fashion and wear what everyone else is wearing, do whatever everyone else is doing, and blah blah blah. The whole “follow the crowd” mentality is the reason why businesses and companies can so easily tap into consumer interest and are so successful in advertising and selling their products. Why do we go mainstream so easily? Because it’s so much easier to toss aside our reasoning and thinking capacities and go with the flow. So when the whole scandal was uncovered, I feel like a lot of students who didn’t really know much about the issue supported JoePa because of his status as a beloved icon of PSU and of football fans around the nation. (This is not to say this was true for every student, just a vast number of them.) This brings me to my second observation—people are very emotion-driven and easily let their judgment be clouded by bias. During the whole affair many jumped at the opportunity to judge the entirety of Penn State without knowing the full facts of the story. I read an article where a woman said that “Penn State is an arrogant institution”. This is obviously a false statement. How can the actions of a few place blame on the rest of our institution, including professors, other staff, and us students? I can only guess why people were so quick to judge; perhaps they were biased against PSU, whether it was due to jealousy of our high repute, a bad past experience with PSU, a sports-driven dislike for our football team, etc. On the other side of the fence, others were biased by their extreme adoration for JoePa, defending him to the point where it was impossible for him to ever make a mistake. Third observation: We like to take sides and judge. We like when things are black and white so we can strongly support one side and fight against the other. When both sides have some truth, things get more complicated. We also like to judge and point the finger at people of differing opinion sometimes. We like to think that since the other side is “wrong” they’re “bad”. Alas, all these sad truths lead us to our conclusion and reveal the unpleasant but simple fact that human nature is indeed flawed.
I learned a lot of things about people in general from all the events that have transpired recently, mostly concerning interactions and respect for new ideals. I saw a lot of really ridiculous things happened and I have been very open to people’s opinions to try to get some kind of understanding of what exactly is the popular opinion. I wanted to understand because I saw people worship a football coach and give little to no regard or even mention to the victims, to the children. I realize that is a point of view, but I think it’s a life lesson because it has showed me not to believe what everybody around me believes. It has shown me to come to my own conclusions and to be objective towards other people’s opinions. I think that the events showed the world how to be a sheep, to follow other people’s voices and never care to have one of your own. I want to make sure that I never follow something with blind pride; that is, a pride in something that I’m not really sure why I have pride in the first place. Standing behind what I believe in means actually understanding why I believe in it, and the recent events have made me more aware of blind pride present in many different facets. I’ve always tried to be very objective about things ever since my father drilled it into my head with lectures, and I always realized how important it was to make sure I didn’t believe things coming from people that were not credible. Penn State has taught me not to go with the popular opinion, and to make my own opinion for my own reasons. Unfortunately I have also seen that the people following popular opinion can be the most self righteous pricks I’ve ever heard speak. This has also taught me the life lesson of not being a prick, and respecting people’s opinions up until the point I have a substantial reason to divert and assert my own opinion. Respect is a tricky thing and it’s lacking at this University, people don’t want to hear what you have to say and unfortunately usually they are just waiting for their turn to speak. You cannot fill a glass that is already full, now I don’t have any idea where that proverb comes from but it’s a metaphor for the mind. It is not possible to exchange ideas with someone that does not care about any ideas but their own and recent events have shown me that a lot more people at this university don’t care about any point of view other than their own. Conversation is a really fun and educational thing but it’s really easy to fuck up if one person isn’t conscious and self aware of the things going on around them.
There are not enough words to describe the feelings I’ve felt throughout the entire course of events which have happened this past year at Penn State. I have learned more about the media, this school, and its’ student body than I ever thought I could learn. None of us as students or faculty saw this experience coming, and it was such a huge shock for the entire university. If I could tell you one thing that I have learned, it is that you really don’t know what something is like until you experience it for yourself. The anger that someone feels after a revealing incident that exposes the true evil in a person cannot be had until you experience it for yourself. The confusion that someone feels after learning about events that have spun a web of questions without answer make you feel like you have lost all control of everything around you. You cannot be this confused until you have experienced this for yourself. The sadness that someone feels after the death of a family member, close friend, or even someone that you never knew personally, but looked up to in so many different ways, cannot be felt until you experience it for yourself. And finally, there is happiness that someone feels knowing that you have a support system and a group of people that care about you and are experiencing the same feelings as you. This special happiness cannot be felt until you experience these things for yourself. The emotional rollercoaster, or whatever you’d like to call it, that this entire campus has gone through over the past few months is sad and it is disappointing, but it is also unique. I have learned to have faith in the little bit of trust that you put into each person you meet, because you never know if they may be experiencing the same feelings as you.
Another thing that I have learned is to be accepting of other peoples’ opinions, because no one is ever 100% right or wrong. You cannot judge a person based on which position that stand for, or which side they are taking. Everyone has their own beliefs and as long as they aren’t harming you, everyone can and must get along. It’s hard not to look around after feeling the anger, confusion, sadness, and happiness and not asking the question, “Why us? Why our school?” but you need to look past it. There is a reason why all of these events happened at Penn State, and there are many lessons to be learned. The most important thing that I’ve learned after this whole entire thing is that life keeps moving and every day makes you stronger, because grieving together is much better than grieving alone.
The events that unfolded at Penn State over the past few months, like most big things in life, shook us up and made us think. These events gave us a new perspective on honesty, and trust. In addition, the experience made us come together as a family. Often times, humans hold specific, passionate beliefs, and keep them unwavering. We go through life stubbornly sometimes, because a change in what we believe in could be taken as a sign of weakness. After the news of the scandal broke out, it forced us to look at our values and beliefs, address them, and possibly even change them. For so long we put our trust in Penn State, knowing were an honorable institution, proud of our clean record while so many other schools had fallen into scandals and problems. When the news of the scandal broke out, it shocked out entire community. People were torn between who and what to believe, and our community was torn. It forced us to take a step back and look at our school, and reevaluate our position on so many things, including investigating child abuse, what we would do if put in that situation, and what is morally right versus legal obligation.
This scandal taught us that like most things in life, people have pasts and secrets. The Penn State Administration might have had the biggest secrets. Each day as we attended school the administration went to working knowing that several years ago, something unsettling had happened. Whether they buried it and never looked back, or weren’t given the full story, or thought about it every day, it happened. On my walk to class the day after the scandal broke out, I looked closely at each person I passed, and wondered what secrets they had hidden in their past. Certainly we have all done things we aren’t proud of, and decided it was easier to hide these things rather than confront them head on. As I thought about this, I realized that no matter how ashamed we are of our pasts, it is always better to address your regrets and learn from them, rather than deny they ever happened.
Finally, I realized that when tragedies happen to people, it brings them closer together. Throughout everything over the past few months, the media and other schools have tried to tear us down and break us, but we’ve become closer than ever. When something bad happens, we look for people going through the same thing, to share our feelings and reassure each other. I’m not sure if that’s human nature, or if it’s because our generation is more emotional than ever before, but I think that going through things with people is more helpful than any other kind of support. Standing at the Joe Paterno memorial and holding hands, 14,000 strong, I realized we are one, big family and there is no place I’d rather be.
The past few weeks have been tough for everyone, regardless of your relationship to Penn State, nobody wants to hear about abuse, and nobody wants to hear about abuse happening in Happy Valley. I grew up here, and I've always felt different than people who come here from somewhere else or from out of state to go to school. My dad has always worked for Penn State, my parents and numerous family members graduated from Penn State, and I never considered going to another school. During the entire scandal, I felt this sense of disconnect with other students because my perspective of Penn State and what was happening was different. I felt like a lot of people had some kind of wall up that blinded them to think that "Happy Valley" and Penn State were these untouchable entities that were perfect and that JoePa was some kind of holy figure. Really, it's a giant organization, run by normal people, and JoePa was a great man-but he was just that- a human man. The tragedy of what happened was awful-but the truth behind everything that happened is what has made me learn from this situation. People are imperfect, no matter what title they hold, and sometimes we give them so much power that we skew reality in our minds. And, when we all skew it together, it can become a problem. If we ever hope to help people who are abused and if we ever hope to uphold integrity at Penn State, we have to accept what reality is and what people are, and I think that's the first step. It's also the biggest lesson that I've been thinking about throughout all of this- how to appropriately acknowledge what reality really is, without losing a sense of curiosity and admiration for things.
It goes without saying that these past few months our school has been through the toughest of times. Between Sandusky, Courtney, and most recently the death of one of the most beloved persons, not only in college football, but in THE WORLD, this school has been struck with one of the biggest scandal/tragedies in history. Due to that the Penn State name has been somewhat tarnished. But don't forget how great this place is. I really don't have to list the vast number of reasons for u guys to know what I am talking about, because that would just be repetitive. Nevertheless, through all this, I have never been more proud to say "Penn State" when someone stops and asks where I go to school, and I really hope you guys feel the same way. It's easy to jump on the ban wagon when things are going great, but true character is displayed by sticking to your guns, and having pride during turbulent times. So wear your navy and white proudly. And guys, just know that I would not want to be at any other school.
I can’t really say these recent events have affected in a negative way at all. I can say with 100% certainty that I have never been more proud to go to Penn State. People ask me how crazy the campus has been. I always says it’s not as bad as you would think. That is because at Penn State is a very, very proud university and would not let this tragedy affect their reputation. Although their reputation has been tarnished somewhat from the Sandusky scandal the integrity of Penn State still exists within these walls. Whether people that are not associated with the university want to believe it or not we still know it. No matter what is said about us, we still have that everlasting pride in Penn State. I think the direct reason for that is everything that Joe Paterno did for this school. It’s not only the donations, football wins, and national championships that he provided to this school because any school can reach that with a little bit of work. Joe Paterno gave this school a sense of pride that it needed so badly. People heard Penn State University and they think of a place that has an extreme amount of success along with integrity. Most schools win national championships and then you find out a few years later about a scandal. Whether it is a recruiting violation or a guy playing illegally there is always something that was under the table. Penn State never had that problem. Under Paterno they won two national championships and a Heisman winner. Paterno was never in trouble for a violation.
I’ve learned that when judging a person, most people weigh the bad heavier than the good. I am in no way defending Joe Pa. I am just pointing out a seemingly automatic behavior of humans. It is just interesting that it takes so much good-doing to cancel out a mistake, but it only takes a second to fall from good. This is evident in the way people are drawn to news reports (I am referring to reports unrelated to the scandal) that feature appalling stories. It has become an expectation for many and maybe even a hope for some that bad news will be featured more than good news when watching the news. I don’t know what this says about humanity in general, whether we fall into patterns because of societal conditioning or we make individual conscious decisions to focus on the bad. However, to me, the take home message is that we must be careful. This doesn’t mean we should be afraid to make some mistakes and live our lives, we should just be careful not to make mistakes that can ruin others’ lives. And not just for the sake of our reputations, but because if we are drawn to the negative then that should mean we always focus on our own worst mistakes. This may not necessarily be a bad thing though, because some mistakes are always worth remembering. But we must be aware of how people are drawn to negative news, because this may offer some comfort in knowing that none of us are alone in being intrigued by things that are bad and/or odd. People aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t give them a license to do what they want and make mistakes that others have to pay for. And this is what might happen if we weren’t so drawn to the negative. So in a way, there is a paradox in that maybe it is good that we always remember the bad. And this brings us to the motives people have for doing what they do, and prompts the old question of whether it is better to do the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason. Which one is worse, and which one would people remember more? I don’t know. But I do think people would be quicker to identify whichever one would lead to the most pitfalls, because they’re good at it. Even when people have an overall positive view of humanity, on some level it seems they always weed out the negative and focus on it, which isn’t a bad thing because it might be necessary in determining the true character of a person. I don’t think this will ever change, and I think that that is good because it should motivate us to be more careful in our lives and to do more good than bad.
If I could say that I learned one thing, I learned that when it comes to a business there is no such thing as loyalty. I know that we were asked not to directly talk about The Penn State case, so I’m not going to start going off on a rampage defending Joe Pa but from the events that unfolded its clear that when there is money involved it really is every man for themselves. I’m not defending Joe Paterno or anything; this is just an observation that I made. He donated so much money to the school, gave so many years to the institution and to the legacy of Penn State; but they fired him via telephone and then aired it on television. It doesn’t really get much more disrespectful than that. Where is the loyalty? Another observation that I made is that the media holds so much power it is ridiculous. As a broadcast student this makes me very happy but it’s also a very scary thing. It would be fine if the media were that powerful and the viewers could think objectively and critically but they are just so gullible and easily influenced. There needs to be a balance. From the first day that the story broke the media had the entire country glued to the TV. There were people who had never paid attention to football who all of sudden knew names of coaches on the team. And with the media of course, comes the spread of false information. There were actually some people back at home in NY saying that Paterno was the one that molested the kids. I find that so mind blowing. There were also employers that were blatantly telling graduates of Penn Sate that they wouldn’t be hired because of the school the attended. The ignorance!! I can not deal. What did we do? Did we take part in any of Sandusky’s actions, No. So why should we suffer. It makes no sense. Before people investigate things for themselves they would much rather just go off of what someone said. A prime example of this was the blog that Sam posted about the Spanish-speaking firemen. Not most people go looking for information or the truth, they just accept anything thrown at them and then of course it turns into the game of telephone. I don’t know if you can attribute these observations to human nature; but whatever the reasoning behind these behaviors, it really says a lot. I’m not sure what exactly, but it says a lot.
There weren’t only negative things that I’ve learned from this scandal. I saw the real meaning of community and togetherness. Even from something as chaotic as the riot that took place to the touching candle light vigil held for the victims. I saw first hand the love that people had for someone demonstrated, whether it was negative or positive.
The question that Sam's wife posted was a very interesting question to ponder about the whole Sandusky scandal (more like debacle). There is no doubt about it however: it is really tough to be neutral when you are a Penn State student. I will do my best to look at this from a logical and unbiased perspective.
The Penn State scandal brought down one of the country's last few spotless football programs. In college football, where illegitimate recruiting, coaching scandals, and just general problems with teams in general, Penn State has had a squeaky clean report. Not just that, but "success with honor" has been incredibly successful. Penn State posts the highest graduation rate among football players, compared to any other college. They have never had a major NCAA violation (the only other two being Stanford and Northwestern). The Sandusky scandal brought all that crashing down. A once storied university has been brought down by the atrocious acts by this one man.
The question posed in this video was not about how I feel about this situation, however. It was what have we learned from these events over the last few months? I think I have taken several things from this whole thing. The first one is I have learned about more about child sexual abuse over the last few months. I have learned that it is way more frequent than I ever thought it was. What makes cases like this so rare is the silence and refusal to speak up about it. More often that not, it is done by someone who one knows really well. An Aunt or Uncle, maybe a cousin, or perhaps a neighbor. Sexual assault is often done by those who are close to us. Those who are victims are very unwilling to out their friends or family when they are abused. Child sexual assault is a silent offense that is way more common than we think.
The other thing I feel I have learned is how the actions of one man can completely undo all the good that has been done a destroy a reputation. Penn State was an impressive institution of great achievement, led by our honorable leader and coach, Joe Paterno. As soon as the scandal broke, it seemed that everything good that had been done had been unraveled. Even though it was Sandusky who committed the atrocities, Joe Paterno would be the one who got most of the blame for what happened. He was the face of the institution, and when the scandal broke, it allowed for the blame to be put on him, since not as many people knew who Sandusky was. It not only ruined a good part of Penn State's reputation, but also all of the good the Joe Paterno did for it as well.
I learned that one man's actions can ruin an entire institution's reputation. I think we all learned that child sexual abuse is very real and that something needs to be done so that there will be no more victims.
As I read some of the other comments about what other individuals in the class have learned I see that most people have taken the route that there are good people that make bad mistakes and then there are bad people who make purposefully bad decisions. Although, I do completely agree with that life lesson because in my opinion Joe Paterno made a bad choice and Jerry Sandusky is just gross. But because I am a local and I am obviously deeply tied to Joe Paterno, I therefore can’t talk about that life lesson because I would be taking a position on the situation and that’s not what the video asked. So what have I learned from these events in the past few months? I learned that child molestation is poorly educated to society, and extremely stigmatized. I watched a video where a victim of child abuse said he was ‘embarrassed’ and ‘ashamed’ to admit he had been abused. The pedophile should be the one that’s ashamed not the innocent victim. I also learned that people from all around the country and world want to criticize the events that happened here at Penn State, but they don’t want to use it as a learning lesson for their own communities. Because it can’t possibly be happening where you live, right? Wrong. Child molestation is everywhere; so check your own backyard before you just start degrading an entire institution for a few people’s bad decisions. I also learned that child abuse awareness is basically pathetic in this country. We hear about breast cancer all the time and are constantly spreading awareness about it and profession and college athletic teams wear pink during breast cancer awareness month. I think it is great. But lets do it with child molestation and help save more lives. Children should not be ashamed to tell someone that something bad happened to them, and that they need help. A tragedy shouldn’t happen for everyone to then begin to spread awareness; we need to prevent these tragedies. Changing once a tragedy happens is better than not changing, but its not like child abuse is a new phenomenon. Why hasn’t anyone decided that it would be a good idea to educate our youth on these hard topics?
Besides that, I’ve learned that integrity and honestly really are good foundations to live by. We all make mistakes, so admitting and learning from these bad decisions are more important than acting like you are perfect or innocent. I don’t believe the riots were intelligent at all because it didn’t show support for JoePa is showed that we weren’t ready as a whole to say that bad decisions were made and that we promise to continue to live with integrity. I believe that JoePa saying he could have done more was importance for us to all realize, a good person will recognize their mistakes.
From the recent events I have once again been dismayed by people. While it’s great to see everyone support Joe Paterno I have a lot of questions for why people support him now when just a month ago he was just as bad as Sandusky in the eyes of many. Unless someone can give me another reason I feel it is because people are far too impressionable. When the news broke of what Sandusky did the media went off and people just lost their minds. I was astonished to see that Joe Paterno’s name was even mentioned in the early going. To me it was and still will be seen as the media trying to make a story with name people could latch onto. No one knows who Curley, Schultz, Mcqueary, or even Sanduky were, but everyone knows Joe Paterno. Now that the media had everyone’s attention the story could unravel. With the good Paterno name being thrown in with all the atrocious things Sandusky did people slowly began to tie Paterno to the incident. Making everyone begin to wonder what did Joe do here? As the truth began to come out on what Joe knew or rather what he was told, people began to hold the scandal more on his head. Most Penn Staters rallied to support Joe Paterno and even riot ensued. All these issues here go back to what impressions were made on people. To Penn Staters firing Joe Paterno midseason, after he had already announced that he would step down at years end, was an unjustifiable crime. We know the truth that behind this scandal was man that gave everything he had to help others, a man who gave everything to build his football program and more importantly his school into the place it has become. Without Joe Paterno it is more than likely that many of us wouldn’t be here. We had the impression that Joe Paterno was a super human. In all honesty look at the man’s track record. He is truly a super human that no force should be able to tear down. But to the rest of the uneducated world Joe Paterno was a part of this scandal and the school took action. They held the impression that Joe Paterno was a man who was comfortable with what had happened here. The board could not let this school be one that people got the impression of as a child raping hell hole. Foolish as these people may be the truth is people behave on what they perceive as real not what reality actually is. Now that Joe Paterno has passed the word of all the good he has done is being released to the masses. Much more people are beginning to see Joe Paterno for who he really was. Suddenly the majority supports Joe Paterno. In fact they love him. It’s amazing to see how ready the minds of so many people are just waiting to be molded. To look even deeper I bet most people fail to realize that Sandusky wasn’t even an active coach at the time of the allegations. That hasn’t been a fact planted right in front of people this whole time and thus doesn’t leave them with any new impression. It is slightly upsetting to me to compare the human race to clay waiting to be sculpted but I cannot see it any other way. Even I say that I have been this way. When word broke in Auburn about Scam Newton I jumped onboard and called out the future Heisman winner as a cheating fraud. My old girlfriend at Auburn got mad at me all the time and said “You don’t even know who Cam is. You have no idea what good he has done to others and all the good things he has accomplished. All you know is the one bad thing the media has brought out.” I’m not saying Joe Paterno and Cam Newton are equal in virtues, however, now that the shoe is on the other foot I understand. I let impressions get me the same way people have recently done to Joe Paterno. As the Mighty Mighty Bosstones would say, that’s the impressions that I get.
Over the last few months I've thought about many different topics that I would not have normally thought about. However, one, somewhat non-controversial, topic was brought to the foreground in my mind–the way the media portrays major news. While in recent years I have been growing increasingly skeptical of the media's coverage of major news events, but sans an experience to compare my own first hand observations with the media's reporting, it has been difficult to form an opinion on actually how accurate, or should I say inaccurate, the media is with stories such as what happened here in State College. From my own opinions and research into the matter, it was easy to determine that the media’s policy of ‘report first, ask questions later’ was very evident. A perfect, self-contained example of this policy was in the “announcement” of Joe Paterno’s death by CBS. On the night of January 21, 2012, CBS falsely reported Joe Paterno’s death, when in fact, their only source for this claim was an article published by the student-run blog, Onward State, who also had an incorrect source of information. Had CBS taken the time to verify their sources, or even acquire a second source this error may not have been made. The same can be said for their (the media overall; not just CBS) reporting of more analytical news, such as Joe Paterno’s involvement in the events that transpired. The media did not take the time to attempt to look into the exact legal circumstances surrounding the issue at hand, but rather report what got more viewers, which is negative news. But can you blame them? They are a business just like any other and if reporting negative news sells more than reporting positive news, then it is obvious which way the media will spin the story. However, this is what I have learned; do not listen to the story that the media reports. It is most certainly biased towards a certain agenda (whichever agenda has the potential for high ratings, and subsequently, higher views). And yet, we all listen to the news and use their reporting of the facts to form our opinions on a given situation. This is an extremely dangerous habit to enter in to. So then how does one not enter into this path? Can any form of large media be trusted? For a large national news story, essentially, no, they cannot. Fortunately, though, we now have the ability for individuals to communicate cheaply and easily via the Internet. So what’s the best source for news then? A de-centralized news source from various people geographically near, or familiar with the topic at hand which provides an easy way to cross-check an individual’s account for accuracy.
Megan Lee
After all the events concerning the scandal here at Penn State, I’ve learned to empathize to a greater extent. I always thought that one of my greatest attributes was my ability to really empathize with others. When I first heard about the Sandusky scandal and how Joe Paterno was involved, I was really upset. I didn’t understand why anyone would ever let child molestation slip by so discreetly. I thought less of Joe for a moment. I expected him, and everyone else involved, to do more than keep it on the down low and do whatever it took to make sure it never happened again. However, the more I thought about it, I realized I would have done the exact same thing as Joe did. If I ever found out that someone extremely close to me, my uncle for example, was guilty of committing a deed as serious as child molestation, I would want to take care of matters under the table. I wouldn’t want people who don’t need to know about it to know about it. I would put my trust in “my uncle” and hope that he would stop doing whatever it was that he did, and getting authorities involved wouldn’t be necessary. There was a situation in my family years ago that was very similar to this. I didn’t understand it at the time either, but now I do. There was an abusive relationship between my aunt and her, now, ex-husband and she chose not to reveal the real reason for their divorce. She kept it on the down low and told the legal that the reason for their divorce was that things simply weren’t working out. I thought that was absurd, because I thought the only way he could change and the only way he would get help was if people knew and they forced him into some sort of treatment. I didn’t understand the reasoning behind her decision or the love that steered her in that direction. As I’ve matured I now understand the power of love for one’s family. That situation is so similar to what Joe went through. Empathy is an extremely important life skill. People who aren’t able to empathize with others tend to be ignorant, rude, and narrow-minded. I feel like when this scandal was initially released to the public, a lot of people were against Joe’s decisions. Then as time went by, we slowly realized that he meant no harm and he had good intentions. You can disagree with someone’s actions and decisions and understand where they’re coming from at the same time. In my opinion, the life lesson I learned during all the events since November that impacted me the most is empathizing.
i am a senior and i have learned more about how people act in the past few months at than i have learned in the past few years. i will start with the bad. i learned that people will act far outside any moral or ethical considerations to protect themselves without regards for others. i have learned that people will do anything for a quick buck (did anyone see the guy selling joepa shirts out of a duffel bag outside of the BJC after the memorial) i have learned that we as a nation and a s a community will pounce on each other and try to harm each other at times of tragedy when instead we should be banding together. i have learned that there is an incredible amount of hypocrisy in the world. i have learned that "outsiders" love to see what you stand for fall and that Schadenfreude is alive and well in all facets of our society. i have learned that no matter how hard you work and strive for good, a reputation is easily shattered and is almost impossible to repair. i have also learned that people like to hate and hate to learn, and that a lot of the problems that the community is facing with regards to image etc could be helped if everyone on all sides stopped to empathize with each other and took a long time to learn. i have also learned about the good in people. i have learned that sometimes people stand together amidst tragedy to support each other and to support who we love. i learned that we as Penn Staters and as people can change the world very easily. i have learned that the actions of a can improve the actions of many. i also learned personally how to i should stick up for what i believe in.
Through the events of the past few months I’ve learned that humans look for things to use to bring others down to their level. When we see someone whether they are a celebrity of an iconic figure head, we are so ready to bring them down because when we see them we envy them and their life. We ask ourselves why we can’t be like them. Or why we aren’t on their level. We see that as being something wrong with us and not them. As humans we are draw to bad news. Not just to bring others down to know what to stay away from. We look at situation like what happened with Joe Paterno and we say to ourselves that if we were in his shoes that we would have handled the situation better. We would have been better than him. But the truth is that we never know. We never know how we would react to claims like that. I would like to put it out there that most of what has been said about him have all been claims. That is important because that says something else about humans and how we are able to take information that we don’t even know is true and take a position based on what we think is true or what we want to believe is true. Is the case of the media, there job is to take a stance. You see the media already has a stance on a lot of these issues and events either wall on one side or the other. In our, we fell on the wrong side. And to them, it didn’t matter how hard we work or how much money we raise for THON (most of them don’t even know what THON is). They saw what happened and they saw us, and it was easier for them to just put us all in the same group. People are so ready for information to be spoon fed to them that they don’t even wait for facts or try to filter people’s opinions from the news. Another thing that I’ve learned is that when something traumatic happens like in our case, people don’t know how to handle the situation. A lot of people come here with this idealistic view of this university and what happened shattered that view of this university. It was confusing. When people get confused they don’t think things through and that’s what happened in our case. Humans are very narcissistic and controlling creatures. Instead of letting things run their natural course we are so ready to interject ourselves in a situation and take control in a way that we think is best to move forward. This can be dangerous because we tend to over reach, jumping to far too soon. I think that’s what happened on both sides of the situation we found ourselves in.
Prior to coming to Penn State, I never really felt a deep connection to this place and it really was just the place that I came to learn, acquire a degree and go out into the workforce. In the beginning of a really knew as to why some people have such a deep profound love for this place. I always thought it was the football program that was able to take some 40,000 people and a multitude of others in Centre County and bring them together. This love for this football program served as a patriotic symbol and belief that everyone seems to share.
In a strange microcosm Penn State could be compared to America. For it was not until the tragic events of 9/11 occurred that many people nationwide, assembled together, backed up the government and started to support this country 100%. Many people raise their flags, sang their songs. Felt there was an injustice done. They wanted answers and they wanted them now. To this day a lot of things are still unclear. One thing remains constant and that is the unwavering support of the American people for their country. In a small way you could compare Penn State in the same way.
When news got out about the horrible things that Sandusky had done, It horrified the Penn State population that a monster like this was harboring in this neighborhood and was commit such heinous crimes against humanity. It was like a huge punch in the eye that left a black eye that in some ways can almost never be healed. And just like Americans stormed Afghanistan in search of retribution for those actions. Small amount of the Penn State population stormed the streets in search of retribution and answers for not only Sandusky's actions before Board of Trustees hasty actions. Was Sandusky did was a huge attack on the Penn State Way. Penn State always had the squeaky clean image and a great reputation. This reputation was that it provided a quality education not harbored predators that were praying on people's innocent children. Even throughout all this Penn State community was able to come together raise their flags and stand by their school.
Before all these events occurred at Penn State I didn't really care much for the school. Not only was there an inside attack on the institution that boiled my blood but the outside attack from the media and the press made me angry as well. It is not until you been through the storm and rain that you can really appreciate something. I now possess a deep down appreciation for his Penn State institution because of what we've been through together. It is not just me I viewed as the whole entire population of Penn State. It is not just football that can connect us and is now hardship, tribulation, and disappointment. We have overcame these things and it has brought us closer together, building the foundation of loyalty, trust and interpersonal connection between us all.
I think one of the things that was pretty surprising, and that I learned this year was what Sam said about people that have been abused and the amount that they have in our class even. Being from Haiti, you'll hardly ever hear stories about abuse because people keep it in all the time. I guess its the culture of Haiti that makes it really hard for people to say things like that or do even things like coming out of the closet. Just like Sam said before that, there are things that we kind of know but we just never think about and that was one of them. I myself have someone that I know in my family that has been abused, but my family being so huge, I did not really think that, that might be a common occurrence in other families. My dad has eleven brothers and sisters, and my mom has 10 brothers and sisters. So I would think that my family would of been kind of special, but I guess almost every person thinks their family is special compared to others. Other things that I learned this year was more about the American people which are very interesting. One thing that I noticed is that American people really like to watch youtube videos. Even if they’re with a group of friends, they’re able to just stay a long time just watching videos about anything. I don’t understand how they can do that but I guess that’s a special characteristic of the American people. In Haiti when a group of friends hang out, we actually hang out, joke around, talk about things, and enjoy life. One other thing that I noticed about kids here is that you guys love to party, or maybe just like to drink. Being over here I talked to several of drunk kids and realized that they like to talk and vent about their lives to almost anybody. It could maybe just be me, but people tell me all their shit for some reason. The way people live nowadays, guys especially don’t ever like to ever really talk about their problems to another person for some reason, and it feels like the only way the ever get to get all of the built up stuff out is to get drunk and say it when they don’t care. Girls on the other hand (guys are also beginning to be this way too), talk on each other backs all the time. Girls can have a super close friendship with another girl or guy, some way they always find a way to talk on each other backs. I really don’t understand where this world is coming to. The problem is also that this is mostly America, and of course America has the most influence on every other nation in the world. So in other words, the whole world is screwed.
This is my second semester at UP and I must say that since I've been here, I've learned that some people are very quick to jump on the bandwagon. As caisha61 said, I too have noticed a lot of hypocrisy. If this were to happen at another school, we WOULD have our eyes glued to the screen. The thing is, We would only be seeing one side. We as Penn Staters saw both sides. I don't think its right that we as people are more interested in info-tainment as opposed to getting the whole true story. When I went home for thanksgiving for instance, I was flooded with bold statements made by other people who did not even know the whole story. Just what the media told them. Sometimes I wonder what's the point in having news if its not told respectfully and its entirety? In november, the media totally slayed and Joe Pa only concentrating on the negative things because unfortunatley thats what people want to hear. It's "interesting". Once the one sided people believed what they want, they ridicule the individual until there is nothing left. A noticeable example, Michael Jackson. For decades this man was slayed by the media and people who always believe what they hear and never bother to find out for sure, harassed him to no end and when he died, that's when people came out and said how much they loved him as opposed to the people who have stuck with him through everything. I just wish people take the initiative to learn everything about someone before they go around making bold statements not caring what they do to others because despite what some people say, words do hurt and can ruin a person.
On another note, I've learned and appreciate the sense of togetherness that is Penn State and I hope to all hopes that something like this will never happen to ANYONE else.
This is a really tough question to answer without taking a side. We, as a Penn State community, have been through a lot these past few months. We've been attacked, judged, cast out, and disrespected by so many people all because of one man and his actions. The saying, "One bad apple, can spoil the bunch" came true for us.
Joe Paterno remained humble and peaceful through all of this. His name has been slandered in a vicious way and he still never got out of his character. If its one thing I learned is to never let them see you sweat.
That saying really describes Joe's actions throughout these months. Personally, if my name and legacy was torn apart because of the media and one man, I would have lost it. I would have had interviews pressing my point and telling the media to fuck off. But joe did no such thing. He Ignored what people were saying and continued to live his life.
I truely admire Joe Paterno. He has done so much for the community. That's why he had so much support and love. He loved any and everyone and always showed that. I never got a chance to meet Joe, but I loved him and had so much respect for him. That really says a lot in my opinion.
1.We hate the offenders of child sexual abuse, or even as broad as child abuse; we also hate the people who do not do anything when they know the bad thing is happening. But the worst thing is that the hatred in our mind never goes away even the people who we hate already passed away. Forgiveness is essential for human being. I know it is extremely hard to forgive someone. The world is changing everyday; people will change. If the one who we hate so much lives in the guilt by what he/she had done, he/she also wants to make an effort to be a better person, why do we make ourselves live in a dark room and curse that person all the time? It is time to move on. Forgiveness never comes so easily, but if we try, it will come eventually.
2.Do not always blame other people of not doing anything, ask ourselves, did we report to the police when we witness a theft down the street? Maybe some of you do, some of you don’t, why? Because we always think someone else will do so. That is not true at all! Everyone has his/her own responsibility to make the society better. When I was in elementary school, there was a girl who abused me physically and emotionally for three years, none of my classmates told the teacher even though everyone knew how horrible was that. And I was threatened by that girl if I told anyone this, she would give me a even harder time. I have been living in the great depression since 7 years old, eventually my counselor had to hospitalize me in order to find the best solution to make me feel better. I always asked myself, if, if there was a person who could actually stand forward and protect me at that time, I would not be as severe depressed as now. Like now, if there was a person who can report to the police about child sexual abuse, there would be less children have trauma in their lives. The only way to make our society be happier and better, is not to blame other people of doing bad things, yet to take your own responsibility to change things, even just a little bit will make a great difference in other people’s lives.
3.Death happens to everyone. So do not do anything you would regret when the person dies. Something you can take back when he/she is alive, but you can never take his/her life back.
4.Even greatest people make mistakes. These mistakes will not erase whatever he/she had done. Like Joe Paterno’s memorial, no one can deny how much he contributed in making Penn State a great University.
Through the mist of all the shock and tears that have been shed the past couple of months, and especially the last couple of days I feel that a great lesson came to light for not only the Penn State community, but for people around the nation. The question about morals has always been one that people have talked about many times and there are certain instances where people seem to have no problem stating how they “think” they would react in a particular situation. However, through the mist of the investigations and scandal I think that morals are one that has been greatly tested. Joe Paterno, a man who has lived from what we know to be a moral life made a mistake morally in the eyes of many. Although, he may have done what was legally correct at the time the question of whether or not what he did was “morally” correct is still in debate. While wrongfully (in my opinion) being crucified by the media thoughts and feelings poured through and everyone seemed to have an opinion on the matter. I completely understand why many individuals would be upset with Coach Joe Paterno and I understand why they would chastise him for not doing more especially when he had such an influential voice here in Penn State. Joe Paterno has also chastised his own self for not doing more. However, I do feel as though morality is one of those things that people will never truly know what they will do in a situation such as the one in question unless they are put in such a situation. It is always easy to be high and mighty and extremely opinionated when you have never experienced what Mr. Paterno has. Saying things like “I would have done more” is very easy however; I also feel that it would be very naïve of someone. Things change and certain situations make you react in ways in which one may never have believed a day in their lives they would react. Also, I think I have not only learned, but realized how in our justice system, we as a society are really quick to judge people by their actions without taking a step back and putting ourselves in their positions. In fact we will never know what is going on in someone’s mind unless we walk a mile in their shoes even if it is for a moment. Our justice system has always takes pride in the saying “innocent until proven guilty.” However, I feel that many times society seems to forget that and tend to find people guilty and think that those people need to be proven innocent which we all truly know is not the case.
I have learned a lot from the events that have transpired following the scandal with Sandusky, the firing of Joe Paterno, and his death. First of all, I found myself in the middle of a huge news event, something that I have never experienced before. The some what closed off world that is Penn State was rocked to its core. A place that is so close knit and small faced large scale media attention that we have never seen before. All of a sudden, our small town garden of eden was shaken to its core. The very thing that separated us from other big schools and football programs was turned on its head. We used to brag about how our school had never had a major NCAA violation and then, all of a sudden, we were stricken with one of, if not the worst, scandal to ever happen in major college athletics. One of the things I have learned from this is that we are in no way invinsible. Even the best have their downfalls and their dark secrets. I learned that there seems to be a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to a big money maker like NCAA football. It is kind of amazing how quickly everything comes crashing down. Around the nation people see Penn State as and embarrassment when it used to be a place of great respect and for a lot of people, that was a hard thing to accept, including myself. Its hard to believe that a place you found so pure and clean can be tarnished so greatly. Perhaps we should not hold things in such high regards. Perhaps we should expect to be let down. Perhaps everything that we hold dear in our lives have their secret flaws.
This is how I feel about the man himself, Joe Paterno. The man that we saw as the doer of all good and a face of reason in college football. In a time of illegal recruiting and tattoos, we saw Joe as above it. I learned that Joe was a great man. His memorial service shows that. He effected so many lives in such a powerful way and our views of him should not change necessarily. He still was a face of change, of old, of pure; but he was also human. We all have our grave mistakes, the things that haunt us when we lay in our beds with only our thoughts and perhaps this was Joe Paternos. He did what was required by law but not what was necessary. It is easy to say that we would be brave enough to report but it is hard to put ourselves in his black Nike shoes and his rolled up pant legs. REST IN PEACE JOE.
What I learned the most, in all the events that have occurred these last few months, especially those surrounding Coach Joe Paterno, is how people react to legends, heroes, and their mistakes. There were four main reactions that I saw: denial, vitriol, acceptance, and the worst ignorance. Many people, especially those that are a part of the Penn State community, were in complete denial over the recent events. They grasp on to the fact that Joe Paterno did nothing wrong, legally. Even though Coach Joe stated himself that he wish he did more, they still affirm that he did nothing wrong. On the other side of the arena are those that spew vitriol. There were those that held Joe Paterno at the same level as the alleged perpetrator, Sandusky. They claim that Paterno did nothing. He did not go to the authorities to protect his team, legacy, and the money. Even though Paterno was not in legal trouble and even though there were many others involved in the case that did not go to the police, the put Paterno on an impossible pedestal. They claim that he was the ultimate force at Penn State, and as such he had the absolute power to determine the outcome of this case. Then there is the party of acceptance. These are the people that admired Coach Joe Paterno. These people believed in many of Joe’s beliefs and looked up to him. However, he was not an untouchable legacy in their eyes. He was a great human being, but he was not set on an impossible pedestal. As such, these people had the easiest time accepting the fact that Joe Paterno was a human and as such he shared human tendencies, tendencies such as making mistakes. They recognized that Joe Paterno could make a mistake, and although it was a huge mistake they were able to accept it and move on with life. The last reaction was ignorance, those who knew little of the story but felt like they had to put their two cents in. This ignorance stemmed comments such as “he raped kids so he deserved to die.” There is just so many things wrong with this statement. These people not only come off uneducated but uncaring. They condemn a man that they know very little about. But it also shows the fact that they just do not care. That do not care they are uneducated. They do not care enough about the world around them to learn more. These people just saddened me. It just really hit home how few people care about the facts, their education, and the world around them. But from the other three reactions, I learned how scary it is to have an idol and to be an idol. As an idol, there will always be people that stand behind you. Unfortunately, there will always be people willing to tear you down. But most of all, I saw the risk in having a complete idol. It becomes difficult to see that person as human and it is simply devastating when you can no longer hide from the fact that they are. What I learned is that it is good to look up to someone, just always remember that they are human. It is far less dangerous. So that is how I have decided to react to everything and to take away from this experience. I will have heroes, people I admire, and people I try to emulate. However, I will always be my own person. Coach Joe Paterno did so many amazing things. He set the bar high on how to live a good and fulfilling life. He taught us how to live with honor. He also showed us that everyone can and will make mistakes. It is a part of life.
I do not think I can comment on what I learned about humanity in reference to the recent events at Penn State without taking a side. My stance is that I support Joe and disapprove of how the media handled the story. I lost a great deal of respect for journalism, and the media in general as I witnessed that their job is to print the best story possible, and not to print the most accurate story. The media often told only one-sided reports of the scandal and the side that would sell the most papers was the side that demonized Paterno. This caused me to become more aware of this one-sided story telling in any news/media report.
I got mad those who were quick to judge Penn State students; accusing us of caring more about football than about the victims, when in fact we were protesting the lack of media attention about the victims and Sandusky, as well as protesting the punishment and demonizing of non-guilty persons rather than the guilty persons.
I got angry at people from outside of Penn State who were ignorant of what Joe Paterno means to this school and people in this area; saying that we are all just insensitive idiots who care more about football games than about the victims. This is far from the truth; the media showed the riots in a bias way and gave PSU a horrible reputation. Almost no one here thought a destructive protest was necessary, but when there are that many severely upset and severely angry people in a large crowd, when has that ever not turned destructive? I am not making excuses to condone the events but I'm angry at the media for bashing Penn State when this could have happened anywhere. JoePa is way more than just a coach to Penn State students… he is more than a hero, he is completely and utterly beloved. When you fire someone that beloved… without all the facts and without legal grounds to fire him people are going to get upset.
Any other school or city given the same circumstances of a beloved legend that is well respected and adored by so many for his generosity, character, values etc. who is wrongfully fired when he did his duty, and the board admitted they were firing him before they had all the facts, would very likely have responded in the same way. Paterno is the greatest coach in college football history, and arguably the greatest football coach in history, period. I feel that had a similar scandal occurred during the height of Babe Ruth’s career when he was the greatest baseball player to ever live and idolized by so many; New York City would have rioted if he was fired from baseball when those firing him admitted they did not have all the facts and that he did nothing wrong. I did not partake in the riots, and I am not condoning the damage they caused in anyway. I am only saying I am upset at the news reports of Penn State students being called buffoons, etc. as this would have happened anywhere if there is a crowd of that many extremely angry, upset, and hurt people in one area, a riot is bound to happen. PSU students were not 'blindly following Paterno', as the media makes it seem, we had grounds to be upset at rash actions by the board, and at the media's sensationalizing of the story.
In addition, many people did not understand our anger at this situation because they did not think about how the story would be different if this scandal had happened at a school with a no-name coach. The face of evil in the media SHOULD have been Sandusky, not Paterno just because of his popularity. Had this story taken place at a school with a no-name head coach who reported what he had heard it to his superiors, to the head of campus police (who are the police that have jurisdiction over events that occur on campus), and to the President of the University itself—would that head coach be the one demonized on every news channel and on the cover of every paper? No, this no-name coach would be barely a footnote in any news reports, and not at all blamed for terrible events that had happened. Instead, the actual perpetrator of the crimes would have been the one demonized. If there were a no-name head coach, the news reports would have been about Sandusky, the officials who covered it up, the victims, and the real story as it should have been; however, since Paterno is a huge name and a legendary coach the outcome of the news reports were entirely different.
I learned not to believe everything I read or hear in the news; I learned to look up both sides of an issue rather than believing the first one I hear. I learned just how different an event, such as the riot over the firing of Paterno, could look completely opposite when it is viewed as an insider rather than as an outsider. I hope to take that lesson with me in the future; I will try to imagine any news story or scandal from an insider’s point of view as well as from the way it looks on the outside in the media’s portrayed before making judgment. It struck me to realize that had this happened to a popular figure that I immensely disliked I would be on the other side of the issue. For an example I am a Yankees fan and they have a heated rivalry with the Red Sox; if this story had come out about a coach or player associated with the Red Sox I would be on the complete other side and support their firing and would greatly disapprove of those supporters rioting. This shows just how different an insider or an outsider’s perspective can be.
As a senior Psychology major, I can cite numerous studies and experiments which demonstrate just how immensely powerful the media is on us both consciously and unconsciously; therefore, I believe the media must change its goal of trying to write the story that will sell the most papers, to the goal of writing the story with the most truth.
I learnt a deep lesson about life and the test that it puts people through.
I learnt that a persons ending is not far from being a true reflection of who a person is. A structure of integrity and charity could easily be cracked and later demolished by the creeks of injustice and oppression. It is difficult to live a life of integrity and charity but its more difficult to maintain that life's ideals and beliefs when no one is watching.
We need to question whether a good man who says nothing and does is a indeed a good man or rather a sustainer for evil that flourishes. It easy to put blame on other when we are not in the shoes of those who are tested. But when so many of us fail the test what does that say about our society? When the teachings of 'Greed is Good' overshadow the teaches of "Treat others the way you want to be treated" what does that say about us?
The events that transpired over the last three months at Penn State have left us all a little disillusioned, but most of all, confused. Upon hearing the announcements, my emotions immediately went into hyperdrive. I think a lot of students would join me in agreeing that they didn't know what to think. There was no emotion that manifested itself over another and I was trying to come to terms with all of them. As the days went on, I found myself using one word to describe how I was feeling, time and time again; disgust. I wasn't disgusted with one man or one media source or one paper or one reporter or one rioting student or one acquaintance using social media to tarnish PSU's name, but was disgusted with all of them.
News story after news story broke, and with each report I found myself criticizing the accuracy of what was being presented to the world through that outlet, in that moment in time. I couldn't believe the negativity that seemed to surround every report talking about our coach, our school and my peers. Most accounts were gravely exaggerated, and I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with the media.
I am not naive. I always knew that the media exploited version of the truth, but I have never before been a part of something where I could see what was actually happening and then see how the media's twisted into something else. It was baffling. It was unsettling to see how much of a difference there was between the two sides of the story. Until a few days ago, I wasn't going to do much with this new found realization. I was content in thinking that the media did a grave injustice to our university by bringing us into that whirlwind. I was happy to point my finger at the media and paint Penn State students and University as the victims. After listening to Sam talk in class the other day about how the media does this to everyone, I realized that he was right in that if this had happened at another school, I probably would have reacted how every non-PSU person reacted. From this I realized that everything portrayed in the media really needs to be taken with a grain of salt, no matter how true it may seem to be, and that I should think twice the next time I judge someone/something/some other institution for the "poor" decisions they make in the future.
Like most people, I condemn the media for much of the hysteria and misleading information surrounding the events that have occurred at Penn State over the past couple of months. As soon as ESPN broke the initial news of Jerry Sandusky's alleged actions, it became the only story they covered for the next weeks. This obsession over a very sensitive and personal news story caused all sorts of uproar in the Penn State community. The demand for breaking news on the story became so high that ESPN centered many of its programs around different investigations and news alerts from State College. The media blew the story to a titanic scene and released information condemning almost all Penn State officials involved, including Joe Paterno. The media presented the news story in a way that glossed over many of the details regarding the way the situation was handled. Therefore, those not close to the situation were receiving incomplete information and in return formed impartial and misinformed opinions about the story and feel the "right" to voice their newly formed opinion based on the media's portrayal of the story (which they believe is 100% correct).
What I learned most from the past couple months is that the media's supply in their industry is backed by a demand from society to hear interesting and controversial news topics. Therefore, the media was essentially allowed to crucify Joe Paterno because of an initial allegation that was later found out to be not completely accurate. The Penn State board of trustees had no choice but allow the media to continue with their actions and accusations because it generated an interesting and hot topic. ESPN focused on releasing the most breaking news and prided itself on releasing the newest information first because the demand for that news insisted upon it. However, this does not always work when the "newest" news is not always guaranteed to be accurate when everything is said and done.
I learned mostly that society is simply just a bunch of consumers. The media and news stations needed to point the finger at somebody and have attempt to put the blame on anyone they could or anyone that was even remotely involved. If you are not close to a situation or know the facts on both sides of the story, it really is unfair to form an opinion about it because you can not say truthfully that you are giving an informed position. And yet the media still finds a way to justify their stories and "news" to be the truth which allows millions of people to form unjust and unfair positions on sensitive topics that affect more than just those involved. I strongly disagree with how the media, especially ESPN, handled the breaking of the news from Penn State.
i've learned that one bad decision can erase 10million good ones in some peoples eyes because people just dont give a fuck! the media is the devil!! *billy madison mom v* but seriously yea the joepa thing just showed me what i already knew about the media and people. but losing my good friend november 13 taught me alot. it taught me that you really need to cheris the people you love and let them know that you love them. you really need to treat people right to make a difference. joey brought sooo many together by just being a real geniue caring person. smh………joey….joey was great and his passing not only motivated me to really succeed in school but also my psu greater Allegheny family. he really brought us together and we tell eachother we love eachother all the time.
What have I have learned from this? Wow, this has probably been the most eye opening experience I have gone through thus far. I learned that even through despair, human beings can overcome any event, if there is a strong enough bond among people of a certain kind of group–that group being Penn State, and the biggest alumni network in the world. When we found out about the events, Sandusky’s alleged sexual abuse charges, Joe Paterno being fired and ultimately Joe’s passing, I felt a not a fear bond, but a love bond; a love bond that would be tested by the entire world spitting on Penn State. The only way we would survive was to bond together and be strong. We made it through all the media attention.
. We made it through the most incredible coach in college football being fired. We made it through the death of Joe, who was the face of our University. We made it through the tarnishing of our beloved coach’s reputation. We made it through the tarnishing of our University’s reputation. Yet, we would not let that hold us back from being what “this place” is all about, love for each other. It’s the most amazing thing. There is an instant bond when meeting another Penn Stater. No matter who they are, you feel as though you know them, and you know they feel the same about you, which makes it so special. Its so strange how love works, and it surprises the hell out of you when you find it in places you never thought. I know the riot of the night we all found out made us look even worse, but that riot really showed me that I was not going to deal with this situation alone. The riot showed me how many people had the same feelings as me.
There were feelings of anger, sadness, fear, and unknowingness. It also showed the rest of the world that we were unhappy about the events that transpired and were not afraid to show our feelings. I know it sucked when the media showed it as a destructive event, putting people in danger but it also showed our anger and love we have for Joe. Imagine if there was a riot every time a coach was fired, its ridiculous to even think of. That shows the love we had for the man and how important he was to us.
Ive learned that love can turn a scared group of people, into a strong group of people. Love can overcome everything and will continue to for the rest of my life. I’m thankful that I’ve had to put these thoughts onto paper because it really helps me reflect. Thanks Sam
the recent events that took place are things that are not new (news wise) scandals, abuses, charges, assults and such are things that have been around for a while, Penn State is not the first, and not the last University to have gone through this, aside from that, these events also made me realize that some of the things on a larger scale, like one mistakes can erase a person's many good deeds, JOE PA has been a great influence on people in the University, he has Helped the community, the students, the Athletes and everyone, from what i have heard of known from him, he has always been giving his time and money to people and places, he was very dedicated and he has helped coach people to be the best they can be, on the field and off the field. He has taken part in many good deeds and helping his players reach their goals, be it continuing their dreams in football or to become great in another field (doctor, scientist, teacher, etc) the important thing I have learned from him is that he made a promise to his father to make a difference and impact on people’s life, to make something good of himself which he did, his promise was true, he had made in impact, he was a good person, he did all these things he promised and planned to do when coming to Penn State. I understand that he, like may of us, Did make a mistake, (I wish he took the extra step to keep these things from taking place, and prevented it ) If he noticed that his report to the university didn’t make any changes and differences in taking control of the situation, he could have and should have taken the extra step in reporting the abuse and actions that took place when he witnessed or saw or heard of these things, if he reported all the information that he was aware of, and things were taken care of, how would we have treated him then? He’s a human being, he assumed that the people around him were people he trusted, he was not aware that they had a hand in on this. I don’t blame him personally, we al have cases where the people we trust end up hurting us more. I think instead of the animosity and aggression and taunting directed towards Joe pa, (everyone pointing the finger to one person) we forget that not all the details are yet clear and that we are all to blame for everything, if we were in situations and cases like these, would we speak up? Report them? We are also equally to blame, cases like these are really paid attention to much because we choose not to speak of them. Instead of bringing them up and causing awareness we prefer to push it to the side, ignoring them.
Joe Pa had a Great heart, his intentions were to help not hurt. He has impacted many, the person who I think should be held responsible was the person who was the downfall of the whole thing, the person who started and didn’t mind continuing what he knew was wrong, there is only so much one person can do. No on is perfect, we ALL have flaws, and imperfections, its easy to blame and point the finger at one person when we can all do something to make a difference in out community and our world, its about the little things that can make a big difference.
Also, the Media is to blame, they tend to overlook or exaggerate stories and news just to bring out the worse in us all. Besides since when does the media shed the real light on anything? No one knows the actual truth in things, for some ignorance is bliss and knowledge is pain. Either side of the spectrum can effect us all in various ways unimaginable,…the best we can do is look to eliminate what is wrong, stand up to those who where victimized, heal them and not look down to them, or ignoring them, people like that have hard time coping with things they did not intend for them to happen, even when they speak up, they are judged for why not showing up sooner…its easier said than done, we have to place ourselves in peoples shoes and understand and feel what they feel. I bet Joe Pa didn’t have a easy time knowing what he could have done, it bothered him as it bothers me seeing all these things that happen to everyday people that could be prevented and such.
I still look at Joe Pa’s accomplishments, influences, achievements and all the other great things he has done, sure that mistake was not anything short of catastrophe but what is important is the fact that he realized and apologized for it (its never to late to say sorry) in the end he is still the Face of this town and University, maybe with a minor scar just to show that one flaw he had but if you look at the big picture, that could be overlooked, and become a part of him, just like we all have scars of flaws and mistakes. Cant judge when you too are also judged in others eyes and by people.
It takes a while for all these thing to sink in and realize things despite its difficulty and such.
What We Are is PENN STATE….What matters is carrying his Ideas, Dreams and personality and spread them to others and make our environment a better place not only for ourself but others as well, we can enjoy things, not hate them!
The events from the past few months have both affected people in a number of ways and affected a large number of people. Being a Penn Stater from the day I was born, this has hit me very hard. I have created feelings toward so many people based on how they have reacted and have also created my own reactions on the situation as well… and quite frankly, up until the last few days, I have actually realized that making these assumptions was wrong on my part. I have learned so many things from joe paterno in my lifetime. However, I think that in the last few months, especially in the last couple of days, I have learned the most from him. Joe Paterno led by example and leading by example was what he did best. He displayed his character on and off the football field by having success with honor and putting academics first. And I cannot help but admire and aspire to be anything like what that great man was. I know that many people are on both ends of the spectrum on how they think of joe after the scandal and being a joe pa fan my entire life i am obviously on that side. At no point did i think that he had done anything wrong even though he absolutely may have. I just kind of put that off to the side even that may have been a very wrong thing to do.. Tho=roughout this entire process i have learned to see both side of the story and obtain a better understanding of why people feel the way they do. I also now realize that it is not wrong for people to be completely against joe.. Even though there is a part of me that thinks that it is so wrong to not love him, it is completely necessary to have both type of people and even people in the middle in this type of situation and in life. Another thing that these past few days have done is made me love my university. I don't know why it is that this scandal has made me love being a penn stater so much more but it has.. I think it is the type of unity that is created in situations like this one, where only people on the inside, or at penn state, really can understand what kind of man joe paterno was, and what kind of establishment penn state really is. I think that it is such a giant tragedy that this has happened to penn state university but there is no where in the entire world that i would rather be that here supporting this place and these people. I was talking to my dad the other day about this (also and alum) and he was just torn up about it… one thing that he said that really stood out to me was that there is no college like penn state anywhere else in the united states… no where at any university is a library named after the football coach, and the football stadium named after a pres. ( or at least i think beaver was… if not he did still do a lot of great things for psu).
We have watched a man be at his highest feeling of greatness and highest feeling of shame all in a couple of months. One day Joe Paterno has won record 409 wins and voted “winningiest coach” and the next, he’s being fired after being accused of not doing more to help Sandusky’s victims. One minute everyone loves Joe Pa and the next people are questioning everything they ever believed. It was confusing how you can still want to love an icon like Joe Paterno who you have always trusted, knowing that he knew this disgusting secret that he didn’t report to the police. Outsiders to the Penn State community have challenged us constantly with the question “how could you still support someone like Joe Paterno?” For most of us, we come back with the typical response of a loyal, stubborn Penn Stater: “it’s not Joe’s fault… the rules state that he only has to report such information to the officials directly above him”…”he did what he was legally supposed to do”… “He’s not the one that was raping the young boys; focus on Sandusky”. And although the people who say that may be right, I came to terms that, after clarified through Sam’s lectures, everyone makes mistakes. We say that all the time about our friends, family, workers etc that people aren’t perfect and everyone makes small mistakes time from time. But I’m talking about that it is normal for good people in this world to make terrible mistakes that they will have to live with forever. We are so quick to judge, criticize, and change our whole outlook on person based on one action. Joe Paterno made a mistake. Legally obliged or not, he could’ve done more and he has apologized for it. It does not mean we should forget about everything good he has done for this school and so many people. He has impacted many lives and people will forever be grateful towards him. Penn State has held this man on such a high pedestal for decades, no one can live up to their “perfect” image all the time. We are only human. Nothing is black and white. I’m sure it was not an easy decision for Joe and it is not one people should have an opinion on unless they were in his position. I struggled, as I’m sure did many others, for days after the whole scandal broke wrestling with my feelings of what do I believe. I had to listen to family, friends, the media, that never attended Penn State, tear us apart for supporting a “villain” like Joe Paterno. We were deemed “annoying” and “cult –like animals”. I have never seen so much hate and anger come from people in this world who know and understand so little. I learned to ignore it all. I don’t have time to explain myself to ignorant people what it’s like to have a passion for something. The last few months, I learned just how strong of passion and pride I have for this school. I will remember this year, my sophomore year in college, for the rest of my life. And I will always be Penn State Proud and Paterno Proud. It is something “from the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.”
What I've learned in life is that you must forgive people. Like my grandfather use to say "Just think what I would say in that situation" and to move on. God bless him he has passed away but he hasn't faded one bit in my heart. He will always be there till I die. But the importance of the life your born into is not chosen. Whether your upper class, middle class, or lower class you just have to except the fact that your there and the only way to get out is to educate yourself. Learn about the world not just where you live. To expand your mind to the full extent. Learn to always think in other peoples situations not just your own. Joe Paterno being a big part of the Penn State Community does hurt people but he will never leave the community as a whole. He will always be in our hearts till we all die. To think of it when we are at his funeral if you think of it at another perspective and new child somewhere in the world is either born on that day or his celebrating his birthday. While one legend dies another will be born.
Over the past few months I have learned a lot about the way people react to scandals in the media and the bigotry present in some of my closest friends. When the Sandusky scandal first broke everyone was tearing down Penn State any chance they got without really knowing any of the information. I have stopped talking to a number of my friends from high school mainly because they felt it was right to blame the entire university of Penn State for the actions of a few people.
As far as Joe Paterno and his role in this I agree with Phil Knight in saying that Joe Paterno did what he was legally required to do and moved on with his life. If all of us were had our mistakes broadcasted to the world then we would all feel part of what Joe Paterno had to go through during his final weeks. I saw first hand how media can twist a story into whatever they want it to say. The riots could have been so much worse for the amount of people that were there but the media only showed the one news van flipping and the small amount of people who were acting ridiculous. Joe Paterno did so much for this University, however; ultimately he was judged soley on his actions many years ago. It is true he could have done more but he also could have done way less. It seems in this whole scandal we are looking to blame those people who did not do more in reporting the allegations rather than the man who committed the haneous crime.
If this one event effects the standing of this University that it will be a shame. To judge an entire university off of the actions of a few men is a terrible way to live, however; I will stand by Penn State because I can see what we are really about and stand for. We try our best to stand with the victims while also supporting our university and home. This whole situation has shown me how easily people can turn on you. Joe Paterno was beloved and raised as the most iconic man in college sports until in the span of 3 months that entire support system started to crumble. I have learned how to handle the bigotry in people at least a little better than I had known before. Anger never makes people understand things more and sometimes neither does reason.
The impact the media has on the world I think was the greatest lesson in all of this. We saw how easily the media can change people views through slanted reporting that no one questions. Through all of this I think I have learned to never accept things fully as they are told to you. Always question their sources and look for the idea the media is trying to project.
What have I learned from all the events that have unfolded here at Penn State? Throughout the time that everything has been occurring I have not given much thought to this question. One thing I have concluded about human beings from observing the students and faculty here on campus is how they are prideful despite the adversity that we have faced here on campus. Many students discussed the negative views they have received as a result of the events that occurred on campus, and yet they remain prideful about being students of Penn State. In regards to the situation specifically, Joe Paterno has served as an iconic figure here at Penn State for so many years. Everyone has grown to love him and care for him. When he was evaluated for his actions or lack of action in the child sexual assault situation it outrage everyone. For example, students demonstrated their anger by rioting on the street downtown and standing outside his home. This showed that people are loyal to the people they care for because no one wanted to go against him even if he was in the wrong. In my opinion, after the events occurred here at Penn State I felt different about attending Penn State. Penn State is known for its name and reputation which is why I attended it; however that reputation was brought down by the actions of one man.
Another lesson I have learned is that life is unpredictable. People can be very naïve take everything for life as it appears. However we cannot control or predict what will happen. In the case of the events that unfolded at Penn State, many might argue that Joe Paterno could have done something to prevent the abuse that was happening to children on campus. However, people could not even grapple or imagine that Joe Paterno could have done anything wrong. In my opinion, they have allowed their love for him as an icon to blind their beliefs and values just because it was him. This to me proved that at the end of the day we are all humans and cannot predict the actions of everyone. We are all raised with different values and views and in life we act on those beliefs. There is no guarantee that everyone will choose to act the same way.
The most important lesson I have taken from everything that has transpired here on campus is that everyone is for themselves. In criminology, I learned that the prevailing belief or value is “Look out for number one.” Apparently, this is a value that many parents instill in their children. This relates to events that occurred very well because the main issue on campus was that the people that were aware of the child abuse that was going on did not do enough to alert the community or authorities of what was going on. This demonstrates that people chose to do what was in their best interest in regards of the situation without thinking about the children or the bigger picture.
Before the scandal broke out in February I held a generally favorable view about people in our society. I believed that people, adults especially usually did what was morally and ethnically right with little indecision. Furthermore, morals and ethnics were aspects of our personalities that became superior with age. Prior to the incident I assumed that this was the norm of our society, to do what was morally and ethnically correct by others, but after this incident I’m beginning to believe that this is in fact the exception to the norm. And perhaps one of the reasons why I’m was under this assumption is for the fact that we tend to idolized people who are moral and Ethic greats, Like Ghandi, Mother Theresa, and Martin Luther king. Or even when the local news feature stories of everyday people who are doing great things for others at cost of them because it is what is consider to be right. However it is rarely shown when people do things that are ethnical wrong unless it is something huge like what happened here at Penn State, or a murder or crime. But for crime we tend to view those people as the expectation to norm or that the most be something wrong with those people who commit crimes. What is be coming more apparent to me, especially in our culture is that the majority of Americans live by the saying “ Look at for number one” which basically means if you are looking out for number one then you are always looking out for yourself and your interest above all others. Our society tends to think about what their losses will be if they make a move to help others before doing so, and if those losses are to high to others no matter what the consequences to the others our will tend to to help them out to save ourselves.
Before the scandal I used to think that most Americans and even myself would do just the opposite of this but now I’m wondering if this is true for most Americans, myself included.
Another thing I realized from this scandal is that people of different status of Americans are judge differently for doing the same crimes or offenses. For instances if it had been a janitor who was accused of not telling about a the supposed sexual abuse of a trail then opinions of if he was right or wrong. Because a janitor doesn’t hold such a higher member in society people would have probably been unanimous in saying that the janitor was wrong in what he did, and how could he not told?
But the main point I got from the whole scandal is that we live in a society where we do and foremost look at for number one.
I learned that people are not perfect. We had someone that is as close to perfect as anyone has known; yet ended up not being perfect either. Paterno lived his whole live up to the highest standard, raised his children to live to that standard, but he still was not perfect. We are all human beings and it is in our nature to make mistakes. The issue is how catastrophic those mistakes are when they affect other people, other things, or both. In JoePa’s case, his mistakes allowed a child molester to keep on doing his heinous acts. Did JoePa do anything to facilitate Sandusky? No, obviously not. But when given the chance to stop the actions, it is argued that he failed. For reasons that I cannot completely understand, people seem to think that Paterno understood the gravity of the situation, and still did not do anything. I do not agree with this at all. If JoePa had full knowledge on the situation, we would assume he would have done what people have expected him to do. Additionally, he admitted to making a mistake. He knows now that he could have and should have done more. In this world, it is one thing to make a mistake, but it is another to dance around the mistake. JoePa took ownership of what he did wrong, and say how he regretted doing it. I think this should make amends to it slightly. Although the actions he did (or did not do) can never be done again, that does not change the fact that he admitted to doing wrong and stepped up and came to terms with it. If for 85 years someone makes the mistake of underestimating one situation, I would say that is a pretty high success rate.
Humans being mess up. Human beings err. JoePa is no different. I learned that even humans on the highest of plateaus are still that: humans. We can hold someone up to the highest standard but he/ she is still only human. We also need to give credit where credit is due. JoePa could have easily said “I went to my higher authority, which is exactly what I was told to do, so I don’t see anything wrong with what I did.” But he did not. He admitted he messed up, and knew that he would have handled the situation differently the next time. As humans, we must assume that he grew from this error as a person, even if it is a 76 year old man. This scandal has taught me a lot, but nothing more overriding then the fact that even people who have set the highest moral standard still are susceptible to failure
The events that have been going on at Penn State since November have taught me so much. I have seen first hand how emotions can cloud people's thinking. It seemed that no matter what side people were fighting for their emotions kept them from understanding or even considering the other side. I even found myself being swept up in the emotions. It wasn't until days after Joe Paterno was fired that I finally sat back and took a look at things from the other side. After doing so I stepped out of the fight completely. Removing myself from the situation made me feel a lot better, and it put me at ease. I understood where each side was coming from and just accepted the heated situation for what it was. Life went on. Then when Joe passed away and people were talking about how they were happy that he had died and how there was a spot for him in Hell I did not get angry. I can't say that I was excited about the comments or anything, but I wasn't ready to write any nasty sort of comments back. People are allowed to feel and say what they want, and while I have the choice to say what I feel in return, I don't need to anymore. Looking at both sides of the situation helped me to calm down and accept everything without saying hurtful things about anyone. I'd love to say that I wish more people were able to do that, but I'm so at peace with all of it that I don't even care what anyone else is doing or saying. I'm never going to forget this because it has helped me so much. The other thing that I've learned from all of this is that people make mistakes. To me, it isn't fair that we put Joe Pa so high up on that pedestal. While his defenders were saying that he is just a man who makes mistakes it doesn't look like any of us really treated him that way. He did so many great things, and he has certainly earned our love and affection, but somewhere in his life we forgot that he made mistakes just like the rest of us. I see nothing wrong with honoring people for their services to us, but we have to do it in a way where we give them some room for mistakes. I'm not quite sure how to do this, nor am I sure if we will ever know. However, there is nothing we can do now to change these unfortunate circumstances. We put Joe Pa on the pedestal we thought he deserved to be on without considering the fact that he in the end was just a man. We must learn from this and think twice next time before we accept people as perfect instead of human.
The events surrounding Joe Paterno in the past few months have taught me a lot about the perspective of context. As Laurie suggested, I chose not to form an option on all the events because there were so many unanswered questions. I was unsure of the real role Joe played or didn’t play in the sex scandal of Jerry Sandusky. I was unsure of what he did or didn’t hear, who he did or didn’t tell. I was unsure if this meant there were other deep, dark secrets surrounding the man that we didn’t know about. I was unsure of whether any of us even had a place to pass judgment. However, what I was sure about is that I had fellow students who were extremely upset, angry and hostile toward the Board of Trustees for firing Penn State’s legendary football coach, yet I remained unemotional. Maybe it’s because I’m not as attached as I would have expected to be to Joe Paterno at the time, but I could see the story from all sides. The Board of Trustees was in a crisis situation with the image of their University on the line. Whether their decision was right or wrong, they cut their losses for fear of much greater retribution later on instead of saving the face of their football coach. It’s all rather confusing, those days in early November, and the jury is still out as far as I’m concerned on what is right and wrong in the situation.
But moving into Joe Paterno’s struggle with lung cancer and eventual passing brought up very different feelings for me. It took him out of the institutional context for me and put him into a human form. I have had too many loved ones struggle with cancer, and the manifestation of his humanity in my mind brought him into my heart. Cancer sucks. If I hate one thing in this world with my entire heart, it’s cancer. It’s unfair, unyielding and discriminates against no one. And cancer brought down a sports icon, a university legend. And as happens in most situations of passing, the life of Joe Paterno was remembered for blessings it brought to this world. And although there was the constant undertone of knowing that the man made a mistake, a big mistake, that was not the focus of his life and death, nor do I think it needed to be. As Sam pointed out, we all make mistakes. And some mistakes are pretty ghastly. But he also made great triumphs, in athletics but more importantly in humanity. He instilled lessons in the minds of many young man that go so contrary to the world we are thrown into here at college. He was an advocate for morality, spirituality, diversity, work-ethic and not worrying what others think about you. And that’s how he was remembered on the day of his passing at Penn State: stark contrast to how he was thought of two months ago with a cloud of neglect and incrimination hanging over his head. In the context of the Sandusky scandal, Joe Paterno may have been at fault to a degree in allowing the lives of a few to be a living hell. But in the context of Penn State, State College, and the entire life of a man, he was a glorious figure who made this world a better place.
The tidbit of wisdom I’m taking out of this entire scenario is that judgment can and will be passed about anything and everything. However, anything and everything can be put in a different context where your mind and heart might have a very, very different opinion. So tread lightly in the realm of judgment.
Following all of the events and actions (riots) that have happened here at Penn State in the last months, I and I'm sure others have been taken for a whirl wind. I'm not too sure about how I could react to something so big and the allegations brought forth to certain individuals, but I am one to base my opinion off of facts. I am shocked as I'm sure other people are too, shocked by all of the victims now coming out, and certainly from the passing of Joe Pa and how that has had an impact on this campus. So coming to this campus a proud student and hearing such great things, then witnessing it all fall apart in ways I saw Happy Valley to no longer be happy.
All the back lash that this campus received when the news broke out was something that was surprising, but also not needed nor fair. People who knew nothing about the actions past (students) were getting blamed and bad things were said about almost anything related to Penn State. For example I had an internship, and just after a week of all the news breaking through, I was sent an email telling me that I wouldn't be needed that the internship was no longer going to be going through with. I was enraged; I worked so hard to get that internship and it was taken from me because of something I had no control over.
I've learned that decisions were made based off of the media, and that people responsible were getting away clean or less severely than ones who weren't responsible. It showed me the severity of such a crime, and how students really reacted to things of this manner. I saw students come together and really become advocates for child abuse. I have seen our school get slandered all over the papers and internet, yet still us students still had our Penn State pride. I have learned and witnessed first hand is that we as a community/university have all united. We truly are a family. We came together in many ways, and have been working hard to turn the negative words said by others into positive things.
Despite the way things were handled in the past, we have learned how to react to things and be prepared for the future so things like this won't happen again. I know that I have thought of ways that I would have handled the situation, but I can only hope that this doesn't happen again here or anywhere.
With all the recent events that have happened one thing that I learned is that when someone dies, people all of a sudden change their mind about them. When the scandal first broke all anyone said was “fuck Joe Pa,” they all blamed him and stuff like that. Now what most of those same people are saying is “oh what a legend” and stuff about what a great person he was and how much he did for the school as a whole not just as a football coach. Given there are still the people that say they were glad he was dead, which in all honesty is disrespectful. How can someone talk ill of the dead, in my book that is the ultimate disrespectful thing to do. Anyway the people that all of a sudden flip flop should really just keep their mouths shut. You were just trashing him like a week ago about what a terrible person he is and now all of a sudden you think you have the right to say what a good person he was. No you don’t you should just shut up. Sorry but stuff like that really bothers me just because of how hypocritical people are, especially when there are people that have been behind Joe Pa throughout the whole thing. They are the only people that really have a right to say how much they love him and everything like that. Given I understand that people say things in the heat of the moment, but still there are certain things that people wouldn’t say even in the heat of the moment. And then even if they do say something to say the polar opposite a week later is ridiculous.
Another thing that I learned in recent events is how much a death and scandal can bring people together. The entire Penn State community came together in such a good way when the whole scandal broke because we only had each other. The whole world was against us and looking down on us and saying what terrible people we were as a school (which was completely stupid but that’s a whole other issue). Everyone saying that made us get closer to those that were on the same side as us, the ones saying that we as a school didn’t do anything wrong. When Joe Pa died it brought us all together again, because that was someone that almost everyone that has ever been to Penn State looked up to and really cared about. He did so much good for the school and for all the people that go there so we all loved him for that. We all came together to say goodbye to someone that we all looked up to.
All of the recent events at Penn State have really made me question things I never would have thought about and I have learned several things from what has happened here. I am a senior here now and will be graduating this Spring. It’s so unfortunate that all of this drama had to happen right before I leave this wonderful university, but the events have allowed me to put everything into perspective and have allowed me to look within myself before I go into the “real world.” First, I have learned that just because people are in powerful positions does not mean that we should listen to and follow everything they say or do. We always need to think for ourselves, question what is going on, and take accountability for our own actions. I mean, at this prestigious university, the honorable President, athletic director, legendary football coach, and many others made questionable choices over the years, while they were in positions of power. Their titles didn’t cause them to make ethical decisions. This just shows that everyone makes mistakes. On that note, the biggest thing I have learned has come from the whole ‘JoePa’ situation. Joe Paterno was really the only one to come out and admit that he made a mistake and should have done more to protect the victims of Sandusky’s alleged sexual abuse. I think this is really honorable. I think we all try to be the best people we can be. Speaking on a personal level, I really try to do the right thing all the time, but EVERYONE makes mistakes. I just said I try to do the right thing, but I constantly make mistakes that I have to learn from. I think the best thing a person can do is admit their mistakes and learn from them so they don’t do it again. With that said, I believe in second chances, especially if a person truly understands what they did wrong and are willing to make it right. I think this lesson, which came right before I am about to graduate, will help me as I enter the real world and into the work force. I know that I am I going to be faced with so many choices and decisions in my life and I will have to make ethical decisions on my own. I am going to have to think about how my choices can affect so many around me, like the choices of the leaders at Penn State affected so many people. I also know that I am going to make mistakes along the way and I only hope that I can cop to it, like JoePa did, and try to make them right. He was a true example of honor and I hope I can be like him throughout my life.
What I have learned about life and people is that separating fact from opinion is incredibly hard for most. Not only is it incredibly hard to grasp even if you want to but you also have to factor in that nobody wants their opinion to be wrong so they associate it with fact and do not care even if it is no obviously not a fact. An example would be the news in this whole case. I listened to ESPN, ABC, NBC, CNN, FOX (they’ve already been discredited in my eyes) and all these news stations bashing Joe Paterno, saying he was wrong, saying he didn’t do enough, saying all this stuff that honesty was not their place to say. Their job is to say fact and report fact, not give opinions on what they think, these aren’t talk shows, and these are news stations. I lost so much credibility from the news networks because of this. Another example would be my grandfather. He is convinced Joe Paterno knew everything and that he should have gone to jail and died there… this man also told me Joe Paterno was more powerful than the governor of Pennsylvania. And after reading this, my grandfather sounds like a complete idiot and irrational thinker, but I can tell you he is a very well respected attorney and campaign specialist in the greater Atlanta Area. He is called all over the country to help run different political races. So my grandfather is not stupid in any way and not irrational in anyway. But to here him talk about Penn State, Joe Paterno, and all of this, hit home so much that people just do not care about the facts, they hear a little and are too lazy to educate themselves further. I have read a lot about the Joe Paterno case, I am not some crazy die hard supporter for Joe Paterno, I did not cry when he died, was only saddened because of his family’s hurt for losing a loved one, I never had any plans to attened his funeral because I did not know the man. That does not mean I did not respect him. And because I respected him, I made sure I knew the facts that were out, before I judged him. I am not saying that “hey there is NO WAY possible that Joe Paterno knew nothing and that it wasn’t some huge cover up starting with him and that everyone is just trying to cover his back.” I am not saying that, all I am saying is that there is in no way, in any shape or form enough evidence to say Joe Paterno did any wrong, and I was genially disappointed when he came out and said he was sorry because every news agency took that out of context. At the beginning of that statement he said “knowing what I know now.” And everyone knows that hindsight is 20/20. Wrapping this up I’ve just learned that hey the world is an unfair place, people are stupid, and I just have to stay on my path and on my plan to continue to buck the trend and change the world.
Throughout the events that have unfolded since last November, I have learned a lot about the way our society is run these days. First off, we take someone who has committed a crime, give him time in prison, and then continue persecution on someone else. Why not simply focus on the person who has committed the crime? Societal systems in America are too complicated. Whenever something happens, inspectors must investigate everyone down to the last person involved. As someone from a foreign country, systems in places like Asia simply punish the one person that has committed the crime. They focus more on the core aspect of the crime. Looking back at the way Americans carry out scandals like the one at our school makes me feel ashamed and disappointed. We have someone who is so inspiring and phenomenal, Joe Paterno, and criticize him as if he’s the one who committed the crime. Of course he was wrong on his behalf, but the punishment that he has received is beyond ordinary. This really shows that Americans are impatient when it comes to negotiation. They take seconds to assess the situation and lay down a decision. I believe it’s completely wrong to simply fire someone who has dedicated 60 years of his life to creating a better place for students to learn. In a way, it can be called betrayal. If someone dedicated 60 years of their life to help create a better world for you, would you turn your back on them? If you say yes, then you must have no heart or compassion at all. Many relationships in the world are built this way. Throughout all of the achievements and contributions Joe Paterno has accomplished during his lifetime, we can truly see that he cares about Penn State. There is no other school in the country that has an academic figure as acknowledgeable as Joe Paterno.
On the other hand, some of the events that occurred during the unfolding of the scandal were outrageous and damaging towards our student body and image. For instance, many of the riots downtown were unnecessary. As an eyewitness, the violence and damages that the students created were simply dumb. This shows how immature and uncivil college students are. We see something that is worthy of our facebook or twitter feed, and like magnets, we are immediately attracted to the event. While at the riot, I heard chants like “USA!” or something about Joe Paterno. Yet, we’re missing the central issue here. It was Sandusky who committed the crime. It was Sandusky who molested innocent children and kept it a secret for several years. The entire situation of the scandal leading up to the death of Joe Paterno was simply handled disastrously. There wasn’t a single decision that was reasonable or directed towards the scandal.
All in all, I really hope American society can improve the way things are run, supported with reasonable evidence and credible decisions. Simply put, our political system is corrupt and incompetent with other countries. If we can realize the issues that must be fixed, then our society will be much more structured with poise and competence.
Through all of the events of late i have learned several things. the first and most important thing i think i have learned does involve JoePa. It's not so much my stand on the issue, but something that was said that i realized to be exceptionally true. While most everyone is wrestling with the issue of JoePa's actions or lack thereof, we have all forgotten one thing. While we hold him to almost super-human standards, a hero, someone we all wish was immortal, the bottom line, is that he wasn't…he wasn't immortal. He was a human being, that said, like every other human, we make mistakes or we do things we are not proud of, or we may wish we had done something. However, i have learned that no matter how high a pedestal we place people on, we must always remember that they are first and foremost human beings and should be allowed forgiveness and grace and mercy.
I've also learned that even in the face of tragedy and horrible circumstances, great things can happen. As sad as it is to say, the Sandusky scandal has given courage to other across the nation who have been sexually abused, to come forward and name their attackers. this situation has also brought the issue of child sexal abuse to the forefront of our minds and has caused thousands to get involved with helping victims and their families. Penn Staters raised over half a million dollars for RAINN. WE came together as an even stronger community to show the world who WE really ARE. Alumni have raised their monitary gifts and support of the university to show us, the students that they believe in our success, and that despite the actions of that disgusting pervert, the two asswholes who covered for him and the witness of the crime, that WE ARE…PENN STATE. WE ARE ranked 20th best institution in the world. WE ARE home to the largest student-run philanthropy, one which saves the lives of children every year. WE ARE number one for corporate recruitment. WE ARE not a university to be defined by the actions of a few, that happened years before our time here. This is what i have learned, and i believe i am a better person for it.
A lesson that I have learned…where do I begin? One thing that I can pick up from the top of my head at this moment is in class, Sam posted a clicker question regarding standing up for people who you are most close to. The question asked: if the one person who you love the most, whether that is a spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, family member, or friend, committed a crime as strong as Jerry Sandusky’s, whose side would you be sitting on at the court room? The officials, not even arrive at the court, or your loved one? Surprisingly and unsurprisingly, the majority answered their loved one. I learned that in terms of macro-analysis, meaning of all others around you, they will see the “right” answer or side to be the side that is charging against. However, in terms of micro-analysis, meaning to just yourself, you take the side who is being charged against (in most cases). This, I believe strongly, is for the majority of humanity. No matter what culture you are from, what country you are from, what faith you believe in, or where you were raised and nurtured, you will most likely defend the one who you love the most even if they are a murderer of one or many. If this is true, then why do we all see it as not when it comes to macro? I believe it’s because you didn’t truly think it through. You need to see it through the eyes of the other, which, sadly, many do not do. I step back to look at the macro and micro before I give my personal thought and once you do, you realize how much one side is wrong, visa versa. What I also learned is that good people, not all, are remembered, even if they have committed a mistake that thousands and thousands of others despise. Joe Paterno, a man who I have never met before, I was able to know very well without even speaking a word to him or shaking his hand. This man has sacrificed so much of his time for the sake of Penn State, and who is Penn State? We, the people, are. He dedicated his time to us, each one of us. Everybody makes mistakes, but step back and look at the macro and micro before you judge. Don’t just focus on one chapter of this man’s life, look at the whole book. People make judgments so fast that they blind themselves. People are giving a power that makes us the dominant life form on the planet and that is our brain. To think is not as easy as to walk, talk, or sit. It takes energy, effort, and mind power to think. Thinking is why we are here today, but we neglect it as though it’s just a benchwarmer.
The past events here at PSU, from the Sandusky scandal to the recent passing of Joe Paterno, have revealed a lot about trends in human behavior, judging from the reactions of the masses. This has brought to mind several observations. The first is the sheep-mentality that we as people often possess. How often do we desire to follow the masses? The truth of this matter is portrayed by societal trends. We keep up with the latest fashion and wear what everyone else is wearing, do whatever everyone else is doing, and blah blah blah. The whole “follow the crowd” mentality is the reason why businesses and companies can so easily tap into consumer interest and are so successful in advertising and selling their products. Why do we go mainstream so easily? Because it’s so much easier to toss aside our reasoning and thinking capacities and go with the flow. So when the whole scandal was uncovered, I feel like a lot of students who didn’t really know much about the issue supported JoePa because of his status as a beloved icon of PSU and of football fans around the nation. (This is not to say this was true for every student, just a vast number of them.) This brings me to my second observation—people are very emotion-driven and easily let their judgment be clouded by bias. During the whole affair many jumped at the opportunity to judge the entirety of Penn State without knowing the full facts of the story. I read an article where a woman said that “Penn State is an arrogant institution”. This is obviously a false statement. How can the actions of a few place blame on the rest of our institution, including professors, other staff, and us students? I can only guess why people were so quick to judge; perhaps they were biased against PSU, whether it was due to jealousy of our high repute, a bad past experience with PSU, a sports-driven dislike for our football team, etc. On the other side of the fence, others were biased by their extreme adoration for JoePa, defending him to the point where it was impossible for him to ever make a mistake. Third observation: We like to take sides and judge. We like when things are black and white so we can strongly support one side and fight against the other. When both sides have some truth, things get more complicated. We also like to judge and point the finger at people of differing opinion sometimes. We like to think that since the other side is “wrong” they’re “bad”. Alas, all these sad truths lead us to our conclusion and reveal the unpleasant but simple fact that human nature is indeed flawed.
I learned a lot of things about people in general from all the events that have transpired recently, mostly concerning interactions and respect for new ideals. I saw a lot of really ridiculous things happened and I have been very open to people’s opinions to try to get some kind of understanding of what exactly is the popular opinion. I wanted to understand because I saw people worship a football coach and give little to no regard or even mention to the victims, to the children. I realize that is a point of view, but I think it’s a life lesson because it has showed me not to believe what everybody around me believes. It has shown me to come to my own conclusions and to be objective towards other people’s opinions. I think that the events showed the world how to be a sheep, to follow other people’s voices and never care to have one of your own. I want to make sure that I never follow something with blind pride; that is, a pride in something that I’m not really sure why I have pride in the first place. Standing behind what I believe in means actually understanding why I believe in it, and the recent events have made me more aware of blind pride present in many different facets. I’ve always tried to be very objective about things ever since my father drilled it into my head with lectures, and I always realized how important it was to make sure I didn’t believe things coming from people that were not credible. Penn State has taught me not to go with the popular opinion, and to make my own opinion for my own reasons. Unfortunately I have also seen that the people following popular opinion can be the most self righteous pricks I’ve ever heard speak. This has also taught me the life lesson of not being a prick, and respecting people’s opinions up until the point I have a substantial reason to divert and assert my own opinion. Respect is a tricky thing and it’s lacking at this University, people don’t want to hear what you have to say and unfortunately usually they are just waiting for their turn to speak. You cannot fill a glass that is already full, now I don’t have any idea where that proverb comes from but it’s a metaphor for the mind. It is not possible to exchange ideas with someone that does not care about any ideas but their own and recent events have shown me that a lot more people at this university don’t care about any point of view other than their own. Conversation is a really fun and educational thing but it’s really easy to fuck up if one person isn’t conscious and self aware of the things going on around them.
There are not enough words to describe the feelings I’ve felt throughout the entire course of events which have happened this past year at Penn State. I have learned more about the media, this school, and its’ student body than I ever thought I could learn. None of us as students or faculty saw this experience coming, and it was such a huge shock for the entire university. If I could tell you one thing that I have learned, it is that you really don’t know what something is like until you experience it for yourself. The anger that someone feels after a revealing incident that exposes the true evil in a person cannot be had until you experience it for yourself. The confusion that someone feels after learning about events that have spun a web of questions without answer make you feel like you have lost all control of everything around you. You cannot be this confused until you have experienced this for yourself. The sadness that someone feels after the death of a family member, close friend, or even someone that you never knew personally, but looked up to in so many different ways, cannot be felt until you experience it for yourself. And finally, there is happiness that someone feels knowing that you have a support system and a group of people that care about you and are experiencing the same feelings as you. This special happiness cannot be felt until you experience these things for yourself. The emotional rollercoaster, or whatever you’d like to call it, that this entire campus has gone through over the past few months is sad and it is disappointing, but it is also unique. I have learned to have faith in the little bit of trust that you put into each person you meet, because you never know if they may be experiencing the same feelings as you.
Another thing that I have learned is to be accepting of other peoples’ opinions, because no one is ever 100% right or wrong. You cannot judge a person based on which position that stand for, or which side they are taking. Everyone has their own beliefs and as long as they aren’t harming you, everyone can and must get along. It’s hard not to look around after feeling the anger, confusion, sadness, and happiness and not asking the question, “Why us? Why our school?” but you need to look past it. There is a reason why all of these events happened at Penn State, and there are many lessons to be learned. The most important thing that I’ve learned after this whole entire thing is that life keeps moving and every day makes you stronger, because grieving together is much better than grieving alone.
The events that unfolded at Penn State over the past few months, like most big things in life, shook us up and made us think. These events gave us a new perspective on honesty, and trust. In addition, the experience made us come together as a family. Often times, humans hold specific, passionate beliefs, and keep them unwavering. We go through life stubbornly sometimes, because a change in what we believe in could be taken as a sign of weakness. After the news of the scandal broke out, it forced us to look at our values and beliefs, address them, and possibly even change them. For so long we put our trust in Penn State, knowing were an honorable institution, proud of our clean record while so many other schools had fallen into scandals and problems. When the news of the scandal broke out, it shocked out entire community. People were torn between who and what to believe, and our community was torn. It forced us to take a step back and look at our school, and reevaluate our position on so many things, including investigating child abuse, what we would do if put in that situation, and what is morally right versus legal obligation.
This scandal taught us that like most things in life, people have pasts and secrets. The Penn State Administration might have had the biggest secrets. Each day as we attended school the administration went to working knowing that several years ago, something unsettling had happened. Whether they buried it and never looked back, or weren’t given the full story, or thought about it every day, it happened. On my walk to class the day after the scandal broke out, I looked closely at each person I passed, and wondered what secrets they had hidden in their past. Certainly we have all done things we aren’t proud of, and decided it was easier to hide these things rather than confront them head on. As I thought about this, I realized that no matter how ashamed we are of our pasts, it is always better to address your regrets and learn from them, rather than deny they ever happened.
Finally, I realized that when tragedies happen to people, it brings them closer together. Throughout everything over the past few months, the media and other schools have tried to tear us down and break us, but we’ve become closer than ever. When something bad happens, we look for people going through the same thing, to share our feelings and reassure each other. I’m not sure if that’s human nature, or if it’s because our generation is more emotional than ever before, but I think that going through things with people is more helpful than any other kind of support. Standing at the Joe Paterno memorial and holding hands, 14,000 strong, I realized we are one, big family and there is no place I’d rather be.
The past few weeks have been tough for everyone, regardless of your relationship to Penn State, nobody wants to hear about abuse, and nobody wants to hear about abuse happening in Happy Valley. I grew up here, and I've always felt different than people who come here from somewhere else or from out of state to go to school. My dad has always worked for Penn State, my parents and numerous family members graduated from Penn State, and I never considered going to another school. During the entire scandal, I felt this sense of disconnect with other students because my perspective of Penn State and what was happening was different. I felt like a lot of people had some kind of wall up that blinded them to think that "Happy Valley" and Penn State were these untouchable entities that were perfect and that JoePa was some kind of holy figure. Really, it's a giant organization, run by normal people, and JoePa was a great man-but he was just that- a human man. The tragedy of what happened was awful-but the truth behind everything that happened is what has made me learn from this situation. People are imperfect, no matter what title they hold, and sometimes we give them so much power that we skew reality in our minds. And, when we all skew it together, it can become a problem. If we ever hope to help people who are abused and if we ever hope to uphold integrity at Penn State, we have to accept what reality is and what people are, and I think that's the first step. It's also the biggest lesson that I've been thinking about throughout all of this- how to appropriately acknowledge what reality really is, without losing a sense of curiosity and admiration for things.
It goes without saying that these past few months our school has been through the toughest of times. Between Sandusky, Courtney, and most recently the death of one of the most beloved persons, not only in college football, but in THE WORLD, this school has been struck with one of the biggest scandal/tragedies in history. Due to that the Penn State name has been somewhat tarnished. But don't forget how great this place is. I really don't have to list the vast number of reasons for u guys to know what I am talking about, because that would just be repetitive. Nevertheless, through all this, I have never been more proud to say "Penn State" when someone stops and asks where I go to school, and I really hope you guys feel the same way. It's easy to jump on the ban wagon when things are going great, but true character is displayed by sticking to your guns, and having pride during turbulent times. So wear your navy and white proudly. And guys, just know that I would not want to be at any other school.
I can’t really say these recent events have affected in a negative way at all. I can say with 100% certainty that I have never been more proud to go to Penn State. People ask me how crazy the campus has been. I always says it’s not as bad as you would think. That is because at Penn State is a very, very proud university and would not let this tragedy affect their reputation. Although their reputation has been tarnished somewhat from the Sandusky scandal the integrity of Penn State still exists within these walls. Whether people that are not associated with the university want to believe it or not we still know it. No matter what is said about us, we still have that everlasting pride in Penn State. I think the direct reason for that is everything that Joe Paterno did for this school. It’s not only the donations, football wins, and national championships that he provided to this school because any school can reach that with a little bit of work. Joe Paterno gave this school a sense of pride that it needed so badly. People heard Penn State University and they think of a place that has an extreme amount of success along with integrity. Most schools win national championships and then you find out a few years later about a scandal. Whether it is a recruiting violation or a guy playing illegally there is always something that was under the table. Penn State never had that problem. Under Paterno they won two national championships and a Heisman winner. Paterno was never in trouble for a violation.
I’ve learned that when judging a person, most people weigh the bad heavier than the good. I am in no way defending Joe Pa. I am just pointing out a seemingly automatic behavior of humans. It is just interesting that it takes so much good-doing to cancel out a mistake, but it only takes a second to fall from good. This is evident in the way people are drawn to news reports (I am referring to reports unrelated to the scandal) that feature appalling stories. It has become an expectation for many and maybe even a hope for some that bad news will be featured more than good news when watching the news. I don’t know what this says about humanity in general, whether we fall into patterns because of societal conditioning or we make individual conscious decisions to focus on the bad. However, to me, the take home message is that we must be careful. This doesn’t mean we should be afraid to make some mistakes and live our lives, we should just be careful not to make mistakes that can ruin others’ lives. And not just for the sake of our reputations, but because if we are drawn to the negative then that should mean we always focus on our own worst mistakes. This may not necessarily be a bad thing though, because some mistakes are always worth remembering. But we must be aware of how people are drawn to negative news, because this may offer some comfort in knowing that none of us are alone in being intrigued by things that are bad and/or odd. People aren’t perfect, but that doesn’t give them a license to do what they want and make mistakes that others have to pay for. And this is what might happen if we weren’t so drawn to the negative. So in a way, there is a paradox in that maybe it is good that we always remember the bad. And this brings us to the motives people have for doing what they do, and prompts the old question of whether it is better to do the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason. Which one is worse, and which one would people remember more? I don’t know. But I do think people would be quicker to identify whichever one would lead to the most pitfalls, because they’re good at it. Even when people have an overall positive view of humanity, on some level it seems they always weed out the negative and focus on it, which isn’t a bad thing because it might be necessary in determining the true character of a person. I don’t think this will ever change, and I think that that is good because it should motivate us to be more careful in our lives and to do more good than bad.
If I could say that I learned one thing, I learned that when it comes to a business there is no such thing as loyalty. I know that we were asked not to directly talk about The Penn State case, so I’m not going to start going off on a rampage defending Joe Pa but from the events that unfolded its clear that when there is money involved it really is every man for themselves. I’m not defending Joe Paterno or anything; this is just an observation that I made. He donated so much money to the school, gave so many years to the institution and to the legacy of Penn State; but they fired him via telephone and then aired it on television. It doesn’t really get much more disrespectful than that. Where is the loyalty? Another observation that I made is that the media holds so much power it is ridiculous. As a broadcast student this makes me very happy but it’s also a very scary thing. It would be fine if the media were that powerful and the viewers could think objectively and critically but they are just so gullible and easily influenced. There needs to be a balance. From the first day that the story broke the media had the entire country glued to the TV. There were people who had never paid attention to football who all of sudden knew names of coaches on the team. And with the media of course, comes the spread of false information. There were actually some people back at home in NY saying that Paterno was the one that molested the kids. I find that so mind blowing. There were also employers that were blatantly telling graduates of Penn Sate that they wouldn’t be hired because of the school the attended. The ignorance!! I can not deal. What did we do? Did we take part in any of Sandusky’s actions, No. So why should we suffer. It makes no sense. Before people investigate things for themselves they would much rather just go off of what someone said. A prime example of this was the blog that Sam posted about the Spanish-speaking firemen. Not most people go looking for information or the truth, they just accept anything thrown at them and then of course it turns into the game of telephone. I don’t know if you can attribute these observations to human nature; but whatever the reasoning behind these behaviors, it really says a lot. I’m not sure what exactly, but it says a lot.
There weren’t only negative things that I’ve learned from this scandal. I saw the real meaning of community and togetherness. Even from something as chaotic as the riot that took place to the touching candle light vigil held for the victims. I saw first hand the love that people had for someone demonstrated, whether it was negative or positive.
The question that Sam's wife posted was a very interesting question to ponder about the whole Sandusky scandal (more like debacle). There is no doubt about it however: it is really tough to be neutral when you are a Penn State student. I will do my best to look at this from a logical and unbiased perspective.
The Penn State scandal brought down one of the country's last few spotless football programs. In college football, where illegitimate recruiting, coaching scandals, and just general problems with teams in general, Penn State has had a squeaky clean report. Not just that, but "success with honor" has been incredibly successful. Penn State posts the highest graduation rate among football players, compared to any other college. They have never had a major NCAA violation (the only other two being Stanford and Northwestern). The Sandusky scandal brought all that crashing down. A once storied university has been brought down by the atrocious acts by this one man.
The question posed in this video was not about how I feel about this situation, however. It was what have we learned from these events over the last few months? I think I have taken several things from this whole thing. The first one is I have learned about more about child sexual abuse over the last few months. I have learned that it is way more frequent than I ever thought it was. What makes cases like this so rare is the silence and refusal to speak up about it. More often that not, it is done by someone who one knows really well. An Aunt or Uncle, maybe a cousin, or perhaps a neighbor. Sexual assault is often done by those who are close to us. Those who are victims are very unwilling to out their friends or family when they are abused. Child sexual assault is a silent offense that is way more common than we think.
The other thing I feel I have learned is how the actions of one man can completely undo all the good that has been done a destroy a reputation. Penn State was an impressive institution of great achievement, led by our honorable leader and coach, Joe Paterno. As soon as the scandal broke, it seemed that everything good that had been done had been unraveled. Even though it was Sandusky who committed the atrocities, Joe Paterno would be the one who got most of the blame for what happened. He was the face of the institution, and when the scandal broke, it allowed for the blame to be put on him, since not as many people knew who Sandusky was. It not only ruined a good part of Penn State's reputation, but also all of the good the Joe Paterno did for it as well.
I learned that one man's actions can ruin an entire institution's reputation. I think we all learned that child sexual abuse is very real and that something needs to be done so that there will be no more victims.
As I read some of the other comments about what other individuals in the class have learned I see that most people have taken the route that there are good people that make bad mistakes and then there are bad people who make purposefully bad decisions. Although, I do completely agree with that life lesson because in my opinion Joe Paterno made a bad choice and Jerry Sandusky is just gross. But because I am a local and I am obviously deeply tied to Joe Paterno, I therefore can’t talk about that life lesson because I would be taking a position on the situation and that’s not what the video asked. So what have I learned from these events in the past few months? I learned that child molestation is poorly educated to society, and extremely stigmatized. I watched a video where a victim of child abuse said he was ‘embarrassed’ and ‘ashamed’ to admit he had been abused. The pedophile should be the one that’s ashamed not the innocent victim. I also learned that people from all around the country and world want to criticize the events that happened here at Penn State, but they don’t want to use it as a learning lesson for their own communities. Because it can’t possibly be happening where you live, right? Wrong. Child molestation is everywhere; so check your own backyard before you just start degrading an entire institution for a few people’s bad decisions. I also learned that child abuse awareness is basically pathetic in this country. We hear about breast cancer all the time and are constantly spreading awareness about it and profession and college athletic teams wear pink during breast cancer awareness month. I think it is great. But lets do it with child molestation and help save more lives. Children should not be ashamed to tell someone that something bad happened to them, and that they need help. A tragedy shouldn’t happen for everyone to then begin to spread awareness; we need to prevent these tragedies. Changing once a tragedy happens is better than not changing, but its not like child abuse is a new phenomenon. Why hasn’t anyone decided that it would be a good idea to educate our youth on these hard topics?
Besides that, I’ve learned that integrity and honestly really are good foundations to live by. We all make mistakes, so admitting and learning from these bad decisions are more important than acting like you are perfect or innocent. I don’t believe the riots were intelligent at all because it didn’t show support for JoePa is showed that we weren’t ready as a whole to say that bad decisions were made and that we promise to continue to live with integrity. I believe that JoePa saying he could have done more was importance for us to all realize, a good person will recognize their mistakes.