Penn State had such a good reputation, and it is up to the student body to keep that reputation forever. However, I do not think that the actions of only a couple leaders of our school should impact the student’s future and our behaviors. We should not have to sacrifice anything because only a few people tried to ruin the image of Penn State. Although, I do understand where Sam was coming from when he said that if we just keep being known as a huge party school and that we are not serious about anything, especially the recent events, then employers will get the wrong idea of what this school is all about. In my opinion, I work very hard while I'm here and it would be such a shame to see the academics suffer because some people couldn’t control themselves for one holiday. I think we do need to come together and do something to show the rest of the world and to everyone who doesn’t go here that Penn State is much more than this scandal and that we can rise above certain people who are morally wrong. State Patty’s day may be the start to doing this, but I do not think that the whole school would just not celebrate this known holiday.
Most people outside of State College are not even aware that we have made up this holiday or that it even exists, so if we were to skip it this year, it is not like it would even get any media coverage. However, as Sam mentioned in class, it is not the outcome that comes from not doing it, it is the outcome that comes from doing it. Every year, there are always stories that are posted all over the internet and newspaper about events that occurred during the weekend of state patties. For example, last year there was an incident that dealt with a student throwing a huge tree log out of their window and it hitting and damaging a car. This is the kind of activity that we do not want to be covered on the media because it will just negatively affect Penn State even more. I think that our school needs to lay low for a while and let the recent events that happened this month blow over.
I think that it is nearly impossible to cancel State Patty’s Day. Penn State students have come together and made this a known holiday all around campus and all around the city of State College. Because State Patty's is such a big deal and has been going on for several years, I find it very hard to believe that every single student would not celebrate it. There could be some that agree with the idea of not doing it this year, but there will always be those few who disagree and might even party harder because they feel so strongly about this topic. Do I feel that it will help the image of our school? I do not think it will help nationally, but maybe on a student body level.
We are much more than the football program because we have the biggest run student organization and THON is what defines us. Not entertainment, but what students throughout all of Penn State's campuses do to raise money for the sick children. Our academics are what define us. Students continue to work hard and get into the best graduate schools and go onto to be the number one school for recruiters. This was one man’s evil mistake, and we should not be punished for this. I will forever remember this scandal and not see it as something negative, but something I can do to better my life and use it for whatever my future holds.
It is important that the person that works higher above you knows, but also they might not do something, like in this situation. Joe Paterno even said in an interview that he "wished he could have done more." Looking back, I'm sure everyone involved, ranging from the witnesses to the victims, could have handled this better. Things in society are not always legal, they are also moral and I think how society is evolving throughout my generation is that people are losing this sense of being moral. However, I know that this scandal does not define Penn State University and as a pride Penn State student I will continue to support my school because we are much more than this one little scandal.
There has been talk about some men going to the university police, but this obviously did nothing. I think that most of them were just trying to cover up the true name of Penn State and did not want to tarnish what Penn State football and it’s all around reputation actually means. This is such a shame that this scandal had to ruin several people’s careers and lives. As a student being here and experiencing this from beginning to end, from the riots to the candle light vigil, I can say that my view on dealing with certain situations has definitely changed. I now know that whenever I see something or even hear something that doesn’t really add up to me, to not just go to my boss, but to actually go to police officials who can and will do something.
I think everyone who engaged in this scandal that everyone involved could of done more to not only prevent this from getting to this level but also on a moral level. In my opinion, all of the people that were involved in knowing about these sexual actions that were happening should have done more than what they each did. They all did the bare minimum legal actions to cover themselves legally. However, morally I think they really messed up and did not do the right thing. All of the men involved could have done more than just go to their superior or boss and say what they either heard or saw. When you see a coach showering with several young boys and bring him to his hotel room wouldn’t you begin to think that something is not right? Whoever the first person that saw this actually happening, whether it was the social icon and head football coach for several decades, Joe Paterno, or whether it was the janitor just cleaning the locker room, they should have went straight to the police office.
I think because they made it such a big deal and blew it out of proportion by taking drastic measures, students reacted this way. If they quietly settled this, then riots might not have happened, or at least not at this magnitude. However, we cannot get away from technology because that is what our generation is all about, so in the end, it does not matter how people heard about the scandal or riots, everyone eventually heard and everyone did what they felt was right.
I will always stand behind my school and I agree with why everyone wanted to riot and stand up for what they thought should have been the decision, but in the end it doesn’t matter. What has happened is in the past and we need to move on with a new president and new coaches for our football program. Social media has played a huge role in this whole scandal, not only with the riots. The media has been doing interviews all around campus and letting the scandal been known to everyone all around the world. I think that if it was not for so much media coverage and social networking sites that the scandal would not have been so big and obviously had less drama. I know that it is important that all students and former students become aware of problems around campus, especially as big as this, but the way that they blew it up was too much.
So when I take a step back and think about it this way, I actually do believe that social media has played a major role in the awareness and involvement of not only the rioting, but also the knowing of what actually was the decision of the Board of Trustees. I think that the riots had a true meaning behind them, but they got out of hand way too quickly. There was no clear reason for why student's had to destroy our campus and downtown by knocking over a media van, breaking down light poles and setting off fireworks and fire crackers. This is just displaying us in a negative way and it was the last thing we needed. The media was already all over our school and making us seem embarrassing because what actually happened in the scandal, but this just made it worse.
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