The Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal that rocked Penn State University and football fans across the nation culminated this week in an unprecedented fine of $60 million against the school and severe sanctions for the Division I football program. The Nittany Lions are banned from the postseason for four years, will lose 20 football scholarships a year for four seasons and had 14 seasons of football victories from the late coach Joe Paterno vacated.
There's been no shortage of commentary on the issue: Was the NCAA too quick to make the decision? What will it mean for football? What does it mean for the legacy of Paterno?
But there's also the issue of how the Penn State community will now come together. Alums have responded in force, tweeting, posting photos and defending their school – not for the actions that occurred – but to show the rest of the world they won't let this scandal be their school's best known chapter.
Some have posted photos with the "WE ARE" Penn State chant but somewhat altered. One said: "Don't let people who don't know who 'we are' ... tell us who WE ARE." It has been a rallying cry of sorts, joining together alums from long ago with recent graduates. Many have been tweeting with the hashtag #WeAreAndAlwaysWillBe. Groups on Facebook have been created so alums and current students can share their views, including one called "We Are (still) Penn State."
"This is a group dedicated to healing the scars of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, recognizing and honor the victims and rebuilding the reputation of Penn State University and its football team as one of the premier institutions of higher learning and athletic tradition not only in the country but in the entire world," the group's page said. "We still believe that 'Success With Honor' is who we are, and that Coach Bill O'Brien is the best man to carry on that tradition on and off the field. The actions of an evil man and those that enabled and apologized for him do not define us, and it is our responsibility to write the next chapter in the history of Penn State."
Patterson Weaver, a lawyer who graduated from Penn State in 2001, posted a lengthy note on Facebook describing how he cannot reconcile what happened with the school he knows. Weaver said the world should know the actions of the few responsible should not define the culture of the university as a whole.
Weaver has given CNN permission to post his note in entirety below:
"Apparently, Sports Illustrated will run a cover this week that reads 'We Were Penn State.' Sports Illustrated and so many others clearly have no understanding of who We are. As a second-generation Penn State grad, I have grown up idolizing Penn State, Joe Paterno, and the excellent institution of higher learning that Penn State was, is, and will always be. I am one of hundreds of thousands that consider the Penn State community something unique and special. This goes beyond a football field. This goes beyond school pride. The culture at Penn State, in no small part because of Joe Paterno, taught all of us how to be better people, better friends, and better members of our families and our community.
"So how do I reconcile that with the allegations that a few individuals, including Joe Paterno, remained silent about the terrible actions of Sandusky? Honest answer is I can’t. The allegations do not gel with what each of us learned from our university, and yes, from Joe Paterno. Penn State has always been a beacon of how to do things the right way. Of putting academics and building quality young men and women ahead of fame and wins. I cannot reconcile these allegations with the culture that helped mold who I am. The culture that helped teach me that success is only sweet when done right. That a loss with integrity is better than a win without it. That who we are as men and women is more important than fleeting glory. I cannot reconcile what people are saying of my school with the school I lived and experienced.
"But then, that’s how I know that Penn State is what we all know it to be. The apparent actions of a few individuals were tragically void of ethical wisdom or compass. But they are not Penn State. I am Penn State. We are Penn State. All of us. The hundreds of thousands that have become better people because of our school and the unique community it fosters. I find it sadly amusing that the NCAA handed down such unprecedented sanctions partly to, apparently, try to change the culture at Penn State. Clearly they know nothing about the culture at Penn State.
"But they are not alone. The media and social media frenzy that has arisen around this tragedy contains a shocking amount of glee and venom. For years many from rival schools and society generally despised Penn State and Joe Paterno for building our reputation on the motto Success With Honor. For being so squeaky clean and selfless that the football team did not even put individual names on its jerseys. They looked at Penn State with disdain, as self-righteous and egotistical. This tragedy is exactly what they have hoped for. With glee they can point at the tragic moral misjudgments of a few individuals as supposed proof of a fundamental character flaw of the community as a whole. With delight they can scream from the rooftops, tearing their robes, that the whole university must be punished, that they must be made an example. And with their own self-righteousness, the NCAA demonstrated their moral superiority by acting as judge, jury, and executioner in handing down sanctions so unprecedented that, some say, they will not only spell the end to the football program as we know it but to the prestige and pride of the whole school.
"These individuals seem to want us alumni to stand on the highest hills, screaming in anguish as we rip and tear our degrees into a thousand pieces, burning our Penn State belongings, and then burying ourselves in the mud in shame as we screech, weep, and wail about how we must repent for attending such an institution, how we were once Penn State, once unique and admired, but no longer.
"But we won’t. The actions of a few do not define us. The knee-jerk reactions of others will not end us. Our school taught us more than organic chemistry and music theory. It taught us to persevere. To overcome. To succeed – with honor. That is who WE are. That is what WE are.
"On September 1, Penn State will play its first game of the season against Ohio University. I wish I could be there. I wish I could hear what the world will hear. The earth-shattering cries of more than a 100,000 people, echoing from Erie to Scranton, from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, of WE ARE PENN STATE. The cheer will not be merely for football. It will be for all of us. It will be a declaration that we are more than this tragedy. That we will not go quietly into the night in despair and shame. That we will improve, overcome, persevere, and excel – with honor.
"So to those so gleeful over the tragedy and the repercussions that have befallen Penn State, to those that so happily write us off as defeated and finished, to those that want to discount and disparage our pride, tradition, and principle of Success With Honor, I have bad news.
"WE ARE, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, PENN STATE."
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Beautiful article. I, too, am an alumni. Your comments and feelings mirror mine exactly. Nice to see that others feel the same. God bless us...again.
God Bless? For what? Letting dozens of children get violated?
Sick freaks. I hope the Feds shut the whole school down and pull funding.
Wrong, God bless the poor children ruined by your glorious university and football program.
These are the crybabies who were so slow to admit something was terribly wrong. No mention of the children of course.
"WE ARE, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, STATE PENN."
wow. that was hilarious. did you think of that all on your own???
Blogs never cease to amaze me. Things that live in the dark crawl out from under the rocks and post vicious uninformed drivel – all because they are anonymous. It saddens me to see that some people cannot ever be part of society – only people who try to tear everything they are not…down.
Except that it wasn't just a few people.
It took a lot of followers for the Paterno football cult to take over PSU
well said.
Yes , this is much worse than say Lidice in WW2 when a whole village was exterminated for the actions of some partisans. Yes, much worse.
We are, and always will be, Pedophile State University
Wow, what a well-formulated response! Obviously, any time a school has a strong football program, the coaches' and administrators' actions and opinions automatically equal those of the entire University... staff, faculty and students.
I hope you can detect my sarcasm... judging by your witty comment, though, I'm sure you can.
hahahahaj get an education and grow up. Your posts such as this discredit yourself and those that continue to post them. The issues that surround this scandal are not just at penn state but are uncovering the sheer magnitude of those that revel in others failure. So I thank you for your post and hope you continue to remark with assanine comments to illustrate just how ridiculous this has become.
Alex is spot on correct. The world now knows you for who you are, Penn State pervs. You all make us sick.
TIL Mark speaks on behalf of the entire world. Sounds like the same logic that suggests that the actions of a few terrible, unethical school administrators can be projected onto every single student and professor at the school. Seriously, everyone hates child abuse, and it's absurd to suggest that the entire school supports it.
Alex–Based upon your juvenile response, it's obvious that you are bitter because nobody cared enough about you to ensure that you were educated.
Good luck with your sad life as a pathetic individual who, instead of using your energy toward making yourself a better person, can only make yourself feel good by putting down other people.
Really, get a life Mr. self righteous.
This story shows that psu's problems run deep. The issue is not just sandusky but several others at the school. Paterno could not be more guilty had he been holding sanduskky's hand while he was molesting the children.
It's good to see that these minor allegations haven't poisoned the minds of everybody in the press. Penn State is still as wonderful and loving as it always has been. We'll appeal the unjust NCAA penalties and RISE ABOVE the hate and prove to the world that WE ARE PENN STATE!
Last I checked, Penn State nor anybody still working there has been convicted of anything. This conspiracy is right up there with the Moon landing and Global Warming.
You are a sad sad person. Go ahead and keep covering for your sick o school. Pervs each and every one of you.
What are your thoughts about the children that were abused,this is what started all the problems for Penn State?
I second M's thoughts. Reactions by Penn State alumni are utterly pathetic. If these alumni are "suffering", they should go and ask the children abused by Sandusky!
This gut reaction, while understandable, is completely misplaced...vet your hatred on the people who actually did it, and not the people who are caught in the crossfire of what happened...
At least one of those victims has come forward and blasted what the NCAA did saying that all of the victims should have been consulted before any punishment was given by the NCAA and also before the statue was taken down. He said he loves Penn State and did not want all of the innocent people affected or the school. So that is from the mouth of the abused!!! He said this in no way helped him only made him feel worse!!!! Put that in your pipes and smoke it and stop tyring to speak for the victims because unless you were there you don't know!!!!
Send your young people to college first and foremost for an EDUCATION like every other civilized country.
Forget this whole "football" thing at our places of education and get some other system to feed this national pastime.
Interesting to note that Penn State ranked #1 in the Academic Bowl last year... and that it has had more Academic All-Americans in the last 6 years than any other school in the BCS.
SCOTO has it right. PSU is not the only "football cult" school out there. Lets face it, PSU was/is all about football.
The football culture there is nothing like it is at SEC schools. Compare the "student athletes" on average at SEC schools with those elsewhere in the country then tell me where the "football first" culture really exists.
MAD and M:
If you don't see that the collateral damage done to people that do NOT deserve is somewhat excessive, you need to get a little more perspective.
YES, the children that were ra ped by JS are irreparably damages, but there are THOUSANDS of people who are hurt by this also...burning down PSU isn't going to lessen the damage done to these kids, but hey, if it makes YOU feel better, strike the match!
I will never understand people who would gnash their teeth in fury at a whole populace because the actions of a few.
Punish those RESPONSIBLE.
The LEADERSHIP, not the honest professors and students who knew nothing about it at all...
Meredith,
I do not see how a fine and sanctions against a football team will hurt the honest professors and students. The NCAA sanctions are meant for the PSU community to look at how their love of a football program and a morally corrupt coach allowed a child predator to have free reign.
How in the world are you hurt? The school was punished for the actions if it's football coach and administrators. The students pay the price unfortunately, but make no mistake that Div I coaches are football first and school second. DOubt it, see what happened to your Dean of Students when she dared stand up to Joe Pa? SO your team doesn't get bowl games. How is your life affected? So your team loses football scholarships. How is your education affected? Give me break. It's your football first mentality that is the problem and what enabled Joe P to run that university. The culture is your obsession about it's football and the power that has over academics. THis punishment is for the soon to be convicted crimes perpetrated by the administrators. If you want to blame someone don't blame the NCAA, blame the administrators, trustees and Joe P. It was they who held your trust and faith and were responsible for protecting it. They failed you, not the NCAA.
Amen.
What a load of disgusting garbage. As many others have pointed out where is the consideration for the victims. This soliloquy reads as if the alumni are the victims in this mess. I agree with everyone that is saying clearly that the problems at PSU run much deeper if all the alumni can do is talk about their victimization. Disgusting!
He mentioned the victims you friggin idiot. And the first weekend this news broke back in November, we the fans and alums raised $500k for RAINN and have continued donating since. How much have you donated? How are you helping to change the football culture that exists everywhere that could let this happen at any school? That's what I thought. Nothing.
"Glee?" "Discount and disparage?" How can so many really be so clueless? You don't get it, Mr. Weaver. These repeated self-serving diatribes of "pity us, oh, pity us, the media and the public and the NCAA are so meeeeaaaan" are beyond disgusting.
In all fairness, I have seen a handful of thoughtful statements and comments from PSU alums who *do* get it. They know the only victims here are traumatized children and they understand exactly why these actions have been taken.
So I like to think that *they* are Penn State.
You, and your whiny selfish ilk, are poor representations of any type of "honor."
Those who did NOTHING and did not know of ANYTHING related to the scandal have NOTHING to apologize for. However , people like you who have no agenda other than to wish ill will on anything and anyone related to Penn State shows more about your lack of character than that of any Penn State student or Alumni.
The pervs at Penn State make me sick. They are still covering over a d taking up for a bunch of pedos. Penn State is an embarissment to the world.
No, see YOU don't get it. Sandusky, Schultz, Curley, Spanier, and–as much as I hate to admit it–Paterno are the ones who are an embarrassment to the world. I didn't walk to my classes every day with the knowledge that a child molester was creeping around my campus. Neither did the other 40,000 students at any given time.
Your comments are like saying that every employee at Enron 10 years ago was a crook simply because they worked there.
Graywolf – Since November there's been Dr. Craig Meyers' promising cancer anti-virus, THON topping $10million for pediatric cancer research, and Lift for Life topping $100K for kidney cancer research, just to name a few.
Graywolf, perhaps you should find out exactly what those not directly involved (ie students and alumni) have done for raising awareness for the terrible act. No, it can never undo the tragic actions and cover-ups of a few, but the best is being done in order to protect children of today from facing monsters like Sandusky.
Also, perhaps you should have attended Penn State in order to learn how to spell "embarrassment" correctly.
Yes. You are Penn State. And you are all disgusting pervs that are still covering for child abusers.
Graywolf1966 is not a very bright person.