A Dark Day at Penn State: The Scathing Freeh Report

Although not the darkest day in the history of Penn State (that is saved for the day the allegations were released), today couldn't get much worse for us Nittany Lions. The release of the scathing Freeh Report not only confirmed much of what we knew, but made it vividly clear that our leaders failed us. Our community failed us. And Joe Paterno, a man who many think could do nothing wrong, failed us.

While I am sure there are many people out there still blinded by the good Joe Paterno did for the university and will no doubt condemn this report as a biased attack on a dead man, there is no doubt, upon reading the report, that Paterno played a role in this cover-up. If you are a Penn Stater and are unwilling to admit that, then you really should re-examine the evidence, and your try to be unbiased.

Having said that, all of the great things Joe Paterno should not be forgotten. He contributed much to the university that will never be forgotten. However, as he himself said, "I wish I had done more." Joe Paterno made a fatal mistake. Spanier, Curley, Schultz, the police, and many others made major mistakes.

Obviously many people around the nation will want the death penalty for the football team or for the university itself. Critics will say that Penn State is tarnished beyond repair. Some may also even say that a Penn State degree is damaged.

That is an overreaction.

However, as the Freeh report states, the culture of Penn State must be examined. This was allowed to happen because certain people wielded so much power and the Board of Trustees did not do their proper job of oversight. While this is most definitely an issue at Penn State and much has been done in the past months to combat this culture, there needs to be a bigger discussion about collegiate football.

It is impossible to believe that something this catastrophic could ONLY happen at Penn State. Football is as important, if not more so, at schools just as Notre Dame, USC, Florida, Ohio State, etc. To believe that certain people in these organizations would not go to similar lengths to prevent bad publicity is foolish. Power promotes corruption but we put people in positions of power who we believe will do the right thing. That was not the case at Penn State. Hopefully those at other universities, corporations, and governments will take this tragic case to heart and ensure it doesn't happen again.

One last point which in no way is in no way an attempt to exonerate Paterno but merely explain some of his actions is a generational issue. From speaking with people Paterno's age, it seems that people of that generation do not understand what child rape is. Many years ago it almost seems that things like this was never discussed and that it was taboo. Again, not saying what Paterno did was right, but that he may not have fully comprehended a man raping a man.

In the end, this is a dark time for Penn State and alumni will no doubt take heavy criticism. But we must remember that tens of thousands of Penn Staters were innocent in all of this and that we represent all that is excellent at our university. The most important thing (other than the victims) in this horrific tragedy is to learn from the terrible mistakes of those who were corrupted by power. Let us all treat every decision in our lives with importance. And let us never take the easy way out in order to "save face." WE must do the right thing, even if it is the hardest. WE Are Penn State.