In the senior class, we discussed the Sandusky Scandal, particularly raising questions about public perception, leadership, and what we would have done in certain situations. The events of the scandal occurred during our freshman year, so it was interesting to now hear the reactions and opinions of my classmates, some 3 years later. Now we are seniors and the Sandusky Scandal seems like a “thing of the past,” but it was real and it impacted us all in some significant way.

I can remember during my freshman year, I was not too in tune with what was going on. I was aware that there were child abuse allegations against some man named Sandusky who used to work as a football coach. I remember students being enraged when they learned Joe Paterno had been fired. I can recall our school being on the news 24/7 and people accusing us of solely caring about football or protecting a child molester. In all honesty, by this point in my Penn State “career” (if we can even call it that some 3 months into my first semester), I was not absolutely in love with Penn State. Sure, I had made some cool friends, but this place did not feel like home for me yet. Not to mention, Penn State was not even my first choice school, so I did not feel any particular ties or need to be here. With all of “The Scandal” business going on, I questioned how long Penn State would be under this microscope. I wondered if I would somehow be held responsible, by being a Penn Stater, for the actions of a man I had never met. I wondered if the Penn State name would be ruined forever, and my chances of getting a job or getting into law school would be negatively affected. I questioned if I should transfer.

Of course I didn’t, and I am so glad for that. It has been a joy to witness our university make a complete 180 turn in the aftermath of the situation. THON has only gotten bigger and raised more money, our football team earned back its bowl eligibility, students are still doing phenomenal things in the field of research. I believe we have successfully proven to ourselves, and the rest of the world, what being a Penn Stater truly means. We’ve done so with class, dignity, and where it matters most. I am so proud to call myself a Penn Stater and to be apart of this tremendous family of achievers, doers, and givers.

I was really glad that for class, we were assigned to the read The New York Times article, “The Trials of Graham Spanier, Penn State’s Ousted President.” This article definitely helped clear up some misunderstandings about how things played out. As things were unfolding, we did hear little from President Spanier, then soon after, we heard he was fired. Everything seemed to happen so quickly, and the focus seemed to shift from the actions of Sandusky towards Joe Paterno and President Spanier. To me, they were treated as if they were the perpetrators of the crime. Reading this article made me feel bad for former President Spanier. It does seem the Board of Trustees turned their back on him during a time when we (as a university) and he (as an individual) could have used their support the most. As someone in the class mentioned, there was a major gap in administrative leadership as everything was unfolding, and that was definitely a time when we needed strong leaders to guide us through the storm. From what we have learned about President Spanier in the article and in conversations with former members of the PLA, he seemed like the man to be able to do it.

Overall, it was interesting discussing the Sandusky Scandal. We were able to view the issue from various sides, which I found most useful.