One man's sins; An entire community's problem

In the past week, being a Penn State student has lost its glamour. A university once commended for academics and sports is now booed for terrible acts committed by one man that affected many others. With news crews running rampant and students rioting, our college's reputation is quickly declining. Unfortunately our school is going to always be remembered for the Jerry Sandusky scandal and how it led to the termination of Jerry Sandusky, the iconic head coach, Joe Paterno ("JoePa"), President Graham Spanier, and others (and probably more to come). To make matters worse, many students seemed to have forgotten what this is all about as soon as they heard the words "Joe Paterno has been fired."

This should be a time to reach out to the victims and their families. They are the ones that matter and how dare students act like firing Joe Paterno is the worst part about this case. The news teams haven't made matters any better. Every time you turn on the television you get a brief background and then BOOM! "What about Joe Paterno? What do the students think? Why would they fire JoePa??????????????"

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I will say it once more. This is not about how upset the students are to lose Joe Paterno. This is about the victims of Jerry Sandusky's perverted ways.

Take a step back and take a look around you, people! Yes, JoePa is a Penn State legend. Yes, he has led our team to many great victories over the years. And yes, it is sad to see him go under these circumstances. BUT... How would you feel if you had a child that was molested and somebody knew about it and didn't do anything? This is not to say that Mike McQueary shouldn't be punished. He was a grown man that also knew of, even witnessed, one particular assault and did nothing. The fact of the matter is, anyone who knew about the incident and did nothing should be punished.

I want to note that it is not all of the students here at PSU that are soiling the reputation of us all. However, there are many that are thinking selfishly. The riots that have been going on, especially the one last night on 11.09.11, are out of control. Students protesting the fact that Paterno was fired is out of hand. A news van dumped on its side, the back window of a police car being smashed out, things being thrown on the streets, and so much more. It has to stop. You can be upset about whatever you want, but do not belittle the main issue. The students that have chosen to act out aren't genuinely concerned about Joe Paterno because if they had listened to anything he was saying they would know that he thanked them for the support, but asked them not to destroy property and act out. Personally, I think many of these students just want to get a shot in the newspaper or on TV.

To sum it up:
1. This is more than just the termination of JoePa. It is about justice for the victims.
2. If you are one of the students that are acting out - stop. You are not making Joe proud and you are not getting your point across. You are making it easy for spectators to judge and think less of our school as a whole.
3. What Sandusky did is wrong and should not be swept under the rug by the termination of anyone at this university. Focus on the real issue and maybe you'll understand why some sacrifices have to be made in order to better the situation.