They say that no news is good news, which unfortunately means bad news is news and over the past few days, I’ve watched something I’ve loved longer than practically anything else in my life get swept up in a tornado of it. In the eyes of a nation, Penn State’s pristine reputation of tradition with honor is resting in peace in the wake of the horrific acts of a few people associated with its iconic football program. I am appalled and shocked that something like this could happen in a place I once called home. Today, I find myself feeling sorry for the victims of this tragedy, including one that many are overlooking, Penn State University.
I read an article earlier that said Penn State is dead. As with every death, respect needs to be paid so I’ve written an obituary for my fallen friend:
Here lies the remains of a place called Happy Valley. On Tuesday afternoon, November 8th after a brief battle with a shocking scandal, the 156 year old university died due to complications of tarnished honor. Over the years, Penn State University welcomed hundreds of thousands of students through the doors of its buildings, let them live in its dorm rooms, study on its grassy quads, and wear its traditional blue and white logos. Today, that is all just a memory of what was. Now as you stare out into the center of what used to be the campus, the nationally registered historical place known as Old Main, has fallen and is nothing more than a pile of rubble left behind in the aftermath. The impact of the untimely demise of the collegiate organization is being felt around the world tonight. CEO’s of corporations are ousted, actors are being recast, and award winning journalists have seen their last bi-lines all because they bare the title “Penn Stater”. Olympians are being stripped of their medals and Hall of Fame athletes are having their legacies erased from the record books. All of the soldiers and military personal that were a product of the university’s ROTC program were dismissed in disgrace. The initiative to rid the world of childhood cancer took a substantial hit when the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center closed its doors and the Four Diamonds fund shut down its operations leaving the families of the cancer patients completely unsupported. Classes have been cancelled, transcripts thrown out, and students turned away without a college degree. Teachers are rushing to the unemployment lines in hope of salvaging the remains of their careers. Degree certificates presented to graduates are being recalled and destroyed. Discredited professionals who are alumni of the school are seeing their careers evaporate in the wake of this tragedy. Scientists abandoned their research, architects are watching their buildings fall, and doctors have been thrown out of hospitals. State College, the little town located in the middle of the state of Pennsylvania is left as empty as the vacated ghost towns seen in old western movies. Memorial services will be held Saturday, November 12th at 12pm in Beaver Stadium. In lieu of flowers please wear white in memory of the fallen. Penn State is survived only by three men and the horrible crimes that they have committed.
Well there you go. I’d say it’s a pretty fitting farewell for the victim of a senseless tragedy. For those of you reading this who think I might be taking it to an extreme, think again. The reporters have said it. The experts have weighed in with their opinions. Penn State is over, finished, deceased, right? I guess the only thing left to say here is, WE ARE…NOT DEAD!!
As ridiculous as that obituary is, I wrote it to prove that when all is said and done, Penn State is bigger than even this scandal. I am positive that Old Main will be still be standing and I am certain that Penn State will be too. Yes the situation is appalling, yes the men in question and their crimes are ghastly, and yes I am completely in support of them getting exactly what they deserve in regards to punishment but can the horrific actions of a few discredit an entire institution, wipe out legacies, and destroy careers? Maybe for those particular individuals but what about all the other people who call themselves Penn Staters? I am a Penn Stater. I had absolutely nothing to do with any of this but all the sudden I am supposed hang my head in shame for the deplorable crimes that were committed because the piece of paper hanging on the wall of my hallway says that I am a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and therefore associated with their indiscretions. Should I turn in my t-shirts, pack up my memorabilia, and turn my back on a place I once called home?
Yes I know that Penn State is a college town with a football problem but on a daily basis it is so much more than just a legendary coach with a storied football program. Even in the midst of this current time of controversy, it is still more that a former assistant coach whose actions were completely depraved and two disgraced university employees that let him get away with it. Sure that might be the big story but as every national media outlet in the country flocks to the often unnoticed Central Pennsylvania town, I can’t help but think where were they when the largest student run philanthropy in the world raised almost ten million dollars to fight childhood cancer? The camera’s have made the names Sandusky, Curley, and Schultz known around the nation but I guarantee you will find few people who know what THON is. Too bad good news = no news.
They say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and we aren’t going down like this. So stop sending your condolences to the Penn Staters around you because we won't be resting in peace anytime soon. We're still standing and in the end, Penn State University will be survived by the people who loved it and respected it, not the ones who disgraced it. I grew up a Penn Stater. Tomorrow I will still be a Penn Stater. WE ARE...PENN STATE!
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stand in moments of comfort and convinence but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King Jr.
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