By: Breanna Jacobs
Since the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal broke in November 2011, Penn State students, faculty and alumni have been called many things by esteemed members of the media, the general public and even our own families; we have been called inhumane, ignorant, and evil; we have been called deceitful, arrogant and despicable. With the release of the Freeh Report earlier this morning, the Penn State community continues to feel the after-shock of the scandal eight months later.
The Freeh Report was released after a thorough internal investigation into the actions taken by the Pennsylvania State University and its administration regarding the child abuse conducted by former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky on the campus of Penn State. The investigation was conducted by ex-FBI Director Judge Louis Freeh and his law firm.
Judge Freeh and his fellow investigators conducted over 400 interviews and reviewed more than three million documents to produce a 267 page report including all their key findings. Included in the documents were e-mails sent between former university president Graham Spanier, former athletic director Tim Curley and former university vice president Gary Schultz.
Freeh’s findings concluded what most Penn Staters and members of the public and media expected: the situation was not handled correctly by members of Penn State’s higher administration and through their inactions, innocent children were put in danger of a sexual predator.
Allegations of sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky on the Penn State campus began in 1998, but Sandusky was not convicted because, as stated by law enforcement, there was not enough “clear evidence” at the time to create a criminal case against him. All the aforementioned were aware of the incident in 1998, but allowed Sandusky to continue with his access to campus facilities and allowed him to hold youth football camps at the campus.
In 2001, when a grad assistant, identified in November as former assistant football coach Mike McQueary, reported that he had seen Sandusky behaving sexually inappropriate with a young boy in one of the showers in the Lasch Football building, he reported what he knew to former head football coach Joe Paterno, who passed away in January at the age of 85.
Paterno lawfully reported the incident to his superiors, Curley and Schultz, who said they would take it from there. Paterno ended his involvement at that point, a mistake he admitted before his passing and a mistake that was clearly outlined by Judge Freeh in his report.
Curley, Schultz and Spanier were all made aware of what happened in 2001, and continued to keep it under wraps, still allowing Sandusky access to the Penn State campus up until the scandal was revealed to the public in November 2011.
When the scandal broke nationally in late 2011, Penn State’s Board of Trustees took action, removing Spanier from his presidency and Paterno from his role as head football coach.
While students and alumni protested, in hindsight, although the Board of Trustees has made some questionable decisions in the past eight months it is clear that removing Spanier and Paterno from their positions was the best decision for the university. The Board of Trustees also called for the Freeh investigation to be conducted.
On June 22, 2012, Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of 48 charges of sexual abuse involving 10 different victims. Sandusky still awaits his prison sentence, but could face over 400 years in jail.
So, many may ask, where does Penn State go from here?
There is no doubt that the situation, a word that seems too mild for what happened, was handled incorrectly by Spanier, Curley, Schultz and, although hard for many to admit, Paterno. Innocent children were put in danger of a sexual predator; they were robbed of their innocence, and for that we can never be sorry enough.
The Penn State name may be marred for years to come, but this has given the university a chance to move forward; to pinpoint and investigate all the things that were done wrong, and to improve upon the functionality of the university’s administration.
Regardless of the scandal, Penn State will continue to be an excellent educational and athletic institution, and will continue to turn out great alumni for many years to come. Although it may be far in the future, Penn State will continue to reestablish its reputation and esteem within the community.
After such saddening failings, there is only room for improvement, and I am confident in the fact that the university and the entire Penn State community will take this as a chance to move forward, and as a chance to rebuild what once was.
We continue to grieve for the victims and their families, and all victims of sexual abuse, and we will go forward with humility, knowing that our former administration did not do all that they could have.
Most of all, we will continue to stand strong; we will not let the public continue to tear down all that Penn State stands for; we will remain confident in the fact that Penn State is still an incredible university and has offered us opportunities that we could never have received anywhere else.
And we will continue to sing, “May no act of ours bring shame, to one heart that love thy name, may our lives but swell thy fame, dear old State, dear old State.”
We Are.
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