Letter to the Editors
This letter is written in response to a column in last week’s issue about the passing of Joe Paterno:
Once I read the headline “Paterno deserves respect, not hatred from public,” I thought I had somehow picked up a copy of the Onion. In no way does Paterno deserve my respect. Just because someone has a good football record does not mean he can ignore the abuse of children happening right under his nose. The article was so rude and disrespectful that I honestly cannot believe it was published, especially at a school that I thought held more intelligent and caring students.
Joe Paterno deserved to be fired because what he did was unthinkable. He was extremely involved in the incidents at Penn State. To say that Paterno was “a man of true character that every individual should aspire to imitate” is so offensive that I honestly cannot believe it was published. To ignore something that ruined the lives innocent children because you care more about how your team looks is not something that anyone should ever aspire to imitate. It is reprehensible.
The article is offensive, not just to me, but to anyone who has ever been sexually abused or assaulted, and to anyone who knows someone who has been abused (and that probably includes you). I would even go so far as to say it is offensive to anyone who cares about children more than a sports team.
Sandusky did not merely ruin “his own life and the reputation of the program.” He ruined the lives of over 50 children. To say that it was a selfish act is extremely true, but that does not mean that he alone deserves the blame. To discover something like this and not report it to the authorities is just as bad, if not worse, than the original act. To not report it says that you do not care or that what happened does not matter. Paterno was only thinking of his team when he chose not to alert the authorities. He was being selfish by not thinking of the children who had been violated by someone they thought they could trust. For these reasons he deserved to be fired from his position and he deserves no respect after his passing.
Sincerely,
Evelyn Clarke, ’13
One response to “Viewpoint about the passing of Joe Paterno”
Ms. Clarke: Just for the record, I am not a Penn State student or alumni. When reading your letter I felt compelled to respond. Joe Paterno, if you haven’t heard did go to authorities, he reported something that he did NOT witness to his immediate boss and requested that the head of the University Police be brought in. This head of the police even admitted under oath that if Joe Paterno called you in on a Sunday for a meeting that it was something serious.
I would also like to point out that the guy who alledgedly did the crime no longer worked at Penn State. He was given access to the facilities as part of his retirement package not by Joe Paterno but by Penn State University. After he retired, he had very little contact, if any, with Joe Paterno. They did not socialize with each other.
And since you seem to think that Mr. Paterno knew he was a sexual predator then I think you should go out and pick out every one of the sexual predators in your community and point them out to the police so they can all be arrested. Because the last time I checked they do not wear a tag on them saying “Hey watch me I’m a sexual predator.”
I’m not saying that Penn State is not at fault in letting this guy go on for years and years if they didn’t pursue the matter further but I think you anger toward Joe Paterno is misplaced. He is the only one at that institution who actually did do what he was supposed to do.