"Training Rules" Video

Regarding the video “Training Rules”, all I have to say is that Rene Portland is out of her mind and just a flat out terrible person. It’s fine with me if people don’t approve of homosexual relationships. I don’t really understand what they disapprove of, but it’s their opinion so they can think and feel how they want. But to enforce the “no lesbians” rule that Portland did on her team for so many years is just astounding to me. It also blows my mind that she would not only kick girls off of her team and take away their scholarships, but then go so far as to make it practically impossible for the girls to transfer and play basketball at a different school. I don’t understand why people allowed her to get away with this for so long or merely giver her a tiny slap on the wrist the one time she did get in slight trouble. I also don’t understand why, once the story of her blatant discrimination against homosexuals did get out, girls still wanted to play for her. I understand she’s a great coach but I personally wouldn’t want to play for such a terrible woman. And she’s never won a national title anyways! I guess I knew people still had issues with homosexuality but never really realized just how big of an issue the discrimination still is.

Chelsea Brown

KIN 338I-06

Skirt or No Skirt ?

Lately, the International Amateur Boxing Association are discussing whether women fighters should wear skirts in the ring when fighting at the Olympic games of 2012. Clearly this is sparked charges of sexism and surprisingly some female boxers don't mind. Since female boxing started and during the famous Leila Ali, women have worn boxing trunks. Trunks seem to be the standard and most suitable unform for boxing. Female boxers should have the right to chose what to wear in the ring and not be forced to wear skirts. Some of the female boxers disagree and believe that trunks are the uniform or"kit" of boxing, while others don't seem to mind and they will just follow the rules. These women boxers want to be known as Boxers and not female Boxers. I think that women should have a choice whether they want to wear shorts or skirts. It seems that the International Amateur Boxing Association wants to make the female boxers more feminine. This situation is a lot like the womens basketball. In womens basketball they made women basketball players look more feminine in their pictures and made them wear dresses. The basketball players would wear make up during games and their hair was always in a pony tail because other styles or braids seemed to masculine. I believe if they pass this rule of women forced to wear skirts in boxing it will begin a slippery slope, next they are going to demand women wear make up and have their hair in a pony tail.
Giovanny Gamarro
Kin338 Sec. 6
http://m.espn.go.com/extra/boxing/story?storyld=7272894

It's kind of ironic that the topic we have been focusing on the past couple weeks, following the panel debates, is female athletes in the media. I have been challenged on many different levels since we've began reading articles and watching films on the portrayal, exploitation, and under-representativeness/appreciation of female athletes.

Going into the panel presentations, and even at the end of the debate, I was very much stuck on my personal thoughts, opinions, and ideas that it is very much acceptable for female athletes to pose nude or provacatively. I believed, and still somewhat believe, that they work hard for their bodies and they should be able to show it off proudly, but I never really thought about the way other people may percieve these photos or the many subliminal messages that they send to young girls and boys, and even adults.

I have been clueless to the struggles of women in sport to get to where we are today. I only see women empowered and on top, I didn't have to experience the descrimination and the difficulties in sports for women. But now that I have learned about all the hardships that women went through so that we could be where we are today, I have been easily persuade to have a different view on the way female athletes are portrayed in the media. I still believe that it is good for female athletes to be proud and comfortable with their bodies, but that they should be educated in the past of women in sport.

There are so many underlying messages in the portrayal of women in the media that many people are unaware of: posing with their children and husband, wearing make up and feminine outfits, camera angles, and more. But maybe this is just the current ideals of female athletes today. Maybe the past concerns and accusations are in the past, and this is the way women truly want to be portrayed, with no underlying fears of people thinking they are homosexual or too masculine. I wear bows and skirts because I like to wear them and I think they're cute. There is really nothing else to it.


Kyndall Hagens
KIN 338I Sec. 01

Penn State Basketball Video

All I have to say is that Rene Portland is crazy. It is disgusting and appalling to see what she was doing with the women's basketball program and how she was so homophobic and anti-lesbian. She had no right to tell any of those girls who they could or could not be, that should be up to them.

Like someone had mentioned in class, it is crazy to see that she never won a national title, and yet she could still run the program and be that much of a horrible person. What's also disturbing is how she wasn't winning and the athletic officials at the school even knew that this discrimination was going on. It's sickening knowing that their excuse for not changing this or punishing Portland for this discrimination was because it was not technically in the rules that they could't discriminate against homosexuality. One would think that it wouldn't matter if it was in the rules or not, because it is a case of being humane and treating these athletes who have worked so hard with respect. I had never known how much of a problem homophobia is within the collegiate sports arena, it is truly shameful. They need to let these athletes be who the want to be, and focus on their athletic ability and not their sexual orientation.

Jenna Todd kin 338I.S6

Penn State Basketball

After watching the film about Penn state basketball and coach Rene Portland, I wasn't shocked, but disappointed. I do not think I am ignorant to the different types of discrimination, but its not something I always think about.

There were so many issues I had with Rene Portland from her just not allowing Lesbians on the team, assuming people were lesbians, interrogating people, telling people who they could be around, but what was the most irritating was her and the school preventing these ladies from going other schools after she romeved them from the team or they were harassed into leaving. Either by tampering with medical documentations or just openly threatening them by saying they will not play anywhere else. This is just so dishonest and plain mean. You may have your views or moral values, but to purposely damage someones life is unacceptable. She is suppose to be a coach which is a role model to these young women and set good examples. When I played on teams I looked up to my coaches and put a lot of trust into them. If I had been treated like these girls I do not know how it would have affected me. I believe it would have discouraged me from doing what I love and I can imagine the pain I would have gone through. Instead of growing these youn woman she was more concerend about tearing them down.

Treating people with respect and common human decency can be a start. The old saying of do to others as you would want done to you really needs to be taken seriously. The "I'm better than you" or" my way is the only way" needs to be toned down. Working on ourselves to be the best people we can be will go farther than worrying about trivial stuff about others. Focus energy to things you can actually control.

Vanessa Humic
SEC 6
KIN 338i

What is it with PSU and their coaches?

Yes, we are all very well informed with the current events centering PSU regarding Paterno and Sandusky. However this is not the only controversy to plague the shining name of Pennsylvania State University.

For 27 years, Rene Portland was the head coach for women's basketball at PSU, however it did not come out to public knowledge for a good portion of that time that she had such deep rooted anti-homosexuality opinions. After viewing the film, "Training Rules", it came to my attention the seriousness of her opinions as well as her actions. This woman was so intent upon keeping homosexuality out of her program, that she put so much fear and pressure into her team that it ruined lives. She purposely went out of her way to strip scholarships, and opportunities for young women to continue onward with their dreams of basketball stardom.

This brings up the question, how can you call yourself an educator when you are so keen on bringing harm to your students. Yes, in this case there were no physical damages but it does not degrade the affects of emotional abuse. Many of these young women were so afraid for their futures that they lived in fear hiding who they truly were. Although Portland is no longer a part of the PSU faculty, it will never take back her actions against so many young women.

These two scandals appearing in the media against PSU have shocked the nation, the scary part is that there are undoubtedly so many other unreported circumstances hindering the growth and development of the youth. It is unfortunate that such an established university such as PSU should be plagued with 2 coaching scandals in such a short amount of time, and many people must be wondering what is it with PSU and their immoral coaching staff?

Samantha Robert
Kin 338i-Section 6

On the shortlist...

I was reading an article earlier today that related to BBC's sports personality of the year award. Apparently, UK women's sports is even more of an afterthought than it is here in the U.S.

The top 10 contenders for the award are ALL male. The author of the article (to which I will post a link) expresses that she is hardly surprised that these females were snubbed, given the country's attitude toward women's participation in sport.

Sure, we've learned that mass media in the U.S. pays more attention to male athletics. However, this makes me wonder - how is a woman's involvement in the sporting realm viewed in other countries? I find it so hard to believe that so many other countries would hold such a biased view on female athletes.

I wasn't a fan of women's sports before the class and I'm not afterwards, unfortunately the male dominated money makers are the front runners: this is no surprise to anyone. Although, from an athletic point of view, I respect, and encourage the progress and determination of these athletes. I know the body of work they put in, and they should be praised and admired for doing so. To snub them of any such recognition is immoral and unjust, regardless of the country or its beliefs.

These women, like their male counterparts, are in the gym 24/7. Not only sculpting their bodies into peak physical condition, but perfecting their game: whether it's at the free throw line, in the batting cage, or in the film room. How is it fair for a female athlete to win the gold medal at the Shanghai world championships, and not even be mentioned as one of the best performers of the year? Does the media realize how emotionally and morally degrading this is to an athlete?

This is someone's job; their profession. It's usually a childhood aspiration they've molded and worked on all of their lives. Respect the blood, sweat, and tears these athletes have sacrificed for their sport. We need to be able to give credit where it's due, regardless of sex, race, or religion.

Article Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/29/women-sports-personality-year-2011?newsfeed=true

Elliot Osrin
KIN338I (Sec. 6)

Big Running

Before reading the sports journal article"Clydesdale Runners and Technologies of the Body" it had not come to my attention that there was a such thing as a Clydesdale running community. I was so intrigued with this community because I can relate to their experiences. Being a big individual, I just recently began running and know the mental strength it takes for a big individual not give up and keep at it. Weight division in marathon running is something that I was really thrilled about, it makes me want to join a marathon if there is weight division because it seems to make everything fair. Not all of runners meet the runners body criteria, runners come in all different shapes and sizes and having weight divisions would make marathon running a great experience for everyone.

Also, the article discussed how the Clydesdale running community supports and cheers for each other at the end of each marathon even after the main winners had already left. One important thing I learned from running is that a little support really goes a long way. After reading the article, I am seriously considering running the next Los Angeles Marathon. This article has inspired me and made me realize that there are big individuals, like me, out there do not give up in long distance running.

Jose T.
KIN 338I Sec 06 10771

Skewed Results?

One thing I found to be very interesting during class lately had to do with the reading of Power and focus: self-representation of female college athletes by Vikki Krane, Sally R. Ross, Montana Miller, Julie L. Rowse, Kristy Ganoe, Jaclyn A. Andrzejczyk and Cathryn B. Lucas. This reading was study done on how college female athletes personally wanted to be represented in photographs, however “athletes were told, (1) the research team was developing a photo essay titled This is a Female Athlete, which would be shown to younger athletes in subsequent research and (2) during this photo shoot, you will have full control over how you will appear in the photographs, including the location, attire and poses for the photographs” (pg 7). If these athletes knew these photos would be shown specifically to younger athletes that immediately skews how they are going to dress and pose. I do not think that the athletes should have been told that these photos would be shown to anyone specifically. If the research team had said these photos would be shown to attractive, eligible college men would they have posed or dressed differently? Since these athletes went into these photo shoots knowing that their audience was a younger generation I do strongly believed that it changed the overall results of the study, and that more research should be done on how female athletes truly want to be shown in photographs.

Jennifer B
Kin 338i section 6

Rene Portland's Controverseal Rule

For just under 30 years, Rene Portland was the head coach of the women's basketball team at Penn State University. She has brough the program much success with over 20 NCAA tourniment appearances, a Final Four appearance, multiple conference championships, and two conference tournament titles. She is among a short list of women basketball coaches to reach over 600 wins at one school, giving an overall record of 606-236 at Penn State. Although she was praised for making and keeping Penn State women's basketball a winning program, she was the centerpiece of a huge controversy.
She had only three rules for her players to abide by as she was head coach; no drinking, no drugs....and no lesbians. She forbid her players from associating with any lesbians even if they were straight women. As we saw in the film Training Rules, Jennifer Harris accused Rene Portland of kicking her off of the team because Rene believed her to be lesbian. Harris reported that her coach was threatening, intimidating, and hostile toward her just because of this assumption. Rene Portland was fined $10,000 along with other consequences, and was eventually forced to resign from her position at Penn State University. Aslo, in the film Training Rules, there were many other victims to Portland's demeaning attitute toward lesbians. There were a few other girls who suffered discrimination from Rene, or who were threated by her knowing that she had the power to kick them off the team, make transferring hard, and make playing anywhere else nearly impossible. Some girls were so afraid that they hid their sexual orientation and lied that they had boyfriends back home. I'm sure that there has been many other cases on the women's basketball team at Penn State under the reign of Rene Portland that have suffered this unfair behavior. One of the twins that we saw in the film state that Rene Portland stripped all of her love for the game away from her and that she had no desire to play anymore and she thanked Rene 100% for that. It just makes you wonder how many other girls she had threatened or discriminated against or even kicked off the team because of their sexual orientation. Jennifer Harris got kicked off the team because she was just accused of being a lesbian. Jennifer Harris is straight. How many other straight girls did Rene Portland kick off the team because she believed them to be lesbian, or because they were just simply associated with someone who was a lesbian? I appreciate Jennifer Harris being brave enough to stand up to Rene Portland and file a lawsuit. This new must have helped so many of her former victims when they heard the news. If I was one of them I would feel just. It is unreal that Rene Portland got away with doing this to so many girls, ruining their hopes and dreams just because of sexual orientation. And not knowing how many other girls hopes and dreams she sent down the drain makes it ten times worse when you think about the possibilities that may have happened.
Danielle Coffman
KIN 338i Section 06

I was reading an article the other day about a girl from Saudi who won a bronze medal in the youth olympic games. It was a very interesting article because Saudi does not allow women to represent them in the Olympics, and they are one of only three nations that have still yet to send a woman to the olympics. This young woman went to the youth olympic games herself, and took her horse because she competed in a show jumping competition. She had to manage and pay for this by herself because the country of Saudi would not support her. She ended up getting the bronze medal which stirred up the liberals in Saudi who believe that women deserve more rights. Especially in places like Saudi where right now young women are not allowed to participate in any physical activity at all at public schools let alone play sports. I think this is terrible because I think physical activity is a very important and healthy aspect of life and I hope that people in Saudi can realize that and allow women some more freedoms. The article brought up banning Saudi's men from competing in the olympic games until they allow their women to compete. I think thats a very interesting proposal but I feel like that would stir up something that the IOC really doesn't want to deal with even though it may be the right thing to do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/sports/18SAUDISPORTS.html?pagewanted=all

Casey Feickert

Kin 338I sect. 01

The social media has shaped the Penn State scandal in so many ways with different color and shape. The media is the primary source, and it broads out the information to the rest of country. What we received from the media sources such as newspaper, magazine … was the information that what the writer or the maker wanted to send to us. That may be the truth or untruth. Child sexual abuse is such a serious disease in the society. Many people ignored or looked at it lightly just because they didn’t know the victim, or they didn’t know how to love the kids. For me, the scandal is such the dregs of society that needs to eliminate.

Phuong ly kin338 s1

Psu scandal

The media has completely blown the scandal up. I believe that it needs to be blown up. Joe Paterno needs a reality check. He needs to know that it's not okay that the program took more president over the lives of the children that were ruined. Paterno should have said so Eggo fright away when it happened and he could have kept a good face for the program. He could have shown that he cared about the lives of the children and that he wanted to make things right so the program didn't have a bad name. They co coach had already retired by the time anyone knew about the scandal so the whole issue could have been resolved and mended before the media even knew about it. I think that paterno was mainly worried about looking bad to the public and I'm sure he was worried about the way His friend and colleague would look to the public, and I understand his concerns about the future and the success of the program, but he could have avoided the whole situation. I'm completely disgusted with the whole situation. I don't understand how anyone could sweep this issue under the rug for any reason. Paterno deserves what he got and deserves even more than that. I don't think he understands the repercussions of his actions, or non actions in this case. He should face those children along with his colleague. He is an amazing coach with great attributes and accomplishments, but his morals, values, and priorities were completely wrong.

Distance Learning PSU Sandusky Scandal

Everytime I learn new information about the Sandusky case it somehow tops my previous 'shocking' reaction to the previous news. The information that continues to come up regarding the case becomes more and more shocking and disgusting at the same time. The people involved, the rioting Penn State students, Sandusky's attorney, just everything. When I heard the interviews of both Sandusky and his attorney I couldn't believe the answers to the questions they had. To me that way the interviews went seems like evidence enough to clearly show that Sandusky is guilty. The media presents the information to the public taking sides with the victims (thankfully) and in my opinion it would help when it comes to making sure the outcome is what it should be. I think It's really important for the victims to speak and for them to understand that it's okay for them to do so just to make sure justice is served. It would be really hard for the victims, but I think it would provide really evidence for the case. Kerrie brought it up in class about how the NCAA has not said anything of the issue which seems odd because they are a very important factor when it comes to power in college athletics. It seems as though the media are in control when it comes to power in this story, and for once they actually seem to be portraying the most morally correct viewpoint, which I think is odd for our society since the news always seems to drift off into topics that are not necessarily important. I hope since the media are the major focus that they continue to provide this viewpoint that Sandusky is guilty.

Nylene H. Kin 338I Sec 01

PSU Scandal

I think that social media has somewhat shaped the PSU scandal to make it appear as if the whole school is bad and at fault. Realistically, you can’t even put the blame on the football team - none of the current football players had any idea this had happened. The only people who should be at fault are Sandusky and Paterno. I feel that McQuery should have gone straight to the police but he was a young adult in college at the time and it is understandable to me that he probably had an immense amount of pressure and threat from his peers to keep his mouth shut.

Power is a huge factor in any scandal and I definitely think it plays a role here. For starters there is the power that Joe Paterno has. He was able to keep this whole thing under wraps for so many years and I think it takes a very powerful person do do that. McQuery was under the impression that Paterno had enough power to do something about the situation, which is why he went to Paterno in the first place. Also, the media has the power to sway its readers/listeners/etc in certain directions.

This scandal is really just sickening to me. Not only did it happen in the first place, but it happened continuously after that and for many years. I can see where McQuery was coming from by going straight to Paterno with the idea in mind that Paterno, being the amazing head coach he is/was, would handle the situation. However, upon realizing that Paterno had not made assertive enough action, I think McQuery should have stepped up. Sandusky is at fault 100% and it sickens me even more that he acquired his victims through a non-profit organization that HE CREATED for underprivileged kids. While I understand that Paterno has been an amazing coach for so many years, I think the students (and all other protestors) need to take a step back and realize that they’re protesting for a man who openly and knowingly allowed one of his faculty members to sexually harass young children for a decade.

Chelsea Brown

KIN338I Section 06

penn state scandal

Joe Paterno was a legendary college football coach who will never be forgotten during a conversation about the greatest coaches of all time. Over six decades with a single program is a phenomenal tenure at a nationally recognized program. The unveiling of the horrific story at PSU went through different focal point. First, the attention was on Paterno and his legacy then the transforms from a sport story into a news media frenzy when really the focus should right away be on the victims. Social media plays a factor in this because it gives everyone a voice to speak they want which was, at the time, the football program. Twitter especially has given people the ability to link their topic of interests and speak to one another about they chose. I found most people were honoring Paterno on his accomplishments but also criticized him for not taking the morally correct path outside the lines. Now in the most current of news there are more and more schools being allegedly caught molesting children as well. This situation gives us the ability to reconstruct on views on authorities and trust factors that we must think about when leaving our children with them.

chad schug KIN 338I Sec 06

PSU Scandal

Social media, while it has brought more publicity to this scandal and helped shine it in the national spotlight, has now become a source for insecure comments and jokes. The embarrassing number of tweets I read that poked some sort of fun at this whole scandal is just sickening and sad. This scandal, through social media, has shown just how low American's can stoop.

The problem with power is that it corrupts, and the problem with absolute power is it corrupts absolutely. As evidenced yet again in this horrific instance, those who are given power are often those not fit to hold it. These individuals use this power to perpetuate their own well being with little regard for the rules. They consider themselves to be above the laws, history has shown this numerous times, and every time it is absolutely despicable. Media, in my mind, should exist solely to publicly oust those who choose to abuse their privilege.

In the framework of feminism this crime is covered up because, as Alyssa pointed out in her blog, sexual crimes perpetrated against males by other males are seen as weaknesses in a masculine culture. The scandal was covered up, not because of its horror, but because it would have shown weakness in the football team. The sport of football is extremely hyper-masculine and something of this magnitude would have, and now has, devastated the program.

Personally this scandal makes me ashamed to be part of a society that would cover something this horrid up. The fact that anything is seen as more important than the personal well being of these young boys is absolutely revolting. Jerry Sandusky deserves a whole lot more punishment than he will ever receive and Joe Paterno should be utterly ashamed of himself, and should count himself lucky that he has not received any legal ramifications at this point. The interview Bob Costas did with Sandusky was absolutely enjoyable from my point of view because Sandusky only tightened his own noose. I obviously hold a lot of rage on this topic and there isn't enough time or space to fully explain it here. For now I just hope that our twisted system gives everyone what they deserve.

Brandon Robison section 6

Penn State Scandal

The penn state scandal has been all over the media for the last couple of weeks. It is hard not to know what happened with all the media coverage this story is receiving. The media plays a huge part in this scandal by bringing different points of views and perspectives. As we can see with this scandal, power was a big factor that contributed to covering up this story. Paterno knew what was going on with Sandusky and he decided not to say anything to the police. He did not want his legacy or Penn State's reputation to go down with this scandal so he decided to cover it up. This comes to show us that the people with power can get away with stuff that people without power cannot. This seems to occur a lot in our society and it doesn't seem like it is going to stop anytime soon. I just find it so wrong for people that have a lot of power like Paterno to abuse of their power even if it means hurting a child. Like I said earlier this happens a lot in our society and that is not correct. This is one of the worst scandals that I have ever heard of when it comes to collegiate sports. I just think it is so disgusting that nobody would even bother to report this to the police. They could've stop this type of act from occurring again if somebody just had the courage to speak up. It is sad to see Paterno's legacy finish off like this but he had the decision to report Sandusky but he didn't, and that will be the cause of his tainted legacy.

Daniel Barajas

KIN338i

Sec 06

Sodomy is now okay in society!

Well at least apparently it had been at Penn State for the last decade or so with Sandusky.

Media has built up Joe Paterno as this magnificent angelic god in Pennsylvania. People around that area worship him so. It's probably a huge reason why nothing was ever reported about this huge scandal. People wanted to protect football and this giant legacy that Penn State and Paterno had just built. The people in power wanted to maintain that so they silenced anybody who tried to speak up or some chose to not speak up. This culture of power and respect for the football legend built up to the point where going against it was considered deviant. It was now acceptable to cover up for the football great, nobody what the cost was.

One could look at this entire scandal from the view of the Functionalist perspective. Everything that has happened over there in Pennsylvania just happens to uphold all of what society values. We value football. We value sports. We value legends. We value entertainment, money, and power. We value children. Maybe not so much on that last one. The scandal just shows us that many people value such things much more than they do the safety of children. Scary thought.

I'm really shocked that people are actually holding a vigil at Paterno's house as if he was some kind of martyr. He put his own legacy over the children. These children will be permanently hurt psychologically and traumatized forever. Yet people worry more about their football season then they do about the lack of Paterno's actions to protect the children. I look at this scandal and I'm like, "Wow, we really do value sports more than children." Then those crazy fans just feed into that scary thought.

Paterno and all those involved need spend some time in jail for what they have done or haven't done. They had moral obligations but they let petty things come before the safety of children. Speaks so much about the world we live in...

Bryant Pham

Kin 338i TuTh930

Penn State in the Media

I think that social media has shaped the PSU scandal by putting the coaches in the spotlight instead of focusing on the victims and seeking justice on their part. Many students at Penn State were outraged at the way that Paterno was fired, but social media was greatly responsible for the outing of this information.
We see that McQueary, though he took the right steps according to school policy, is considered to not have done enough as witness. So though the acts were reported to Joe Paterno, the people with more power above him decided to use their power to put a stop to the reporting as to save face.
I believe through feminism we can greater understand the cover up that has happened. Men are greatly emasculated if they are thought to have be victim of a sexual crime. Sexual crimes are vastly though of as something that happens to women. It is a crime of power and dominance of of sexual satisfaction. So I think that the cover up can be related back to the power of masculinity.
Though, I agree that McQueary could have done more than just tell Joe Paterno what he saw, I understand that he was in a difficult situation that not many people can imagine being in. As people we want to believe that we will react in the best and most responsible way possible, but this cannot always be the case. I think McQueary acted under what he thought was the right choice at the time. He told his superior, so there was an element of power but also perhaps fear and confusion in what he had witnessed.
While it is a terrible thing that has happened I think that the whole Penn State situation can serve as a benchmark case as sorts. Now I think victims of similar crimes will feel empowered to speak out upon what has happened to them. I would like to think this will create some healing for not only those victims of the Penn State scandal but also for those struggling in similar situations.
Alyssa P.
338I-6

PSU

Social media has shaped the PSU scandal to focus more on the reactions of those around as opposed to what is actually happening. It feels that there is more emotions involved in the firing of Joe Paterno than there was regarding the raping of the children themselves. The media has shifted its focus from the case itself to everything surrounding the case.

Penn State had the power to cover up the deviant behavior from the media. They intersect at the point where those with power are able to make the media turn a blind eye to their wrong doings. As long as they have so much power they are able to turn the media away.

The crime was committed because of a flaw in the system. This whole situation was able to get out of hand because of the power that the school has. If it weren't for this idea that the football coaches are invincible and untouchable the number of rapes would have stopped at one. The continued deviance was supported by the organization. The college was able to cover up the scandal and thus allow it to continue to fester. It is not the fault of the person for being corrupted but rather the whole system that allows behavior like this to exist without cracking down on it.

My reaction is one of disgust. The whole situation sucks. Everything from those involved to the reaction of those closest to the situation. Sandusky deserves to be behind bars for the rest of his life were he won't be with children and the only raping that will be going on is most likely not going to be in his favor. Paterno ruined his reputation by allowing something like this to go unattended to, if it weren't for his sterling record I'm sure that he would be either pursued by the courts or ran out of town as he deserves to be. Penn State managed to not only screw up in allowing this to happen and actually helping facilitate further actions by giving him access to everything he needed to continue but then it also failed to save its reputation due mainly to its student population. I understand it is not all the students who are making asses out of themselves but the loud majority have managed to ruin it. Any chance of Penn State salvaging their reputation for the foreseeable future has been lost. The fact that the main concern and focus point for much coverage surrounds Joe Paterno is an abhorrent. Right now there are victims who are dealing with very real concerns that will last for the rest of their lives and yet we are talking about football and what's going to happen to Paterno. Its ridiculous how out of touch with reality these people are. Society in general is just messed up if this is allowed to happen and when it is brought into light we are still able to argue about it. There should not be two sides to this debate, there is clearly obvious evidence that cannot be denied that Sandusky raped children (not fooled around as he claims). It was rape simple as that and yet people are still outraged at the fallout that occurred. All in all I'm just sick of hearing about it, I'm fed up with the whining and arguing, and lastly I'm pissed off that this has to get so out of hand it is even invading into my classes at school. It should have been swiftly dealt with or better yet prevented. Its a bleak day indeed when football is able to overshadow the real life concern of rape involving children. There are more important things going on like Occupy Wall Street and the continually increasing tuition that should be the main concern and talk of college students. Change should be coming from other places that can be built upon. Yet here we are, discussing something that never should have been able to happen distracting us from more important matters. I have absolutely nothing more to say about this topic.



Ryan Plunkett Kin 338/332

News Travels Fast

Social media has played a huge roll in the recent Penn State scandal. In today's society, news can travel fast. The Penn State gossip has been a trending on many of the social media sites, as well as other news publication journals. The general public can become easily informed on how this shocking story unfolds.

For years, Penn State has been highly upheld in the college football realm. Some say, former coach Joe Paterno was the reason Penn State had done so well in the past. Until recently, Joe Paterno was the ideal football coach who could win games and bring in a huge revenue for the school. He had built Penn State into a powerhouse for football and money. If anyone challenged his power, like in the sex scandal, they were often no match for what Paterno had become. What most don't realize, is that there is a strict hierarchy of class and ranking within the system. No one dare to challenge Joe Paterno or the Penn State football. When the media broke with sex scandal allegations, many were shocked.

When the sex scandal incident occurred, Paterno knew. However, he also knew that this would certainly bring down Penn State football, so he was quick to cover it up. For him, it was not about morals, but about making more money. Sure he probably felt bad that a child had been raped, but why would that stop him from being the best?

Joe Paterno knew about Sandusky's filthy actions, yet never took control of the situation. As a head coach, I feel he was obligated to step in and take action against Sandusky from the very beginning. The fact is, a child was sexually assaulted and NO ONE stepped in to help. It makes me sad, angry, and disgusted that our society cares more about money than the well being of another human.

Your friendly neighborhood classmate,

Michelle E. Perez

Kin338i

Sec 06

Penn State Scandal

Thanks to the social media coverage, it has helped shaped the Penn State scandal in a positive way by allowing information to be more accessible. The continuous coverage has allowed more information to be brought to the public. With a large number of people voicing their views through social networks about the scandal, it has shown the nation what a horrible crime took place, even after there was a possibility to put an end to it. Power, media and deviance intersected by allowing Sandusky not to be brought to law until now. Being such a huge icon in Penn State School, Sandusky was able to for the most part be bigger than the law. When news was brought to the University President, instead of going straight to the police, he instead choose have a conversation with him and tell him to stop it. The crimes that were made committed by Sandusky were inhumane and there is no way of making any senses of them other than they should have never been committed. The covering up of these crimes in my view took place because many saw Sandusky as this football god so therefore he couldn’t have actually committed those crimes. My personal reaction to this whole situation was a difficult one at first because I at first felt that Joe Paterno was fired as just as a form of a scapegoat to take pressure of the school. In my view i felt that was unfair to just basically throw him under the bus after all he has done to the school, from donating money to help building Penn State to a football powerhouse. The more I thought about it, the more I began to see that firing Joe Paterno was the correct move to do because even though he came forward and told the President of the school about what had happen; he did not come forward and told the police. By not coming forward, he allowed Sandusky to be free and continue taking advantage of those boys. Even though he did the right thing, he could have done more and put a stop to those evil crimes that Sandusky was committing. Even, though i still believed that the school should had allowed him to coach that last home game, I agree with them firing Joe Paterno and as for Sandusky, i hope he pays the prices for his crimes.

Luis Carlos
kin 338