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