The horrific allegations of sexual assault against children and the charges of an institutional cover-up at Penn State University are the subject of Smart Talk,Thursday at 8 p.m. on witf TV. Join our experts to learn the latest on the charges against Jerry Sandusky and top PSU officials, the fate of Graham Spanier and the resignation of Joe Paterno, and share your thoughts on the case. Call 1-800-729-7532, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or post to Facebook.
Our guests include Brad Jackman, president of the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Solicitors Association. Jackman is solicitor for Bucks County Children and Youth and an attorney in private practice. He will discuss Pennsylvania's Child Protective Services Law and how it affects the Sandusky/PSU court cases. Jackman also will suggest legislative and institutional changes to strengthen the protection of Pennsylvania's children.
Jennifer Storm, executive director of the Dauphin County Victim/Witness Assistance Program will share her insights into the abuse of children in Pennsylvania. She is a Penn State alumna and a rape survivor who has shared her life story in two heart-breaking books.
We also expect to hear from Jed Donahue, host of the Toyota Saturday Football Jam with former Nittany Lions Rich Rosa and Eddie Johnson. The program is heard on 21 radio affiliates statewide. Donahue has covered Penn State football for more than two decades.
Congressman Pat Meehan (R-Delaware County) has called for the U.S. Department of Education to investigate Penn State. "Aside from the charges against individuals – we need to look at whether a federal law that requires colleges and universities to report crimes on campus was broken," Meehan said in a statement. "The failure to report the incident in 2002 appears to violate this law and breaks Penn State's own reporting methods for sexual abuse on campus. Even more upsetting is the fact that had university officials reported this to authorities, additional abuses could have been prevented."
Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in major college football, emerged briefly from his home last night to address hundreds of students chanting in support of the legendary coach. This morning, Paterno issued a statement announcing that he would retire at the end of the football season. ESPN reports that the board of trustees might tap former Pennsylvania Governor and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to replace Graham Spanier as president of the university. As of now, Spanier still has his job.
We will explore all of these developments Thursday night at 8. Please join the conversation.
comments
Jump ahead to '02. More Sandusky crap. Paterno reports it to senior administrators, and McQueary provides further details to them. Paterno is told that the matter is being addressed, and was reported to Second Mile. Based on the '98 situation, was Paterno expected to know that the AD, Senior VP, and Second Mile all acted indifferently -- basically covering the matter up?
Key University administrators – not football coaches or their assistants – are the culpable players in this tragedy. They are so busy doing “damage control” that they are overlooking the damage they are doing.
The idea that Joe Paterno should be the poster boy for what went wrong in this case is exactly what IS wrong in this case.
Unless people act in concrete measures, simply punishing two or three individuals will change nothing for other victims out there.
You couldn’t make this stuff up, even if you were John Grisham:
Q: What is the history and meaning of Penn’s motto?
A: The motto of the University, Leges Sine Moribus Vanae, means:
"Laws without morals are useless (in vain)."
It comes from the longer quotation from Horace, "Quid leges sine moribus vanae proficient?" the sense of which is "of what avail are empty laws without (good) morals?"
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