News Penn State

[anni]

I logged in tonight to see if anyone was discussing this. The Grand Jury report- Holy H*ll. I have zero idea why they are not all gone, much less why this man was there in the first place. Many, many people must have known. Sandusky took a boy with him when Penn State went to the Aloha Bowl for instance, according to the report, where he kept him in his hotel room. The entire team and staff stays together when colleges travel to games for these trips. My point is that this behaviour must have been some sort of open 'secret' at Penn State. Wildly tolerated. There's another portion which is incredibly, incredibly upsetting where parents of a victim reported the abuse to campus police who did zero, blew them off. You'd have to live around here to get HOW Penn State is viewed, how 'Joe-Pa' is some Godling here, wow. The first local news reports were SO luke-warm, given the content of the Grand Jury report, made it sound like well, Sandusky kinda sorta mighta let his hand slip once or twice a long time ago, whoops. You have to turn on the national reports or the internet for anything accurate so far here in PA.

Paterno had to go. Yes he did some things according to the book but the book wasn't good enough and he had to know it. It's really tough to believe he and all the other staff did not know exactly what Sandusky was for a very long time. If they did not, they had to try awfully hard to turn a blind eye to his activities. There's another section where he'd been charged up in Clinton County at a high school there for the same thing. A predator was in their midst, as adults it was certainly their job to both know this and their responsibilty to protect those children. ALL of them had better dam well go. Hopefully national and international outrage will result in not just cleaning house but some more charges against anyone who failed raped children.

 

[olaja]

As far as I know, teachers in the United States are mandated reporters. It would seem to me, as a coach at a university, Paterno falls under that category and, hence, had a responsibility to go to the police, as did McQueary.

Those students who protested think they were being loyal and supportive of Paterno. All that did was emphasize to me the reasons people do not come out to speak about their experiences of childhood rape and sexual abuse. They are met with further violence.

It was also surprising to me that the first post on the forum was not "Wasn't this horrific/Those poor children? Anyone know what is happening to them now?" but instead was a question about if the famous coach should have been fired.

 

[catjudo]

Perhaps I didn't explain my question well. It's not really so much a matter of whether or not he should be fired. But, as I've said in subsequent posts, if he should be fired then most certainly McQueary should be fired as well. And since he hasn't been fired it makes me question the true intention of the board of trustees. Not saying Paterno didn't necessarily deserve to be fired, just not sure that he's being fired for what they say he's being fired for. Otherwise McQueary would be out of a job as well.

 

[anni]

Yes, sorry CB! I think it's having brought up this subject at all, it's going to get reponses not quite on topic so I'm sorry to have rambled off it. :) I absolutely agree he's not being fired for what they say he's being fired for. Wow. I seriously did have to go to the internet and national news to get facts with this. Living where I do, even with the seriousness of all the charges, the local stations are STILL being extremely low-key in their reporting, can you believe it? In SOME fairness them, when a news crew even shows up on campus they're treated with such hostility they're quite frightened. Students have reacted without being given the facts, in fairness to them. HOW the Board of Trustess could still be thinking about the school's reputation and not these victims is way, way, WAY beyond me. Now that the Grand Jury report is on the internet, it the students responsibility to hold the Board of Trustees accountable for getting the truth out there, stop obfuscating, demand quite seriously that the real reasons come to light. Plus, yes, McQuery, Good God, must be removed. He literally saw and did not report a child being raped. I heard last night a NEW LAW was being proposed where it would be a crime not to do this. I did not know it wasn't a crime! We need a LAW to tell us to go report a child being raped is WRONG, please go protect the child, hence other children, or more obviously, at that moment take the criminal by the throat and pull him OFF the victim? Yes, teachers ( you would think coaches, anyone who has contact with students-our children) are mandated reporters. I'm guessing some legal semantics came into play here somewhere so some new law has to be passed which is even clearer? 'Ok, idiots, if you walk into a room and a child is being raped and you walk OUT of said room, you'll be arrested, is that clear enough for everybody?'. There's a law no one should have had to write.

It's incredibly frustrating living in Pennsylvania, so close to State College, pretty much smack in the middle of where Jo-Pa's passing is being mourned and the news STILL has not mentioned one friggin word about the victims. Seriously. NOTHING. They interviewed those really tough, brave students at Main Campus who held a vigil for the victims, for like 20 seconds, otherwise it was all shots of Mrs. Paterno waving bravely from her front door, the news van being turned over, students being variously confused or violent, or long memorials to Paternos career. The thing is, we can't GET to the truth of the victims, or even being able to discuss them while that dam Board is still there being The Ones through which information is slowly, grudglingly given out. It's going to get bigger than they are, however. The outrage is too huge, the facts too awful and frankly hideous. McQuery told Paterno what he saw in that single case at least we know of, both saw fit to continue in friendship and professional relationships with a wildly out of control child predator, like it was no big deal. SICK all the way around. It does make all who covered this up sick sick sick also-wow.

 

[Happy Head]

A small update - McQueary has been removed from Saturday's game because of threats... gee, shouldn't that tell the school something? Maybe that he should've been fired with Paterno? Sidelining him is not even close to the equivalent of firing him... I just don't get why he's still off the hook.

Those students who protested think they were being loyal and supportive of Paterno. All that did was emphasize to me the reasons people do not come out to speak about their experiences of childhood rape and sexual abuse. They are met with further violence.

Such a great point... does nothing for the stigma of any of those who have been victims of whatever crime or abuse

 

[atl22]

Why is McQueary still there? It must be because they approve of his actions. The abused children should be taken care of for the rest of their lives. All medical bills and therapy should be paid for. College, money for business investment, retirement...everything!

Take the money from the football program. They obviously can not handle it. They have made their priorities clear: football over human lives. It's time to remind them why Penn State exists and that is for education, not football. They need to work on the education part, especially basic morality.

 

[Happy Head]

A friend of mine explained to me that he may be protected under a federal law sometimes refered to as "whistle-blower" The Law prohibits someone who has reported a crime from adverse actions such as firing.

 

[atl22]

The Whistleblower Protection Act applies only to Federal employees.

 

[BloomInWinter]

Many States have whistleblower protections.

But if they can isolate and make you too miserable...or ill..they win anyway.

 

[atl22]

How is he protected by a State whistleblower law if he did not report the crime to the police?

EDIT: OK, I answered my own question. He would be protected if it is part of the official policy of Penn State.

 

[catjudo]

Sorry, I'm having a difficult time wrapping my brain around how he would be protected as a whistle-blower. If the rationale is that Paterno reported the incident to his superiors but he should have done more and therefore he is fired...McQueary (who was a grad asst at the time, and not in his current position as an asst coach) reported the incident, but should have done more. Besides, how about firing because he WITNESSED the incident and did nothing to intervene and protect the child. The way that I see it, McQueary has benefited from his sustained silence. He was a grad assistant when this incident unfolded. He reported it to Paterno and nothing more happened. Apparently Curley and Schultz met with him less than two weeks later to say, hey it's okay we've taken away Sandusky's keys. McQueary keeps his mouth shut and eventually finds himself hired on as an assistant coach for Penn State.

Whistleblower? I don't see how. I realize officials are now hinting at the fact that it may be a whistleblower law that is effecting this situation, but I just don't buy it. And even if that is the case...like I said, I personally think he has benefited from his silence, he knows it, and I find it disgusting.

 

[atl22]

I don't think that he should be protected under a whistleblower provision of PennState policy either. My belief is that they are merely using that as an excuse to keep him in order to control what he says publicly. They are also being quite contradictory since Curley and Schultz both said that McQueary did not tell them about the sex act but only that there was "inappropriate horsing around" in the shower. Well, how would he be protected if he did not tell them the full truth?Curley and Schultz were deemed not credible by the Grand Jury.

I read that many of these whistleblower protections only require that illegal activity is reported to the superior, not the police. Whether or not McQueary committed a crime would be a matter between him and the police.

My other question is how did Schultz, the Senior Vice President for Finance and Business become involved? Was he there to explain the monetary losses Penn State would incur due to a scandal? Was he there to offer money to McQueary for keeping his mouth shut?