Distance Learning- PSU Scandal

Its been on every sports channel. The PSU scandal has become a daily piece of our lives over night. What was once considered one of the crown jewels of college football, a bright light in a dark world of constant investigations, is now just like everyone else. A highly revered head coach, someone everyone could relate their grandfather to, is now a criminal. The media has played a big role in the way society has viewed the scandal. The day the scandal came out to the public you could not turn on ESPN without someone talking about it. But not only was it the media in general but the social media which seemed to add fuel to the fire. People were expressing their thoughts and feelings at a tremendous rate. It seemed that the only way to get the latest news on the situation was through twitter feeds and facebook updates. The social media has taken the PSU scandal and made it relevant through out the nation if not the world. People who do watch sports or even care about sports are reading feeds and posts about the terrible crimes committed on the Penn. State campus and are voicing their opinions.

As I watched the riots and protests on television, I got the impression that the all the Penn. State students were irate over the firing of Joe Paterno and wanted justice. I saw television vans being turned over and windows being smashed. As I watched the mayhem unfold, I began to side with the students and Paterno. I then realized how much power the media has over society when deviant behavior is being committed. The media took "all" of the Penn. State students and painted them to be enraged and their actions to be justified, when really many students happened to agree with the actions taken by the school. The media was able to take a story and turn it into something completely different. What really was criminal behavior committed by irrational students was turned into righteous cries of injustice. When I look at the scandal as a whole, I view it in an absolutist point of view. I believe that Sandusky has no morals or ethics at all; he is completely morally bankrupt. I believe that Mike McQueary is a spineless man. He knew that this disgusting act was going on for YEARS and he did nothing! He allegedly saw Sandusky committing one of these unspeakable acts and all he did was tell Joe Paterno. I don't care who you are, if you have any self-respect or dignity as a human being and saw what that man was doing to those children, you would do anything and everything in your power to stop it and make sure that it never happens again. For Joe Paterno, I believe that he is as guilty as all of them for his lack of actions. He did NOTHING! After he told the President of PSU what was going on and nothing happened, one would think he would take it to the next level but no.He knew of this crime for years and just swept it under the rug, pathetic. He did not have the courage to go to the police. I believe Paterno did not do anything because he did not want it to hurt him. He did not want to hurt his legacy as one of the best coaches in college football history so he did nothing. This whole ordeal is sickening. No one is above the law. Yes YOU Joe Paterno, you are not above the law. I hope all of you in this scandal gets the maximum punishment and the victims of this crime can get some relief to know that justice is not dead. Penn. State used to be a light in the fog of uncertainty. Now who do we look to?

Josh Butler

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