Jerry Sandusky and Related Trials

[count2infinity]

Hey, I think it's absurd that a degree would be worth less after this scandal but face it, this is what PSU is known for now. You live by the football program, you die by the football program. PSU fans dug their own grave by idolizing Joe Paterno and making him the face of their enitre university (think about how absurd that is in itself; a football coach representing an academic institution). It's not their fault that they didn't know that he was a corrupt man with very questionable morals but that's the price you pay for making him your ambassador by making football more important than everything.

so PSU = football and nothing more is what i'm getting from that statement. Maybe it depends on what field you're in, but I don't necessarily find that to be true. As I stated earlier, football has nothing to do with the scientific discoveries here at Penn State, and I don't think a future employer of mine is going to say, "Penn State huh? Well the chemistry program is essentially the football program and we can't have pedophiles here. Sorry, rejected."

[thepittman]

In PA and the surrounding states a PSU diploma is gold. Especially because how many PSU alumni are in places of power,

[llipgh2]

This isn't to insult anyone here, and it's bit off track. But I have never understood the cult-like devotion Penn State alum have to their university overall and to JoePa in particular.

[llipgh2]

If I read things correctly, under PA law the age of sexual consent is 16.... but you can be convicted of Corrupting the Morals of a Minor if you are over 18 and have sex with anyone under 18; so 16 and 17 year olds can bang each other, but anyone over 18 coming to that party is in trouble. Plus if you are more than four years older than the victim it's also Stat Rape. The girl bore Amendola a child before she turned 18. What Amendola did was illegal and, i would suggest, deviant..... and it was also wildly unethical, as he was serving as her attorney in her emancipation action against her parents.

This is the point I was trying to make, but didn't have all the details. Thanks.

[shafnutz05]

"cult"...give me a break. Paterno was a part of the institution for 60 years, and not just in a sports capacity. He was omnipresent on campus. The love that Penn State students and alumni had for him is not really hard to explain, despite people outside of State College thinking it's the dumbest thing out there.

As far as devotion to the university...what is wrong with that? Having an alumni base that is fiercely proud of the place they went to school is a great thing. There's a reason why it has the world's largest dues-paying alumni association.

[thehockeyguru]

This isn't to insult anyone here, and it's bit off track. But I have never understood the cult-like devotion Penn State alum have to their university overall and to JoePa in particular.

I think it would be akin to the Rooney Family and the Steelers if they owned the only team in Pittsburgh.

[llipgh2]

"cult"...give me a break. Paterno was a part of the institution for 60 years, and not just in a sports capacity. He was omnipresent on campus. The love that Penn State students and alumni had for him is not really hard to explain, despite people outside of State College thinking it's the dumbest thing out there.

As far as devotion to the university...what is wrong with that? Having an alumni base that is fiercely proud of the place they went to school is a great thing. There's a reason why it has the world's largest dues-paying alumni association.

Heard all this. Still don't get it. Never will.

[shafnutz05]

"cult"...give me a break. Paterno was a part of the institution for 60 years, and not just in a sports capacity. He was omnipresent on campus. The love that Penn State students and alumni had for him is not really hard to explain, despite people outside of State College thinking it's the dumbest thing out there.

As far as devotion to the university...what is wrong with that? Having an alumni base that is fiercely proud of the place they went to school is a great thing. There's a reason why it has the world's largest dues-paying alumni association.

Heard all this. Still don't get it. Never will.

That's fine.

[rasbatch]

I do recall several PSU alumni on this board telling me what a garbage university WVU was for allowing players like pacman, and chris henry to continue in their football program after run-ins with the law. I guess they didn't realise their house was made of glass as well. That said any university is more than it's football program, and anyone that would discriminate against a PSU grad because of this is an idiot.

[thehockeyguru]

I don't see how a term "cult like following" can be applied to Penn State fans, but not to Steeler fans?

[Chefpatrick871]

This isn't to insult anyone here, and it's bit off track. But I have never understood the cult-like devotion Penn State alum have to their university overall and to JoePa in particular.

A humans need to still feel like a part of something.

Same could be said for the way ppl feel about thier high school or fraternity/sorority.

[llipgh2]

This isn't to insult anyone here, and it's bit off track. But I have never understood the cult-like devotion Penn State alum have to their university overall and to JoePa in particular.

A humans need to still feel like a part of something.

Same could be said for the way ppl feel about thier high school or fraternity/sorority.

Maybe it's because I saw higher education as a means to an end. I had fun and all, but once I gradutated I never looked back.

[shmenguin]

This isn't to insult anyone here, and it's bit off track. But I have never understood the cult-like devotion Penn State alum have to their university overall and to JoePa in particular.

i dunno - maybe people are just more fond of their time at PSU than most people are about their own schools. the football team is jut a mechanism for hanging onto nostalgia, and paterno, specifically, was the nucleus.

or it has nothing to do with relative fondness, and PSU is just in a unique position where they have a singular icon. maybe because their other sports suck

[SirMario66]

Hey, I think it's absurd that a degree would be worth less after this scandal but face it, this is what PSU is known for now. You live by the football program, you die by the football program. PSU fans dug their own grave by idolizing Joe Paterno and making him the face of their enitre university (think about how absurd that is in itself; a football coach representing an academic institution). It's not their fault that they didn't know that he was a corrupt man with very questionable morals but that's the price you pay for making him your ambassador by making football more important than everything.

so PSU = football and nothing more is what i'm getting from that statement. Maybe it depends on what field you're in, but I don't necessarily find that to be true. As I stated earlier, football has nothing to do with the scientific discoveries here at Penn State, and I don't think a future employer of mine is going to say, "Penn State huh? Well the chemistry program is essentially the football program and we can't have pedophiles here. Sorry, rejected."

Football isn't the only thing that PSU is known for but in our society it is the most prominent identity for the school. And right now it cannot be argued that there is not a more disgraced program in any sport at any school than Penn State football.

I don't think any less of someone that they went to PSU b/c obviously they didn't have a role in this scandal. However, football is a major recruiting tool for the school and is the image that represents the school. The football program brings in the majority of revenue for the school through ticket sales, tv deals, advertisements, etc. And now this program is a nationwide embarrassment. And this embarrassment tarnishes the goodwill and brand that PSU has sold to recruit regular students for decades.

[thehockeyguru]

This isn't to insult anyone here, and it's bit off track. But I have never understood the cult-like devotion Penn State alum have to their university overall and to JoePa in particular.

A humans need to still feel like a part of something.

Same could be said for the way ppl feel about thier high school or fraternity/sorority.

Being a Penn State graduate I dont think that hits on it at all. Some of my fondest PSU memories are at football tailgates with friends, fellow students, and family. I go back each season for two games. I attend a tailgate and game with my family and one with my friends I graduated with. State College is a great meeting place because its in the center of Pennsylvania and close for all my friends/family that either grew up or live in MD, NY, NJ, ect.

[count2infinity]

Hey, I think it's absurd that a degree would be worth less after this scandal but face it, this is what PSU is known for now. You live by the football program, you die by the football program. PSU fans dug their own grave by idolizing Joe Paterno and making him the face of their enitre university (think about how absurd that is in itself; a football coach representing an academic institution). It's not their fault that they didn't know that he was a corrupt man with very questionable morals but that's the price you pay for making him your ambassador by making football more important than everything.

so PSU = football and nothing more is what i'm getting from that statement. Maybe it depends on what field you're in, but I don't necessarily find that to be true. As I stated earlier, football has nothing to do with the scientific discoveries here at Penn State, and I don't think a future employer of mine is going to say, "Penn State huh? Well the chemistry program is essentially the football program and we can't have pedophiles here. Sorry, rejected."

Football isn't the only thing that PSU is known for but in our society it is the most prominent identity for the school. And right now it cannot be argued that there is not a more disgraced program in any sport at any school than Penn State football.

I don't think any less of someone that they went to PSU b/c obviously they didn't have a role in this scandal. However, football is a major recruiting tool for the school and is the image that represents the school. The football program brings in the majority of revenue for the school through ticket sales, tv deals, advertisements, etc. And now this program is a nationwide embarrassment. And this embarrassment tarnishes the goodwill and brand that PSU has sold to recruit regular students for decades.

Again, you're putting a blanket over the entirety of the school. There are other places that bring in money and build their own resources. I hate to bring it back to the science departments, but it's what I know. Most of the science based revenue is not from football but from grants and funding due to the success of the science programs. I know that my boss brings in over half a million dollars yearly to this institution. I realize that is just pennies compared to the football money, but multiply that by the 50 or so faculty that bring in that sort of money (some bring in much much more than that) and you have a significant chunk. If the football program disappeared tomorrow, the chemistry department would be just fine. Again, I don't know about the other programs, but to put a large blanket over everyone like that is ridiculous.

[Idoit40fans]

Don't they have some crazy Penn State freshman brainwash class? Someone said something about it and I thought they were joking, but at the same time it seems entirely plausible to me.

[thehockeyguru]

Don't they have some crazy Penn State freshman brainwash class? Someone said something about it and I thought they were joking, but at the same time it seems entirely plausible to me.

Its obvious to me that those who think Penn State grads are "brain washed" have never been around Ohio State fans/grads.

[MRandall25]

Don't they have some crazy Penn State freshman brainwash class? Someone said something about it and I thought they were joking, but at the same time it seems entirely plausible to me.

Its obvious to me that those who think Penn State grads are "brain washed" have never been around Ohio State fans/grads.

Uh, the only thing they really do is the whole O-H thing during orientation. Nobody does it after that unless you're a freshman or drunk and don't know any better.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Don't they have some crazy Penn State freshman brainwash class? Someone said something about it and I thought they were joking, but at the same time it seems entirely plausible to me.

Unless one of the goals of the brainwashing class is to forget taking it, I don't remember any such class.

I do remember that there was some sort of presentation that the RAs told us we had to attend during orientation. I remember it being very boring and a waste of time.

[thehockeyguru]

Don't they have some crazy Penn State freshman brainwash class? Someone said something about it and I thought they were joking, but at the same time it seems entirely plausible to me.

Its obvious to me that those who think Penn State grads are "brain washed" have never been around Ohio State fans/grads.

Uh, the only thing they really do is the whole O-H thing during orientation. Nobody does it after that unless you're a freshman or drunk and don't know any better.

Are we talking about chants or their overall passion for their football team and school?

[Idoit40fans]

Don't they have some crazy Penn State freshman brainwash class? Someone said something about it and I thought they were joking, but at the same time it seems entirely plausible to me.

Unless one of the goals of the brainwashing class is to forget taking it, I don't remember any such class.

I do remember that there was some sort of presentation that the RAs told us we had to attend during orientation. I remember it being very boring and a waste of time.

Sounds like every school's orientation. Still though, PSU is evil.

[thehockeyguru]

Sounds like every school's orientation. Still though, PSU is evil.

The Penn State following only seems like a cult to Pitt fans because they are use to a student section with 3,000 fans and a big game attendence number of 50,000.

[count2infinity]

how did I know this would end up a Pitt vs. PSU thread eventually?

[jimjom]

Paterno is very Jungian. Kim Il Jungian.