On Wednesday night, after announcing the firing of Joe Paterno, about 2,000 students turned out to protest. While there was some peaceful protesting, there were a small group of protestors who created quite a bit of damage. Below are some of the images from the protest:
A media van was overturned by angry protestors:
Crowds gathering Wednesday night:
Some anti-Paterno demonstrators:
For me, the firing of Mr. Paterno was a “no-brainer.” Students attending Penn State, I would assume, are compassionate, and educated enough to know that what he did was wrong. So, how did they get to this point? Per the provost, the students had undergone a lot during the week leading up to the protests. In less than a week, the campus went from being completely normal, to chaotic. Starting the Friday before Paterno’s firing, Jerry Sandusky was arrested (he was the one charged with sexual assaulting up to 8 young boys), Tim Curly and Gary Schulz were fired Monday (for not reporting the abuse), Paterno announced his retirement at the end of the semester on Wednesday morning, and then on Wednesday night Paterno was fired. Students began to feel that everything was falling apart right before their eyes. On top of that, the media was hovering and the students started acting out and getting attention.
So, what professionals are better suited to look into how students are feeling than student affairs? That is exactly what the article in Inside Higher Education addressed. Student affairs will be there to help students process and create a bridge between students and administrators. NASPA and other leaders in Student Affairs are encouraging Penn State to use this as a teachable moment.
Did these students react to Mr. Paterno’s arrest because he was the head coach who had brought many wins to the college? Would they have reacted this way to any other person being fired for the same thing? Perhaps, this is a moment to look at ways in which institutions allow coaches at big athletic colleges to become such an monumental figure at an institution. Their salaries are just one demonstration of the elevated position coaches are put in. I did not hear of students protesting the firing of the Penn State president.
Overall, this is a teachable moment for both students and colleges. At my institution, we have already received an email reminder that employees are obligated to report any inappropriate behavior and to use Penn State as an example of what we should not allow to happen. Students should learn from Mr. Paterno’s mistake and know when it is appropriate to report something to a supervisor and when it is appropriate to go straight to the authorities. This should also be a learning lesson for college and university staff. I still do not understand why students felt the need to protest the firing of a man who covered up sexual assault of young boys. Perhaps the students were just facing the perfect storm of media chaos, several changes in a short period, and a feeling of loss within a strong community.
Lori, I'm glad you posted. The student protests in response to the firing of Joe Paterno were in some ways shocking to me. In listening to NPR last I was pleased to hear that they spent time looking for students to speak with who DID NOT participate in the protest.
ReplyDeleteOne young woman reminded the NPR reporter that at a campus of over 44,000 students only a few thousand protested. She commented that unfortunately the behavior of a few can taint the image of the greater University. And, here is the issue - it's so easy to take a relatively small "n" and extrapolate to the larger population which can be dangerous. Many of the Penn State students NPR spoke with were really disappointed in their peers behavior.
Your point about the students protesting the firing of Joe Paterno and not the president speaks volumes for me about what we value -
Thanks again for posting - I think this story has a lot for those of us working in higher education to consider and to learn from.
I found it rather disturbing that students would protest over the dismissal of Joe Paterno. I believe in speaking out against injustices, however I do not think firing Paterno is an injustice. Paterno could have done a lot more, many critics argue he was an enabler of child rape, I would concur. I feel there are real issues students could be protesting, such as an increase in funding, underrepresentation of certain groups, or even the Penn State administration failing to report. Students at Penn State should prioritize what is really important.
ReplyDeleteHow long before we see a third party vendor trying to sell some sort of product to institutions to either prevent or report instances on faculty/staff crime, such as sexual assault. Of course, I am being slightly fastidious, but also a little serious. It was not until the instance of extreme violence on campus (Virginia Tech) when we saw various companies trying to win state bids on selling security produces, notification products, and reporting products. Of course, these products are helpful and perhaps have prevented increased violent situations ahead of time; I am not disputing the value. I just wonder if this will become an area that one school picks up on and then the others all start to line up for the same product- can’t let another institution get ahead of the game too much!
ReplyDeleteLori,
ReplyDeleteGood post! It made me start thinking about what it must be feeling like for our counterparts at Penn State. I think about the Counseling Center (which a Metro colleague I know formerly worked in), and how much traffic they must be getting for anyone who was previously molested or sexually assaulted. This has to open old wounds and freshly traumatize victims.
I think about the residence hall staff who probably had to go on lockdown during the riots and are dealing with the reactions of their residents; both those who are angry about Joe Paterno's firing and those who are appalled that more was not done after all of this time.
I think about the Conduct Office who now likely has hundreds more cases to adjudicate because of the rioting. But I think those conduct conversations could potentially be very valuable when asking the student to consider their actions in response to the clarifying of all the information. It will be interesting as they explain why they were rioting when the conduct officer can present a list of corrupt and criminal behavior by the legendary coach.
My heart is with our colleagues at Penn State...I am confident that the student services people have the motivation and ability to begin to repair the harm done by the Athletics department. One damaged student at a time.
Good post Lori and interesting NPR story, Libby. This is shocking that's for sure. It is disappointing that there are students who would riot after Paterno's firing, but as Libby pointed it was truly a small percentage of the student body.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that these students would not consider the gravity of the situation before deciding to riot. The Board of Trustees made the right call to pull Paterno immediately. It seems to me that those who would like to see Paterno stay, feel this way for nostalgic reasons. I think this is exactly why Sandusky was allowed to stay for so long. The Board made the right call to say that this protection of the good old boy's club that was Penn football, will end immediately. Had the board allowed Paterno to stay, they would have been accused of fostering the very environment that allowed Sandusky to Penn State facilities.
Lori, I too, was shocked at the student's behavior and their rioting. It makes me want to go to those students and ask "how" they would feel if it was their very own younger brother had been assaulted and the proper steps had not been taken to stop the preditor. I bet there would be a lot of students that would stop and think about their actions - I truly do!
ReplyDeleteI do understand that many may have been upset about the firing of Paterno and there may be some that support him and think the situation was handled inappropriately. However, does one wrong doing justify destruction and disrespect? It is hard for me to understand how anyone could support Paterno, it baffles me as to their behavior. There was major destruction by students! And such behavior only gives additional bad press to Penn State!
Part of the problem with these young people is they have their identity tied into PSU. Being a part of the community there defines them and is often more than just the football team. It is possible some of the students there are likely to be legacy students ie their grandfather knew JoePa, one or both of their parents as well. Given the time JoePa had at the University family generations can be tied into PSU, JoePa and it's legacy. So it is hard for them to accept JoePa allowed for the behavior perpetrated by Sandusky to continue. It is easy to forget the impact JoePa has had in the community over the past 60 years. People have lived their whole lives with him as someone to look up to.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, beyond all he has done over the years or because of it JoePa is a beloved public figure. No matter what evidence comes to light there will always be people who believe in his innocence. Frankly, we see this in politics all the time as well.
Does this make what the students did right? I do not believe so however it does shed a light on how important institutions and it's staff can become to not only the students but the surrounding community.