There was but one single moment in time where the, so called, leadership (BOT) of our University had the opportunity to lead. I will not speculate as to why, but in the face of national hysteria and a massive witch hunt, they ran and tried to hide under a blanket.
Their solution was to erase the hysteria, by being a catalyst to that hysteria and giving it extraordinary opportunity to last for decades. They had a chance to show character and responsibility to the institution they lead and to all those people that served the institution faithfully for a lifetime by simply standing in a unified manner for something we are all entitled to as citizens of this country was to stand firm for due process especially in the ugly face of hysteria.
To recap, instead of acting with a shred of poise, those representing chose a series of decisions that were the equivalent of bending over backwards to ensure this University would be a focal point of allegations for every attention starved loony and anyone seeking cash for any allegation for decades to come. They assumed guilt for this institution by every action they took, handed out cash for a five minute investigation which they and the NCAA crafted to assure guilt without a shred of evidence, handed out nearly a hundred million dollars to even the most discredited and known con artists in the state of PA as quickly as they could while simultaneously paying for an advertising campaign to get the world to "Move On". What did they think the net result of their actions would be?
We, as a university community are witnessing the inevitable results of these decisions and will be subject to the same for decades to come. The BOT had one moment in time to minimize wild and speculative allegations and the accompanying negative press that comes with such things and they instead did everything in their power to assure and maximize such events long into our collective future.
I don't know why or even care why they as individuals and collectively took this course of actions but I can say the course of actions they took was ridiculous and inexcusable, no matter.
My question is, given the way the BOT is structured and that the power within the BOT lies in the hands of an few appointed individuals, what can we do to change this and see to it that another breach of responsibility, collective act of cowardice and the resultant harm to this institution and all associated with it never occur again? Elect a few nearly powerless advocates to this dysfunctional by design institution? Sure there has been change but that change seem powerless in the face of it's precedent.
Clearly, I am at a loss. What the defective institution did just a few years ago predestined what has occurred over the last 2 days to occur ad infinitum, The last two days are the future of this great institution as everyone with the need for public attention or seeking free money will make claims until the press sees no value in printing allegations that cannot in this point in time be refuted or substantiated. The, to little to late press release yesterday is an ironic mockery and joke to all that care about Penn State. The time for yesterdays press release left the station house in my opinion a long time ago.
Their solution was to erase the hysteria, by being a catalyst to that hysteria and giving it extraordinary opportunity to last for decades. They had a chance to show character and responsibility to the institution they lead and to all those people that served the institution faithfully for a lifetime by simply standing in a unified manner for something we are all entitled to as citizens of this country was to stand firm for due process especially in the ugly face of hysteria.
To recap, instead of acting with a shred of poise, those representing chose a series of decisions that were the equivalent of bending over backwards to ensure this University would be a focal point of allegations for every attention starved loony and anyone seeking cash for any allegation for decades to come. They assumed guilt for this institution by every action they took, handed out cash for a five minute investigation which they and the NCAA crafted to assure guilt without a shred of evidence, handed out nearly a hundred million dollars to even the most discredited and known con artists in the state of PA as quickly as they could while simultaneously paying for an advertising campaign to get the world to "Move On". What did they think the net result of their actions would be?
We, as a university community are witnessing the inevitable results of these decisions and will be subject to the same for decades to come. The BOT had one moment in time to minimize wild and speculative allegations and the accompanying negative press that comes with such things and they instead did everything in their power to assure and maximize such events long into our collective future.
I don't know why or even care why they as individuals and collectively took this course of actions but I can say the course of actions they took was ridiculous and inexcusable, no matter.
My question is, given the way the BOT is structured and that the power within the BOT lies in the hands of an few appointed individuals, what can we do to change this and see to it that another breach of responsibility, collective act of cowardice and the resultant harm to this institution and all associated with it never occur again? Elect a few nearly powerless advocates to this dysfunctional by design institution? Sure there has been change but that change seem powerless in the face of it's precedent.
Clearly, I am at a loss. What the defective institution did just a few years ago predestined what has occurred over the last 2 days to occur ad infinitum, The last two days are the future of this great institution as everyone with the need for public attention or seeking free money will make claims until the press sees no value in printing allegations that cannot in this point in time be refuted or substantiated. The, to little to late press release yesterday is an ironic mockery and joke to all that care about Penn State. The time for yesterdays press release left the station house in my opinion a long time ago.
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