Being a freshman and spending my first year at Penn State I didn’t know what to expect. I have heard so many good things about Happy Valley and never anything bad. Sure enough, after spending only two months here I was nothing but happy. Everywhere I went people we nice to me and always smiling. I was never to a Penn State football game before and it only took me one game to realize how big of a deal they are down here. The fans go crazy, and the stadium fills up so fast. JoePa is an icon for Penn State and is a legend. Penn State idolizes JoePa and everywhere I looked I saw anything you can imagine having to deal with the Penn State pride Happy Valley is full of. Walking through McLanahan’s I see Penn State slippers, spatulas, scarves, golf balls, foam finger…anything you can imagine. The pride this university possesses is unbelievable. The students, alumni, and fans are all followers of this “cult” and JoePa is their leader.
I remember sitting at my first game and thinking how crazy it was that there were over 70,000 people out at Beaver Stadium to watch a football game. Upon seeing Joepa for the first time, I thought to myself how wonderful it was that he was so old, but it was his passion and love for the game, players, and fans that kept him going.
After finding out about the scandal I felt confused, embarrassed, and upset. I was upset because Joepa is getting so much attention drawn to him, and the media is portraying him as being a terrible person. The way the media portrays him makes people actually think that it was JoePa that raped the children, not Sandusky . The riots really confused America because they happened right when the world was notified that JoePa had been fired. A lot of people were still uninformed about what was going on, and the riots were the first thing that they saw. Students got a out of hand, and their rioting made people believe that there cared so much about football and not at all about the victims. In my opinion, I feel that the riots were just an impulsive act. They were not aimed toward the victims or case in any way. I feel that upon finding out that President Spanier and legendary Joe Paterno were fired outraged students. Both of these people ran Penn State. They represented Penn State and were the two people at State College students looked up to most.
I feel that people associate us with rude, crazy, immoral behavior. By holding the vigil, I feel that Penn State made a point and delivered the message that we are more than a party school or school that riots or is football crazed. It showed that we care. We are Penn State and we are here and want to help.
Overall, I feel like the media got too involved and for the wrong reasons. They weren't even talking much about Sandusky or the victims. People aren’t even educated that well on the crime. It is sad how one man’s sick mind and nauseating acts make others view Penn State as a bad place. It was one man’s bad decisions. I don’t appreciate the jokes made about Penn State, the South Park episode, and comments. Majority of the people do not what is going on exactly. Who are they to open their mind and go off on a matter that they aren’t even well educated in? It is embarrassing because people are blowing things out of portion and making JoePa seem like a rapist as well as the Penn State community. That is embarrassing to me because it is most certainly a lie. I hate the fact that one man’s actions is effecting our university so much.
All of this going on my freshman year really affects me. It showed me how people could be very impulsive and go crazy as demonstrated by the riots. It also showed me how thousands of students can come together for a good cause as seen in the vigil.
Reading Housely’s article summed up exactly how I feel. I am still proud to be a Penn Stater. I still wouldn’t imagine a better place for me to attend school. I do not want to leave Happy Valley and still wear my blue and white with pride. I love the point he makes about Happy Valley saying that 99% of people are doing the right thing. I also like how he mentions that people are in their own little bubble or world here at State College. We don’t commonly see bad things happening and are so absorbed into this “Happy Valley”. An event such as this scandal is scarring and I completely agree with Houseley. The Penn State community is definitely in its own little bubble from my perspective. Therefore, something awful like this happening seems shocking. I think Penn State will eventually be calm again and things will settle down. Regardless of what sort of situation our Happy Valley gets itself into, I will always be proud to call myself a Penn Stater.
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