A Statement from the Board of Trustees... Again.

Marriage counselors always emphasize the importance of “fighting fairly.”  Once an issue is discussed and settled, couples are encouraged to “forgive and forget,” agreeing not to bring the matter back up in future arguments.  It’s a pretty wise idea if you ask me; reiterating one’s past mistakes may feel extra good when we want to be spiteful, but it tends only to further complicate, making it harder and harder to regain peace in a relationship.

Apparently, Penn State’s Board of Trustees missed out on this little lesson in effective communication.

Four months after the Penn State scandal broke out and almost two months since Joe Paterno’s unfortunate passing, life was returning to normal on campus.  While many refused to agree with the decision to fire Coach Paterno, most of us had at least accepted the events of last November and were beginning to adapt to the “new” Penn State, exactly what we need to do to move forward as a university.  This is why I was so perplexed when the Board of Trustees sent an unexpected email to the students to “clear up” their reasoning for firing JoePa.  Anticipating some new information about the scandal, I read on, only to be told that our legendary coach was released due to “failure of leadership” because he did not take sufficient action regarding his knowledge of the alleged sexual abuse.

Thanks, Board of Trustees.  Real shocker there!  This is exactly what we were told last November.  Regardless of whether or not Joe Paterno’s so-called “failure of leadership” constituted an abrupt end to his passionate career, old wounds are re-opened every time the matter is brought back up. It’s like they’re saying, “Hey, remember that time we really pissed you guys off?! Well, we’re going to do it again!”  The BOT isn’t “fighting fairly,” and they aren’t allowing the student body to heal, prolonging the recovery of peace of campus.  I don’t see how the Board “put[s] interests of the university first” (as the email claims they do) by repeatedly telling us why they rashly fired and hurt a man we as a student body love, especially after students reacted so intensely (i.e. – flipping over news vans) when we were told before.

 

If you have to justify something you’ve done in the past more than once or twice, you might want to re-evaluate and determine if you are actually in the one in the wrong.  The fact that the BOT finds it necessary to explain their actions over and over again makes me wonder how the Board members really feel about what they’ve done.  Surely some of them must experience guilt for what they’ve robbed from a hard-working, spirited man and the university that remains loyal to him.  If the Board of Trustees can’t move forward from the scandal, how is the student body supposed to?