We Are....

I don't even know where to start with this, but I feel like I can't stay silent. I'm sad, heartbroken, and distraught over this entire Penn State scandal. I feel betrayed by a man I've never met, but have always respected. My world has been rocked by this.

If you had asked me Saturday morning if Joe Paterno should retire, I would have said "I hope he dies pacing that field, during a game, doing what he loves and all he has ever done"

Today, I think he should step down. This is the end of his career and what his legacy will now be known for, regardless of whether he is morally innocent or guilty.

I desperately want to hear his side of the story. I want to know what he's known for the past 9 1/2 years. I want to know that his conscience is clean. But I just don't think it is. I won't say that he met his legal obligations and could then sleep well at night. If he knew something illegal/immoral happened, he should have done the follow ups and he should have been asking if this had gone to the police. If he didn't know the full extent of the 2002 incident, his era at Penn State is still over and will be tarnished forever.

It is just awful that he is the main target being persecuted in this whole thing. I'm hearing more about Coach Paterno than I have about Jerry Sandusky, and he is the one that raped those boys!

There are now about 20 boys/men that have come forward as victims in the awful and horrific mess. 20 boys whose lives will never be the same because they were exposed to a predator who set up a foundation to supposedly help them. This man preyed on these helpless boys, giving them gifts and opportunities that they would never have gotten without him, but they paid the price of abuse and molestation for it. It is absolutely disgusting that this man put them in these situations. He should be the one persecuted for these crimes. He should be the one under the microscope in all of this.

Where was McQueary in the days/weeks/months/years after he saw what he saw in the locker room? Did he tell JoePa all the details? Why isn't he being called on for moral obligations?

People are calling for the cancellation of the rest of the Penn State season. This would punish players that had no idea and were in elementary school when this happened. This would hurt their chances of having a professional career. Boys that had never met Sandusky, boys that had no idea this man was lurking in their shadows. This would punish the other coaches that knew nothing of the situation, and I believe there were some.

Now is not the time for the Penn State community to turn their backs on their Alma Mater. Now is the time for us to come together and show that Penn State is so much bigger and so much better than this.

As posted on Facebook:

“We are…….sad. We are…….grieving with the families and the victims. We are……broken hearted. We are……trying to make sense of things. We are……confused. We are…..over 94,000 students strong. We are…..ranked among the top 15 public universities. We are…..the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. We are…..over... 8,500 top ranked faculty. We are…..hard working student athletes in many sporting events with NO connection to former events. We are….more than university officials and athletic department members. We are….more than this scandal. We are Penn State, and we have always been more than just a football team.”

 I will be wearing my Penn State Football shirt proudly for the rest of this season and as long as I can still scream out "WE ARE"

For The Kids - Penn State THON 2011

Last weekend Tony and I made a trek up to Penn State for annual Dance MaraTHON. I wrote about it last year, but for those who are new friends, I'll give you a quick recap.

Dance Marathon, aka THON, is the largest student run philanthropy in the world. They raise money throughout the year for the Four Diamonds Fund for Pediatric Cancer. The money goes towards research as well as supplementing heath care costs for the families being treated at the Hershey Medical Center. The fund raising culminates in a 46 hour Dance Marathon.

This was Tony's first time seeing what THON is all about. (I had included it in my 101 in 1001 list as well to make sure he saw what all the hype was about) We got there Saturday afternoon when the dancers had already been going for 20 hours. Right as we showed up Velveeta was taking the stage. They were one of my favorite local bands in college. They play 80's cover songs and rock it out. It was amazing see all the dancers and spectators rocking out to Journey's Don't Stop Believing.

We stuck around for a couple hours cheering on the dancers and just taking in the scene. At one point a man got on stage and told his story of when and how THON helped him. In 1988 he was diagnosed with cancer and was given 24 hours to live. Thanks to THON, he was able to get the transplants he needed, the treatments he needed, and has been cancer free for almost 20 years. There was not a dry eye in the house. 

I wanted to make sure we got to see the line dance being done at least once. They have a new line dance each year that brings in some Penn State history, current events, and motivation for the dancers. Here is this year's line dance:

 

We went back Sunday morning for another couple hours. We got there at 8am when the dancers still had 8 more hours to go. By the time we left at 10, the place was at capacity. They were counting heads leaving to let folks in at another entrance.

All in all Tony was very impressed. Not only are there over 700 dancers, but there are thousands cheering them on the whole time. The Fraternities and Sororities, organizations and clubs with Dancers are out through the whole time keeping the place rocking. One of the best moments was when the Gary Glitter cheer started and instead of yelling P!!! S!!!!! U!!!! Let's Go P-S-U!!! it was F!!!! T!!!!!! K!!!!! THON ON! FOR THE KIDS!

By the time we got home, I logged online and watched the final hours live. Their total this year was over $9.5 MILLION, over $1.5 Million than last year!!!!

It really makes me proud to be a Penn State Alumni to see such love poured out each and every single year for these kids.

“When they say, ‘We Are Penn State,’ this is what they are talking about.” - Joe Paterno

THON 2010 - Love Belongs Here

Penn State Dance Marathon, aka THON, begins tonight. THON is near and dear to my heart. I was a dancer in 2004. It is a 46 hour (48 when I was a dancer) event with hundreds of college students raising money for kids with cancer, No Sitting No Sleeping, No Kidding. I know I won't do it justice, so here is an exerpt from the THON website:

In 1973, a small group of dedicated Penn State students held our first Dance Marathon. That year, 34 dancers participated and raised $2,000. Since then, THON’s presence in the Penn State community has grown exponentially. THON now has 15,000 student volunteers, 700 dancers, and has raised more than $61 million, benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Children’s Hospital.

THON is now a year-long effort that raises funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. With the support of students from all across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and THON Alumni all around the world, we continue to make great strides towards finding a cure for all childhood cancers!

The amount of money raised and effort put in by the students at Penn State is truly amazing. There are probably close to 400 organizations and individuals on campus COMPETING for the honor to dance in THON. So for every dancer, there are probably 25 people they represent that are behind them and supporting them. It is the largest student run philanthropy in the WORLD. Other universities, colleges, and high schools try to replicate THON on smaller versions for other causes across the country.

The kids that THON supports are the toughest little warriors I've ever met. These kids are diagnosed with whatever form of cancer and are immediately wisked off to meet with a social worker. The social worker tells them, "Your family has enough to deal with to get your kid healthy, the one thing you should not worry about is money. Your treatment is paid for." PAID for. By college kids, a demographic that often gets labeled as self centered and selfish. Their motto all weekend and really all year is FTK, For The Kids. These students spend a whole year prepping for THON weekend to make it bigger and better than last year. You cannot walk into THON and walk out the same person, even just as a spectator. There are dancers, families, and kids all there for the same reason. It is one weekend a year when the kids do not worry or feel different for having cancer. They are loved, embraced, and lifted up to celebrate their childhood by strangers.

My quick and dirty personal THON story. When touring college campuses, the weekend we went to check out PSU, it was THON weekend. We stopped by and watched for maybe 10 minutes. I walked out knowing it was something special. When finally deciding on schools I knew Penn State was the one for me, but never listed THON as one of the reasons. My junior year I became the THON Chair for my On Campus Area Government. I spent all year organizing fund raising events and talking it up to our group. I danced that year and during the weekend realized this was WHY I was at Penn State. It was the most powerful weekend and the most important thing I have ever done.

Check out their website, donate if you can.

“When they say, ‘We Are Penn State,’ this is what they are talking about.” - Joe Paterno