Former Penn State Coach Arrested

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

I'm having trouble understanding why Penn State students and alumni are personalizing this situation. They're not at fault. I can understand being disgusted at what happened, but to feel personally connected to the case is difficult for me to grasp.

It's nice to feel a connection to one's alma mater...I know I do...but to be as affected as the people whose posts are showing up in my FB news feed is taking things to an extreme.

I can only speak for myself, but the reason we're personalizing it is because other people (non-Penn Staters) are making it personal. I looked at one of my sorority sister's Facebook walls yesterday, and one of her "friends" posted, "If you're an old woman who's attracted to little boys, you're a cougar. If you're an old man who's attracted to little boys, you're a Nittany Lion."

People are ignorant. And that ignorance is offensive, and it's insulting something that we love so dearly. Today, my heart breaks.. And not for Paterno, and not for Spanier, but for the students and alumni who have to deal with the fact that their alma mater will forever be looked at as "the school where that coach raped young boys.". People are already referring to the school as Pedophile State University. It hurts. Plain and simple.

I think SWTXBelle summed it up best. I want to believe that these things couldn't happen; not neccesarily to a person I adore, but at a place I love.