Thursday, July 12, 2012

Hell-bound

The most interesting reading of this week was the independent report regarding the Penn State horrors.  I was pleased to see that the report's authors didn't mince words.  They were brutally honest in their assessment of the failures at the highest levels of the university.

I'm annoyed that Joe Paterno's family seems to think that anything that doesn't cast JoePa in angelic light is somehow flawed or untrue.  The report specifically points out that the top administrators had decided to properly report one of the witnessed assaults but then changed course as a direct result of a conversation with Paterno.  That is BAD BAD BAD.

But, what I am most curious to see is how the Education Department will react.  The report cited PSU for being out of compliance with a law that is 21 years old and all federal monies to colleges and universities are tied to compliance.  They pointed out that at the time of Sandusky's arrest, the university only had a draft policy.  21 years is long enough to move from draft to implementation.  I'd like to see the Education Department demand partial, if not full, repayment of federal monies from the last 21 years.  It won't happen, because it would shut down the school.

Here's the rub.  This could have happened at any university.  All too often, decisions are made to protect individuals or the school . . . not to do what is legal, ethical, moral, or right.

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