I had an idea today. For the past two years, my New Years Resolution has been to write at least one sentence on some sort of paper every day. In 2011, I got to February 2 and then I missed a day. I tried for a few more weeks, missing more and more days at a time before I gave up.
In 2012, I don't think I made it to the end of January before I missed multiple days in a row.
My idea is to change my resolution, and start it in July (Christmas in July, right?).
Sadly, it was extremely difficult to write a sentence every day on paper. Writing it online or typing it in my phone is easy, especially after I got an iPhone last November. I didn't want my resolution to be an online thing, but maybe I can do the last 5 months of 2012 online, and my 2013 resolution can be carried out on paper.
I'm going to try to use this blog to post everyday. Maybe it will only be a sentence, maybe it will be unfinished...but life goes by too fast to not have a memory from every single day. Plus, I love to write.
Today I've been thinking about the PSU scandal and NCAA punishment.
In Pittsburgh at least, the Penn State and Joe Pa story are blowing up the news. Everyone is arguing about whether PSU deserved its punishment. Many angry college students are posting their thoughts and complaints on Facebook.
For the most part, I like to keep an open mind about it for now and hear what people have to say.
One thing that I don't hear people talking about is the precedent that this punishment sets in terms of the seriousness of child molestation. Many college students are complaining on Facebook that instead of punishing the school, the NCAA (and others) should set out to end child molestation in all situations. However I think that this punishment is aiming to do that, at least in some part. I think that this punishment, though it may be unfair to past, present, and future students, illustrates that the NCAA takes this crime very seriously.
I understand the argument that taking away the wins from the school punishes the football players that won the games, as well as tarnishes Joe Paterno's legacy. I don't think that punishing the players is fair, not in the least. Those players worked hard for many many hours to earn their victories. They should hold those victories and their hours of sweat close to their hearts.
I also see this punishment, and the other sanctions placed on the program, as a statement. A very serious crime was committed, and this punishment shows that the crime will not be tolerated in any capacity.
I've heard different arguments about the level of Joe Pa's involvement in the scandal. What exactly did Joe Pa know, and who did he tell? Was it enough?
You could convince me that Joe Paterno did what was required of him, and he had no obligation to do more than to report the incident to his superiors. However I will never commend the man for his actions, nor view him as I did before this scandal. Previous to this scandal, I would say that I was a PSU football fan in that I rooted for them in most of their games. When the scandal broke and Joe Pa's picture circulated all over the news, I scolded my roommate for not knowing who he was. PSU students will always hold him to high esteem, but I think that is a very skewed perception.
This man was the leader of a football team, a university, and an entire Penn State community made up of thousands and thousands of people. No leader should fulfill the bare minimum of what is required of him/her. A leader should lead by example, with supererogatory actions.
Joe Pa led by example in doing what he could to preserve the PSU football program. The NCAA is doing the same in enacting these punishments.
If Joe Pa, or the PSU AD that was informed of the incidents, had stopped these crimes from continuing and enacted necessary punishment, the NCAA would not have had to step in. The NCAA would not have had to punish the school and football program if a leader would have stood up against these crimes in the first place. If someone would have stopped this before, or took action against it earlier, the punishment may have been less severe.
If the NCAA does not put its foot down and condemn these actions, how do we know that another "great leader" will not do what Joe Pa & the AD did, and look the other way? A lot of good preserving the football program did for those 46 years Joe Paterno was coaching; it's now tarnished forever.
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