I’ve been trying to figure out all week how to best write about the Penn State sex abuse scandal. As a higher education blogger, it’s natural for me to focus what the allegations hold in store for the future of the university; however, in doing that, I realize that I am not focusing on what should be the bigger picture: the alleged victims of football coach Jerry Sandusky’s horrible misdeeds.

College football is a kind of religion to some people, and I can understand the fierce loyalty that students, alumni, and fans feel for Joe Paterno, head coach of Penn State’s Nittany Lions. At the same time, if allegations are true, then Paterno is indeed very much at fault for not reporting the sexual abuse to the police. Penn State itself is certainly acting as though they are true, and Paterno, as well as college president Graham Spanier, have been dismissed for participating in the coverup.

Coach Joe Paterno with Penn State football players.

Penn State is obviously a sports-minded university. But it is, first and foremost, a university. The majority of students who attend Penn State do so to get an education. In that light, the football team is a very small part of the school as a whole. Which is why it’s so terrible that the school’s 156-year-long legacy is being so tarnished right now.

I’d like to think that coverups of this magnitude are not the norm; that we will not see a rash of similar allegations on campuses across the country, in a similar way to what happened with the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis. Therefore, if I were a student entertaining the idea of attending Penn State in the fall, I might seriously reconsider my application.

Penn State’s executive vice president and provost, Dr. Rodney Erickson, said in a statement posted on the school’s website: “This is one of the saddest weeks in the history of Penn State.” This might be true–but it’s nothing compared to the emotions felt by the abuse victims and their families.

–Barbara Bellesi