Penn State Scandal

Joe Paterno looked like my grandpa.

He always did. The big glasses and stern expression that melted into a smile so often. That’s how I knew him for years. After my mom lost her father when I was in eighth grade, we would watch the Nittany Lions and say, “hey grandpa” whenever JoePa was on TV. I was a closeted Penn State fan because Paterno looked like my grandpa, and like Grandpa Vic, he was a good man.

That was the hardest part for me when the Sandusky news broke. I did not know who Jerry Sandusky was, and I found his actions absolutely disgusting. Just another pervert terrorizing young men and ruining their lives, I thought. It was heartbreaking, but unfortunately on par with other scandals I had heard about growing up.

But, as more victims came forward and the magnitude of this issue became apparent, questions began to surface about the involvement of university officials and other coaches, namely Paterno, in covering up Sandusky’s crimes. I could not believe it and I still don’t accept the notion that he knew. It may seem irrational, but my mom and I had created a strange attachment to this man, and were devastated to think he could have taken part in hiding something so awful. We always say he died from heartbreak.

In terms of Sara Ganim’s work, I was shocked and grateful for her honesty. Explicitly stating the ways in which Sandusky abused his victims makes some of these stories difficult to read, but it was important for her to do so. As she stated, Sandusky was revered as a god in the eyes of Penn State fans and vague accusations of “abuse” would have likely been brushed off. I think this is a delicate balance with any controversial story. Also, what’s with the DA disappearing and being declared dead? I’d like to hear more of that story.

Vox Cards: The 18 best TV shows airing right now

Being an avid TV watcher, the pop culture box set of The 18 best TV shows airing right now caught my eye to see what was upcoming and currently being considered as the best of the best on television. Also, I’m always interested in what people take into consideration when comparing television shows due to production costs and narratives within an hour. Production costs due to the fact TV traditionally has lower production cost than movies.

In order to rank, a TV show must have been airing for six weeks. However, the TV shows are listed alphabetically and not actually ranked in order of quality, which I was looking forward to seeing what they thought was the best show.

I found that some shows I had heard of such as Full Frontal with Samantha B and Stranger Things on Netflix. Other TV shows such as The A Word about autism had a compelling description and is something I am intrigued to look into.

Some TV shows are featured only on new streaming sites such as Netflix and Hulu which reflects the changing platform of television and a shift away from cable. As a millennial still paying for cable, I was shocked to see that six of the 18 listed were on online sites only.

TPP Vox Card Stack

I chose to check out the Vox card stack on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I spent a lot of time studying and discussing this deal last semester in my International Law class, but I still found this stack to be informative and interesting.

Something I found especially interesting was the card on copyright provisions in the TPP, which I had not heard about. I had no idea that the passing of the TPP would mean the adoption of the same copyright laws we currently have in the U.S. in all ratifying countries. I can see how this may be a difficult aspect to accept for states with less comprehensive copyright and intellectual property laws, as well as why the TPP would make it much harder to change our laws in the future.

All in all, I really enjoyed the presentation style of the card stack. Increasingly, I feel that the attention span of the average reader is shrinking, so breaking down information into digestible sections is a smart move for the writer. It also allows the reader to choose relevant cards to view instead of throwing all of the information at them at once. The interactivity and mobile aspects also lend themselves to better readership.

Sandusky reaction

Two things stand out in my mind with the Jerry Sandusky case:

2011 was the year that I joined Twitter, and the first time that I started to pursue and examine news in a more mature and nuanced lens. This mostly had to do with my age, but I think it’s interesting, especially since this is when the story came out.

I remember a lot of people I admire and followed on Twitter at the time posting the Freeh report, and encouraging people to read it to see just how far this went and the horrible things that went on without intervention. I distinctly recall getting to about three pages into it and it just being too much for me. I still haven’t gone back to read it, but that memory sticks with me.

What is most gut-wrenching about reading the coverage is how little was done to put Sandusky to justice before he finally was. This spanned over decades, and no one really did anything. Sandusky was protected in part because he was a public figure. The reporting is comprehensive and takes me back to when I first was reading the story. It is disgusting and terrible, and reading about it again brings up those feelings again.

Vox Card Reaction: The Pope

I chose to read about the Pope, especially given that we just watched Spotlight in class on Thursday.

With this in mind, I went straight to the section about the allegations towards priests and the Pope’s reaction and handling of them. The post is organized well overall and is easy to navigate, and finding this section was not difficult as well.

What I found most interesting was the notion that this current Pope is the first one to publicly acknowledge the possibility of imposing what they refer to as “sanctions” on the guilty priests and bishops. Time named him their Person of the Year in 2013 and they referred to Pope Francis as the “People’s Pope.”

I had a general awareness of the Pope and his responsibilities, and reading these cards was a good way to go further in depth on something I didn’t know too much about and wasn’t that familiar with in a way that was easy to follow and understand.

Penn State Sandusky Reaction

When I first heard about the Penn State scandal, I wasn’t too intrigued. The story was sickening and disgusting. It reminded how people can put on a facade to reach a position of power and then abuse their standing by preying on those who are helpless and vulnerable. At that time, I hated hearing stories like this so I didn’t do any research. I would hear people talking about it and that was it. I kept in out of my mind and I in a way I was in my own state of denial.

When I got to college, I discovered ESPN’s 30 for 30’s and I was hooked to sports documentaries from that point on. About 3 years ago I watched “Happy Valley,” a documentary covering the Sandusky scandal. This was when I was able to get all the details and really learn about what happened. I felt justice was served in terms of Sandusky, but I still to this day remain on the fence about the decision to let go of Coach Paterno.

Looking back on it now, I was most surprise about how many people chose to ignore it. There are allegations stemming from as far back as 1998, but the Penn State scandal didn’t arise until 2011. And even then, he was allowed to continue running his 2nd Mile program and stay around little boys.

In the second article, I was surprised that some parents never reported the abuse to the police because they thought they were protecting their sons. But in actuality, they were aiding Sandusky and allowing him to continue his heinous crimes.

And one of the most shocking facts, was that Sandusky’s adopted son, Matt fought to stay with the Sandusky family when through the abuse. Its even more shocking that Matt’s suicide attempt and abused was published for everyone to see. Even though Sandusky is portrayed as the monster, I’m sure Matt was very embarrassed and ashamed.

Vox Cards: The Flint Water Crisis

I chose the Flint Water Crisis because it was something I was initially interested in, but I think the problem was overshadow by the other tragedies that were going on in the nation. Tragedies such as the unlawful shootings of African Americans by police, ISIS and this very pathetic presidential election.

I was not aware about the switch, when the city chose to stop buying water from Detroit and instead draw water from Lake Huron; water that had not been treated or tested. I can’t even wrap my mind around the carelessness and udder disinterest that the government exemplifies for the residents of Flint. To add insult to injury, Michigan’s Department Environmental Quality outright ignored and downplayed the residents’ complaints of smelly discolored water.

This is another example of those given authority and ranks, abusing their power and showing no respect of concern of the people they are suppose to protect.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who was ignorant about everything going on in Flint, Michigan and I wish more people who educate themselves about this and the other atrocities going on in the nation caused by people with power trying to suppress those who do not. I think many people live in a state of denial. They don’t want to believe the corruption and injustice, but it’s happening everyday.

The article mentioned that similar water crisis have taken place in many other cities across the nation, but the reason Flint became such a big story is because it was avoidable. The author of the Vox card referred to it as a “manmade disaster,” and to me, that’s the most upsetting part.

The Flint Water Crisis is another example of how government institutions have failed Black Americans. It exploded in the media at the same time that African Americans were being targeted by systematic racism, which puts this crisis in a larger realm.

Jerry Sandusky reaction

I was 15 years old when Jerry Sandusky was arrested, and at that point I consumed news mainly in the form of watching nightly TV news with my family. The most vivid memory I have of this case is how upset my mom was over it. She’s very much interested in sports, but she also has a strong moral compass and wants sports to be used as something that can teach children, like me at the time, about life. Obviously, the Sandusky case epitomized the opposite and she was disgusted that a coach could do the things he did.

Reading this coverage was interesting primarily because it repeatedly laid out the timeline of the entire situation. I don’t think I fully grasped the scale of that when I was 15. For me, the most gut-wrenching part of the whole situation is how many people know and the inaction of those individuals. It reminded me of how in Spotlight the abuse in the Catholic Church was described in ways such as people “looking the other way” or that “everyone was just doing their job.” One of the most effectively crafted pieces of these stories was in the fourth article on the site that lists how “McQueary’s eyewitness account became watered down at each stage” as it was passed along to each individual.

In the second story in this series, a mother of one of the victims mentioned how so many other people saw Sandusky as a God. That struck me because it proved how investigative resources need to be used even regarding those who are perceived to be “good people.”

PSU Reaction

When the Jerry Sandusky-Penn State case broke I was in high school. I really didn’t care much for college sports yet but my first reaction was “all of my friends who are penn state fans are going to be pissed.” That and I was appalled at how something like this is able to go on for so long without anyone saying or noticing anything.

After reading the articles from the Patriot, a few things surprised me. The first is how it was swept under the rug for so long when there was comparable evidence.

The second is the fact that so many people showed their pride. To me it displayed one of two things. The first is that they didn’t really care about what happened and just cared about a winning season. The second, however, is that they stand together as Penn State and will continue to wear the blue and white through the good times and the bad times.

Exploring Vox Card sets

The vox card set that I didn’t know a lot about was Brexit. I know what happened but I didn’t totally understand it.

The first few cards gave me a basic knowledge of the EU and it’s creation as well as why Britain was apprehensive about staying in it post the 2008 economic crash.

It seems also that the British were tired of not having total control over their whole country. They were subjected to some “ridiculous” laws and most changes had to be done on the “european” level. Meaning if one country opposed, the motion or change did not go through.

Migration rules also were a big factor this year especially after the crisis in Syria.

On the other side the PM David Cameron expressed the benefits Britain receives from being in the EU like free-trade zones.

Now since Britain has left, the EU may not let them back in easily nor could they have all the benefits they had previously.

The cards then go on to explain what could happen in Britain tries to regain access into the EU or if it doesn’t.