Sad Day In Happy Valley For Local Penn State Student
BOSTON (CBS) - Cassie Greco, a junior at Penn State from Massachusetts, says it is a sad day in Happy Valley.
"I'm overall just sad for my university really. I'm sad for how we are being portrayed." Cassie says the students who are rioting do not represent the majority of students on Campus.
She's also upset about the firing of Paterno. "I'm sad at the way JoePa is being looked at. Joe Pa you don't understand until you go here how much Joe Pa means to this campus and the way people are looking at him is heartbreaking." She adds, "It's really heartbreaking about the way the acts of some kids are making us look because really we love our coach and don't want to see him end on this note."
WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson reports
She says students are thinking of the victims as well, "We care about the victims, we really do." She says this weekend they will wear blue, instead of white, to support prevention of child abuse.
As for Jerry Sandusky, Cassie has feelings of pure disgust. "Hate. I hate him so much for what he's done."
Cassie wishes that Paterno had been allowed to coach the full season. But State Representative Kevin Kuros (R) a Penn State alum, says the board of directors had no choice but to fire Paterno now.
He says, "It's been an emotional few days." Kuros met Sandusky several times and even donated to his charity. "When a scandal of this magnitude comes foreward it brings you a deep sense of disappointment, betrayal… it disgusts me on a lot of levels…. The level of deceit I feel on a personal level is tremendous."
Rep. Kuros is now working on legislation that would make more people mandatory reporters of child abuse in Massachusetts. He says, "What I hope to do is broaden the definition of who must report crimes against children to better protect the children of our Commonwealth."
Attorney Carmen Durso says watching the rallies on campus reminds him of the Catholic Church Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis in Boston. He says, "One of the worst things I've seen is the fact that the institution, the school has failed to educate the students where they think the coach of a football team is more important than what has been done to these victims of sexual abuse. Where are their values?"
"The fact that these kids are out there rioting because someone said something bad about their coach, instead of rioting because something bad was done to the kids is the real twist in people's values today."
Durso says the school should be investigated by the federal government for failing to report the abuse to the Title IX Administrator. Durso says, "This law has been in place since the 1970s. Every person from the janitor to the President must report it."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Laurie Kirby reports
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Durso helped to draft a current bill called, "The Protection from Sexual Predators Act of 2011." This would make a $100,000 penalty for any institution that doesn't report abuse. They could institute a training program for every person in your organization against reporting abuse.
He says the state has only had only one prosecution since the reporting law went into affect.
