In a parallel universe, going to class might be a nice distraction, to get her mind off the chaos surrounding the arrest of the man accused of molesting her brother.
But not as a junior at Penn State, where students are making jokes about being ?Sanduskied.?
?I can?t escape it,? said the junior, whose brother
was allegedly molested in a shower by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky when he was 11.
?I?ve been going to minimal classes, because every class I go to I get sick to my stomach. People are making jokes about it. I understand they don?t know I?m involved and it was my brother, but it?s still really hard to swallow that.?
Sandusky was charged Friday with 40 counts of sex crimes against boys. In a 23-page grand jury presentment released Saturday, Attorney General Linda Kelly also contends former university Vice President Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley failed to report the crime and lied to the grand jury.
Curley and Schultz stepped down from their posts shortly after they were arrested. All three men have asserted their innocence.
The Patriot-News will not identify the student or her brother in keeping with our policy to protect the identity of victims of sexual assault.
For this student and her family, the pain has lasted years. But there was no preparing for how Sandusky?s much-awaited arrest would explode into a scandal that will
end the career of legendary coach Joe Paterno and
her university?s president.
And in all of that, a message is lost.
?I?ve just been really upset about it all because a lot of people aren?t focusing on the victims in this,? she said. ?And instead they?re focusing on other things, like football. As much as you shouldn?t blame the football players ... they should be focusing on their respect for the families and what they?ve been through.?
Instead, the outrage on campus has been directed mostly at national media, which descended during the weekend, set up camp and have stayed put as the scandal violently jolts in directions that, each day, seem more unbelievable than the last.
Wednesday,
little blue ribbons in support of sexual assault victims started to appear on the lapels of some students. And no one stormed Joe Paterno?s home when he announced he plans to retire by the end of the season.
On Tuesday, about 200 students rallied around the coach as he returned home from football practice, then about 1,000 marched through town and campus in a rowdy protest.
?I had a bunch of friends that actually went,? the sister said. ?I have mixed feelings about that. Joe, I think, did what he was supposed to do and was focused on his team. I never blamed him.
?But I blame [Penn State president Graham] Spanier because he did know about it, and if he didn?t, he was still wrong because he should have known,? she said.
Along with being one of the most historic days for the Nittany Lion nation, Wednesday also marked 100 days until Thon, the annual dance marathon that brings in several millions dollars in cancer research money.
The cause is a big part of why the victim?s sister chose Penn State. Cancer is in her family.
?Penn State isn?t Sandusky. He?s a very small part,? she said. ?Penn State did enable him, and I am ashamed of that. But I don?t blame people that didn?t know about it, and I certainly don?t blame the student body. Penn State?s getting a bad rap, when it was really just the mistakes of a few men.?
