So, I pulled one from the archives tonight. I wrote this letter to the editor in July of 2012, in the midst of the Freeh Report and unreasonable NCAA sanctions against PSU hitting the airwaves. The media had positioned itself to dismantle our adored PSU and after an emotional prior eight months, and the loss of Joe Paterno, those that loved the most, hurt the most. The Daily Collegian published an abbreviated version of this letter last July. I titled it, "Waiting on the World to Change." It is timely to think about what has changed regarding the sanctions, the trials, the football team, and the media coverage since its publishing. And to contemplate what remains unchanged about our beloved PSU. I didn't edit the article, although it was tempting, but left it raw and just as it was written at midnight at a small desk, with just the glow of the computer light in my eyes, 15 months ago. I hope it brings you your own reflections tonight....the game is not going well at the moment...so, maybe this will be a welcome distraction! :) We Are...Penn State!
Waiting on the World to Change
Courtney Michener
Calio ’02 Comm
Today I am; a member of a cult, a graduate of a football
frenzied institution that cares nothing about academics, a fan that apparently
never saw my team win from 1998-2011, a former employee of a pedophile
supporting coach, a lover of all things associated with Penn State and
therefore, should hang my head in disgrace, pack up all my blue and white
memorabilia that adorns my home and burn every ounce of PSU gear I have, and trust
me, it is a lot.
Well, I have a serious problem, and so does every Penn State
heart. You see, I remember my Dad (all
6’5” of him) doing a cartwheel across our family room floor when Penn State
defeated Miami in 1987. I remember
filling our minivan to head up for my Dad’s PSU class reunion and staying at
the Days Inn, plotting how I would one day be grown up and go to PSU. I relive saying goodbye to my family when
they dropped me off at Tener Hall in East Halls as a freshman, leaving me with
a soulmate best friend, whom I had never met before. I hear the Blue Band
practicing in my head and remember it as my favorite background music for
studying. I have my size 2T PSU cheerleading outfit hanging in a closet in
hopes that one day I will have a little girl that will fit into it. I bought a Nittany Lion snowsuit for my boys
for their first Halloween costume, because the cheerleading thing clearly
wasn’t going to fly. The chill of the
fall brings thoughts of homecoming parades, tailgating, and Old Main Lawn. My 4-year old son has been on a family trip
to Penn State each year of his young life and has attended 4 PSU football
games. I still have never seen anything
comparable to what happens in the last four hours of THON. My family and I own table wars at the Phyrst
and the dance floor at the Shandygaff. I
worked for and adored Joe Paterno.
Graham Spanier took time to meet with me to tell me I should pursue a
career in educational leadership. I did. My problem is that Penn State is not my
school, it is not my team, it just is…so much more than you will ever be able
to understand if you don’t have the Penn State thread in the very core of your
being.
I don’t expect you to get it as an outsider. If you didn’t go to Penn State, it is easy to
sit back and judge and wonder why people love a school so much. Must be the football team?! Actually, I don’t want you to get it. I want something much grander for the world
my children live in. I want leadership
to never let us down. I want to sit in
church and not wonder about the priest.
I want pedophiles wiped off the face of the earth. I want people to be
honest, fair, humble and respectful to each other. I want the media to know what they are
talking about. I want organizations to value due process and our judicial
system to have time to do thorough investigations. I want people to feel the power of being
united by simple, common experiences like the singing of an alma mater, the
sound of a marching band and flipping drum major, the power of participation in
a four-word chant.
For all of you that really don’t know the Goddamn words of
our songs and stories, behind what it means to be a Penn Stater, it is
o.k. But don’t judge, don't sit around
watching PSU burn with a smile on your face, don’t wait on the world to change
while you blog nasty comments in news articles behind alias names. Join us. Do something. Be a part of something. Learn the words. Fight On.
For all of us, for our children, for our educational institutions, for
your soul, get to work. There is a lot
to do. Taking money, scholarships and
wins is just more senseless, power seeking, uneducated decision making that
sets humanity, and our youth, back even further. Come on world. We need to do so much better.
For the glory…
For the kids…
For our Dear Old
State….
Do something.
