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Tag: jerry sandusky guilty

  • Penn State Could Lose Accreditation Over Sandusky Scandal

    Pennsylvania State University could be in danger of losing its accreditation in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal.

    The Middle States Commission on Higher Education warned Penn State last week on August 8th that it does not believe the university is complying with some of its accreditation standards. According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, the commission has requested a monitoring report from Penn State and will visit the school sometime this year. The school has until September 30th to provide its report. The commission told the Chicago Tribune that it issues these warnings when a university has the chance to bring itself back into compliance.

    The commission has stated that Penn State may have violated government regulations and therefore the commission’s standards of “leadership, governance, and integrity.” The Middle States Commission of Higher Education is one of many private regional education associations that set accreditation criteria and audit institutions for compliance. According to the Chicago Tribune, if the university were to lose its accreditation, it would also lose its federal funding for research and student loans.

    As much of a wake-up call as this may be for the Penn State administration, it is unlikely that it will lose its accreditation.

    Last month Penn State was fined $60 million by the NCAA and its football program will lose ten scholarships and be ineligible for bowl games over the next four years, due to its cover-up of Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of minors. The program is also on probation for five years, and has vacated all of former coach Joe Paterno’s victories from 1998-2001.

    (Photo by barcoder96 via Wikimedia Commons)

  • Jerry Sandusky Jury Reaches Verdict: Twitter Reacts

    Jerry Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of sexual abuse against 10 minors last night, and the crowd outside the courtroom was filled with onlookers who erupted into cries of joy when the verdict was read. Sandusky’s trial has been a particularly trying one for the families of the victims and the victims themselves, of course, as their terrible memories flooded the courtroom after several years of being kept a secret.

    Sandusky’s own adopted son, Matt, came forward with a desire to testify against him, though his statement wasn’t taken into consideration because the jury had already begun to deliberate. Matt was one of six children the Sandusky’s adopted and has a troubled past, which includes a suicide attempt barely four months after moving into the home.

    The overwhelming amount of evidence trumped the lack of corroborating witnesses to Mike McQueary’s claim that he saw Sandusky having sex with a young boy in the Penn State showers several years ago; McQueary was an employee of the school. His allegations that Penn State coach Joe Paterno did nothing to stop the abuse got Paterno fired last year. Paterno died in January.

    Twitter fairly exploded with the news late last night as word spread about the verdict; for most, it seems, justice has been served.