STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State University lost some of its innocence last week, the worst in its 156-year history. Students and alumni say they felt betrayed as child sex abuse allegations exploded onto the nation’s front pages, bringing notoriety to a place largely untouched by scandal.
Now, as a new week begins and Penn State takes its first tentative steps toward normalcy, students and alumni alike wonder what that means. What comes next for a proud institution brought low by allegations that powerful men knew they had a child predator in their midst and failed to take action? What should it do?
One student, 21-year-old Gina Mattei, predicts it’ll take Penn State a long time to redeem itself.