We Are Still… Penn State Featured on Regional Cover of Sports Illustrated

Defiance, Collective Guilt, Revival… Happy Valley One Year Later

A year after the Jerry Sandusky revelations rocked the university and put the football culture on trial, people in Happy Valley remain divided about where the responsibility lies – But not about their surprisingly resilient Nittany Lions. The issue will be on stands Wednesday.

It was, in sum, a catastrophe unlike any in the history of the U.S. higher education. Lives were ravaged and reputations savaged. and whether the affair is anywhere close to being over is debatable. In this charged atmosphere, a quaint tradition such as homecoming barely had room to breathe. “We’ll never get over this. It’s sort of like the Kent State shooting: Everybody, when they hear ‘Kent State,’ thinks of a massacre. Whenever they hear ‘Penn State’ they’re going to think of this,” said professor of sports ethics and philosophy, R. Scott Kretchmar (page 62). However, at a school that should be shattered by these events, the Nittany Lions fans are still faithful and still chanting, “We are… Penn State!”.