It was McQueary who witnessed Sandusky allegedly raping a boy in the showers at Penn State’s locker room in 2002, and reported it to Paterno. Paterno, in turn, reported the incident to athletic department officials. But neither McQueary nor Paterno reported the abuse to police — a fact that gets to the heart of the outrage surrounding the case.
In an early-evening news conference Thursday, which was also short on any hard answers, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) said he supported the Board of Trustees’ decision to oust Paterno and Spanier.
“Their actions,” Corbett said, “caused me to not have confidence in their ability to continue to lead.” He added, “I have seen many instances when people in power believe they are above the law.”
On the Penn State campus, students seemed less interested in rehashing the awful events of the past few days than in moving the university forward. A candlelight vigil for Sandusky’s victims has been scheduled for Friday night, and organizers, hoping it serves as a counterbalance to Wednesday night’s riots, said they expect thousands of students to participate.
“The way we’re being portrayed, it breaks my heart,” said Jessica Sever, a senior from Garnet Valley, Pa., and one of the vigil’s organizers. “We’re among the brightest, proudest, most dedicated students out there. I want people to see that.”
Early Thursday afternoon, Bard, the student government president, flanked by dozens of other student leaders, addressed his fellow students on the steps of Old Main — the iconic Civil War-era building that houses the university administration — and told them, “We are the ones who must restore glory to Penn State.”
The crowd then locked arms and sang the Penn State alma mater, growing louder at the final verse:
“May no act of ours bring shame. . . . Dear old State, dear old State.”
Staff writer Jenna Johnson contributed to this report.
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