Somehow we missed this, but late last year. Hate mail to black students and a death, all swept away by PSU
The incident is said to have occurred around the same time that an
employee witnessed a boy younger than 13 being sexually molested by
former football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, the site says.
The hate mail sent to black students had nothing to do with
Sandusky’s proclivities, but the two incidences shared something in
common: both were ultimately covered up by the university, even as both
chain of events grew worse. Sandusky went on to molest and possibly rape
more boys, according to a grand jury report (Sandusky denies foul play), and hate mail against black students became death threats.
Ultimately, a black man's dead body was found
by police near Penn State as one of the death threats said it would.
And some black students had to attend their graduation the following May
with bulletproof vests on in fear of their life.
But few know about the death threats because Penn State and Joe
Paterno were not willing to allow bad publicity to ruin the university's
image, say some of the black students at the center of the tragic
events.
If this account is true, it is clear that Penn State officials were
in the habit of sweeping anything that could tarnish their winning image
under the rug. They could have led the charge against sexual abuse and
hate instead of ignoring their responsibilities to lead and protect
students and the community's children. Let's hope they've learned their
lesson.
-The Root