By Adam Lawson

When Vice President of the Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees’ John Surma announced that Joe Paterno would no longer be the head coach of the Nittany Lions, an audible gasp was heard in the Penn State hotel.

Journalism, an institution known for its objectivity, seemingly lost its way Wednesday night when a few students found their way into the Board of Trustees’ press conference.  Surma revealed the news.  Then, the conference was hijacked.

Few intelligent questions were asked.  Why didn’t you allow Paterno to go out with dignity? Are you aware of the riots downtown?  Can we get a new Board (of Trustees)?  Utter garbage.

Objectivity was dead in Happy Valley.

Later that night, the students gathered en masse. Thousands protested outside the Old Main administration building in State College.  They yelled their support for the recently fired Paterno.  They shouted expletives in unison, directing their anger at the board of trustees.  They then marched as a group, tearing down the College Avenue street sign, tipping over a news truck and taking pepper spray from riot police hired to control the scene.

An overly embarrassing scene in an overly embarrassing week for Penn State University.

We are…. Penn State.

The rallying cry of the uninformed.

And it’s not just the students.  College kids everywhere will rally and drink if you give them a reason to.  The blame falls on them, the coaching staff, the administration and public relations officials for providing a textbook example of what not to do when in crisis management mode.

This whole thing started Saturday night, when we were presented with the 23-page grand jury document that revealed all.  That’s when we learned former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky had molested at least eight young boys (more victims have since come forward).  Nobody could have foreseen just how badly everybody involved would handle things.

On Tuesday, Paterno’s press conference was cancelled less than an hour before it was to begin.  A horrible PR decision, leaving 200 angry journalists on campus, eager to find more information.

It got worse that night.  Paterno decided to speak for himself, showing absolutely no remorse for his actions.  Instead of treating it like the horrible tragedy it was, JoePa pretended it was a pep rally, thanking the crowd for coming out before yelling “We are,” getting the crowd going.

Wednesday, Paterno decided he was going to dictate his exit.

“I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season,” Paterno said.  “At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address.”

JoePa was under the false assumption that he had input over the Board of Trustees’ minutes.

Later that night, Surma announced that neither school president Graham Spanier nor Paterno would be allowed to be employed by Penn State any longer.

“Joe Paterno is no longer the head football coach, effective immediately,” Surma said.

Immediately, an audible gasp was heard in the conference room at the hotel where the press conference was held.

Paterno coached in some capacity at Penn State for 62 years.  At the end of the day, we need to make note of that.  He was a football coach.  He is not beyond criticism.

But in State College, he remains a deity.  It is unclear how many read the grand jury’s report, but the fact remains that they remain stubborn in what they desire.

“We want Joe Pa,” they yelled.

The real victim in this whole situation is not Joe Paterno.  It is the children who had their innocence taken from them.  Paterno is an 84-year-old man who probably wasn’t going to coach beyond this year even if this horrible scandal never took place.  In the grand scheme of things, he got off relatively scot-free.

The protesters in State College have failed to realize this.  Instead, they showed their displeasure in other forms.

Throwing rocks at police officers.  Tipping over cars.  Starting fires.

In the Happy Valley bubble, violence won out.