Letters to the Editor

Don’t pass judgment unless facts are known

This letter is in response to the letter to the editor "Athletes must wake up, treat people better." I sympathize with the uncomfortable situation regarding a certain athlete. However, that person could have easily been a non-athlete. The generalization made by the author is incredibly unjustified. I, for one, do not know any of the details regarding the Jamarr Billman story. I would also be willing to bet the writer of the letter doesn’t know the all the facts either. In fact, the only two people who do know the actual scenario are the two people involved in the case. It is a well-known phenomenon that the media blows situations such as this out of proportion in order to make a good headline.

I am in no way defending Billman if he indeed violated the law, however unless you know the facts do not act as if you do, or pass judgements on people.

I also resent the statement, "wake up athletes, you are not supreme beings, even if the university treats you as so." This statement is a dramatic misrepresentation of the actual truth regarding the university and the athletes. Sure, athletes receive benefits over other students. However, it is important to remember they put in countless hours of practice, conditioning, travel, competition, plus the normal academic workload.

Instead of fostering such animosity toward Penn State athletes, the writer of the letter should be proud to attend one of the most respected institutions in the nation regarding academics and athletics. A school that boasts one of the highest athlete-graduation rates in the nation. A school that does not sacrifice the integrity of the school in order to be nationally competitive. The school greatly benefits from the athletic program, and the athletes greatly benefit from the school. These athletes have a tremendous amount of self-discipline and courage for being student-athletes at Penn State.

Ryan Gesler
freshman-business

Let me draw a picture for you. Abusive boyfriend, girlfriend who says nothing, girlfriend who gets hurt. We ask, why didn’t you say anything? And in tears the girl responds, "Because I loved him." We all shake our heads and whisper about how stupid the girl is for not speaking out before tragedy struck.

So a 19-year-old woman chooses the smart thing to do. She speaks out against an abusive boyfriend and we do a 180 and say it’s a bunch of crap. Why? Because he’s a respected member of the wrestling squad.

What upsets me the most is that people keep assuming that speaking out was easy for this woman. I am a good friend of hers and I know that saying something was one of the hardest things she ever had or will ever have to do. Many times she said to me that she cared about him so much and that she had supported him and how in the world could he do this to her and that making that call and turning him in was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. Mingle the love she still had for him with the knowledge that she would be ridiculed because of his popularity, and then try to tell me that her choice was easy and that she is "doing this to him" just to victimize him.

I am not some angry feminist who is disgruntled because she never got to be a high school cheerleader, and she never got to date the athlete. I adore sports. I have many friends who are athletes, and I admire them for what they do. We just need to make them live up to the same standards that everyone else has to. Really, would anyone be making such a big deal about this if the young woman had spoken out against the random guy who sits beside you in Math class?

Anonymous

It both saddens and sickens me that people believe Billman’s the "victim" in this situation, that he’s the one who’s suffering right now. But, as Michael Lacey pointed out in his letter to the editor, the only victim here is the woman who has now taken steps against his violent, threatening behavior. As a close friend of that woman, I can tell you that she is justifiably terrified, and her actions have demonstrated both that terror and her courage in facing it.

Many people have come to her recently, asking why she has "done this" to Billman. The more appropriate question is, why has he done this to her, and what steps are being taken to stop it?

We need to look past Billman’s elite status as an athlete, and see the real issue -- his violent tendencies and how they effect others. His aggressive actions need to be answered for, no matter the potential cost to his wrestling future.

Mary Elizabeth Hildenbrand
junior-art education and art history