A Penn State student and former congressional page still supports the program he devoted his junior year in high school to, even as it is engulfed in a front-page scandal.

Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., resigned Sept. 29 after ABC News released the transcripts of sexually explicit instant messages he allegedly sent to a former page in 2003.

The fallout has led several officials to step down and the House of Representatives ethics committee and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate.

David Wilson (freshman-industrial engineering) said he still has faith in the page program and the safety of its members. "This instance is pretty much an anomaly," Wilson said. "I can't see it ever happening in the near future again."

Wilson said during the few friendly exchanges he had with Foley, nothing happened to make him uncomfortable.

"He seemed like a very friendly guy," he said. "I really had no grudge against him." Wilson described his page duties as akin to a "messenger service in New York City."

He and about 70 other pages went to school five days a week in the Library of Congress then worked until as late as 1 a.m. delivering messages in the Capitol and surrounding buildings, Wilson said.

Wilson pointed out that the instant message conversation in question allegedly occurred after the page had graduated the program, adding that he and his peers were heavily supervised while in Washington.

"They keep a very close eye on you because it is a very high-profile job and you have access to anywhere in the capitol building that congressmen do," Wilson said.

"They want to watch what you do, who you talk to."

Centre County Democrats chairwoman Dianne Gregg, who is familiar with the program, said it could work on following up with its graduates to prevent another incident.

"A few additional protections could be added," she said.

Questions about the safety of the pages have led some to call for the program to end, said Salley Collins, spokesperson for the Committee on House Administration.

Her office oversees the Office of the Clerk, which administers the page program.

"The Clerk is going to work with the page board and leadership to re-examine the program," she said.

Gregg said those who want to shut down the program should consider its positive aspects before acting.

"A number of people that have gone through it have gone on to have fine careers," she said.

"We have to be a little careful and not destroy a program based on one bad actor."

Wilson said he worried that the page program would be damaged by the national attention given to the incident.

"It's kind of disappointing in the fact that what little press the page program does get is in a negative light," he said.

G.T. Thompson, Centre County Republicans chairman, said he thought the Foley scandal would have little effect on the November elections.

"This is a sad, scary situation with a deviant individual who appears to be preying on young boys," Thompson said. "The Democrats need to take it out of the political realm."

However, a poll released yesterday by The New York Times and CBS News showed 79 percent of the public believed Republican House leaders put political standing before the safety of the congressional pages.

A USA Today/Gallop Poll also reported yesterday that if congressional elections were being held today, about 59 percent of those surveyed would vote for democratic candidates. When polled on the same issue Sept. 17, 48 percent of the public said they would vote for democrats.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.