Last week, The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (HRC) launched a review of discrimination complaints against Penn State University from its employees, drawing both criticism and support from Penn State President Graham Spanier.

While it is admirable that Spanier wishes to defend the integrity of Penn State, he should mostly focus on supporting the review. After all, the Penn State administration should have seen this review coming before any word of it even passed into Happy Valley.

Last spring, Penn State had a chance to prove that it was an institution dedicated to promoting a welcoming environment to students of all races, genders and sexual orientations. The university failed.

An internal investigation found Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland in violation of Penn State's anti-discrimination policy, stating Portland created a "hostile, intimidating, and offensive environment" after former Lady Lion Jennifer Harris alleged she had been discriminated against on the basis of her perceived sexual orientation.

Portland was allowed to stay at Penn State, as long as she paid a $10,000 fine in lieu of a one-game suspension, hardly the proper punishment for someone found guilty of discrimination. Even more embarrassing for the university, Portland discredited Penn State's ruling, calling the investigation "flawed."

By not acting with the proper authority last spring, Penn State placed a bulls-eye on itself when it comes to issues of discrimination. And that target will grow even larger this summer, when federal litigation between Harris and Penn State hits trial, shedding a national spotlight on Penn State.

Furthermore, in defending the university, Spanier wrote in a letter to the HRC's Stephen Glassman that "only 56 of about 200,000 complaints to the commission since 2001 touch Penn State." Glassman has since said those figures may be inaccurate, though Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon has said those figures came from "HRC data."

Spanier also said the university found no probable cause among the 56 complaints, adding that three complaints resulted in a resolution between Penn State and the second party.

But the real issue is, isn't 56 complaints 56 too many? Isn't one complaint too many? Where does the line between acceptable and unacceptable become blurred?

In the past 18 months and outside of the complaints to the HRC, four faculty members, and according to the Associated Press, one staff member, have filed federal discrimination lawsuits against Penn State.

All the cases have pointed to a permeating culture of discrimination at Penn State, and if it continues, Spanier will be defending Penn State's image for years to come when he should, in fact, be on the offensive against discrimination issues at this university.