Some Penn State community members are urging attendees at this week’s football game to forgo the scheduled white-out in favor of a blue-out to show support for child abuse victims and to reiterate that Penn State will not let the alleged actions of a few tarnish the community legacy.
The movement — fueled by a Facebook event that had more than 1,500 attending as of press time Monday — has a seemingly equal amount of supporters as it does critics.
Student Ryan McElroy said the Penn State crowd could turn Beaver Stadium into a sea of blue in an act of solidarity and to show support for children who have been abused, in light of the sexual abuse charges filed against former Penn State defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky.
With national attention fixed upon Penn State, McElroy (sophomore-international politics) said it is time to show that the community cares deeply about the meaning of Penn State pride and will not let the alleged actions of a few tarnish its legacy.
“This isn’t a Penn State issue — this is an issue with a few people within Penn State,” he said.
Even though it has garnered support, some are wary of the effectiveness of the blue-out.
Zach Sloane said not only do those in support of the effort need to reach more students, but they also have to understand that some people are hesitant to make a public statement about a case that has not been tried in court.
In addition to the blue-out, other groups have also been created urging people to take certain actions during the game.
Jason Poblete, a creator of a movement to have students sit in silence during the alma mater, said he’s pleased that so many students have acted in response. Too often, students are inactive about important issues, he said. But after recent events, Poblete (senior-marketing) said he’s reconsidering his pledge to sit during the alma mater.
“You can’t create any action by being cautious, so I wanted to do something controversial to get students to act,” he said.
Sloane (sophomore-computer science) said he has heard talk among students that they should stay seated during the alma mater or not sing. But not singing the alma mater is contradictory to what students are saying, he said.
“Everyone should always stand for the alma mater, everyone should commit to it and everyone should try to live by it,” Sloane said.
Others do not believe a particular colored T-shirt makes the appropriate difference.
Josh Rifkin, Class of 2011, said students should wear white to the game and cheer as loudly as they can — the actions of a few do not represent the whole, he said. And Penn State fans as a whole have nothing to prove, he said.
He said wearing a blue shirt isn’t going to help children who have been abused. Instead, he said, people should donate their time and money to organizations that support children who have been abused.
Other students aren’t sure what their thoughts are on the matter.
Melissa Hesse (senior-special education) doesn’t know which color she’ll sport on Saturday.
The potential value of creating a blue out is good, she said. But now the Penn State community needs to unify and the white out is one of the most iconic movements at Penn State, she said.
“Our school needs to be unified right now and having a white-out has always been this unifying movement for students,” she said. “Should I wear blue to support victims or should I wear white to support unity?”
