“The Trustees have failed Penn State! Resign!!” –– “BOT OUT” –– “Remember, Remember, the 9th of November.”
These were just a few of the signs held by the hundreds of people who showed up for the “Rally for Resignation” Saturday morning.
The rally was held on Old Main lawn with speeches from various alumni including former football player Franco Harris and Trustee Anthony Lubrano.
Lubrano, who was elected this past May as one of the three new alumni-elected members, said he is working hard to serve the university, and said that his colleagues might not be.
“I don’t know who many of the people I serve with represent, but I know they don’t serve all of you,” he said.
He continued to talk about the poor decisions and approach of the board that he now is a member of. He also advocated for legislative reform and asked the participants at the rally to gather more people and make their voices heard.
“Their idea of healing is to just move forward, but we cannot move forward,” he said.
Lubrano also spoke about a visit he had with late head football coach Joe Paterno on Jan. 10, 2011 — 12 days before he died of complications from cancer.
After returning from a chemotherapy treatment, Paterno said to Lubrano, “Kid, remember this isn’t about me. This is about our school, and leaving it in a better place than we found it.”
A common theme from signs and outbursts by the crowd was a call for Gov. Tom Corbett to resign. After Lubrano asked what they could do next, one woman called out, “fire Corbett,” and even Lubrano said he thought Corbett’s days in office “are numbered.”
Among those calling for the governor’s resignation was one rally participant who held a sign that read, “Wha’d you do Tom Corbett?”
The man’s sign also included a piece of Penn State memorabilia –– a monkey in Penn State clothes. Written on the monkey’s shirt was “Hanging Jerry.”
Another individual wore a “V for Vendetta” mask and raised a sign that read, “Remember, Remember, the 9th of November.”
The allusion is to the 2005 film, in which the masked figure V fights against a totalitarian society
Larry Schultz, Class of 1980, spoke to the crowd, saying that the board had no questions when former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s report was released, which he said was a failure of leadership by the board.
“Our Board of Trustees had no questions,” Schultz said. “They failed. They have to resign.”
After the Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, Chairman of the Board Karen Peetz said in a press conference that she had no opinion or comment about the rally this weekend.
