Apr 6 2013

What Do Vicky Triponey and Mark Emmert Have in Common?? Joe Paterno!


Vicky L. Triponey of Wichita State University has been named vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Connecticut,  Chancellor Mark Emmert has announced.  Triponey, who is interim vice president for student affairs at Wichita State, will join UConn March 31. She will report to Emmert.

2003  Vicky Triponey came to Penn State from UConn

Triponey was hired in 2003 by Graham Spanier after a rocky and controversial stint at the University of Connecticut. Within months of her arrival at Penn State she began a campaign aimed at consolidating power within her Office of Student Affairs and crushing or eliminating anything or anyone that challenged that power. (note:  this is also Mark Emmert’s tenure which is now under review and scrutiny by USAToday).

In a series of emails to Dr. Spanier, Triponey insisted that she alone had the responsibility to discipline the players involved and indicated that suspension or expulsion was called for. Joe Paterno pointed out that since the incidents were off-campus and everyone involved was facing criminal trials, it was necessary to wait for DUE PROCESS to take its course

example:

When I served as the Graduate Student Association president, I was a very outspoken opponent of FAB. In particular that these students were not elected, and that university employees would hold 40 percent of the voting power. That meant that they had only to convince 20 percent of the students to agree with their voting bloc.

Not only did I voice my concern as a member of the Cabinet of Student Leaders, but I also put every monkey wrench in the system that I could as a member of the Student Activity Fee Board. In order for Triponey to wrestle control of student money away from students, they had to amend the “Guiding Principles” of the activity fee.

I was personally intimidated by Triponey, who threatened that by announcing the proposed changes to the Guiding Principles, I was disseminating confidential information and suggested that I be remanded by Judicial Affairs (funny that I was a member of that steering committee as well).

I informed Triponey & Co. that I was the president of a branch of the student government. As such, any communication with me was also a communication with the 10,000 graduate students across the university. They have a right to know about the dealings of their elected officials and their activity fee funds.

After reading many of the Collegian Articles during 2006, it appears that Triponey’s main effort was to wrestle student control of student activities away and into the hands of salaried individuals. Money was severely cut to student organizations, USG disappeared, etc, etc.  Ms Triponey also attempted to take over control of student discipline, a move that was opposed by faculty and staff – not just Joe Paterno!

Dr. Spanier asked for her resignation, acknowledging the mistake he had made four years earlier.

Now, fast forward to 2011–Mark Emmert and Vicky Triponey–Payback time!!  Vicky Triponey’s issues with Joe Paterno get full coverage with the Freeh Report AND Mark Emmert who is now conveniently at the NCAA–Mark Emmert hasn’t stayed in one place too long, either!!  Check out his work history–and a disaster occurred everywhere he went–Scandal and Dirt left everywhere in his wake!! (note: I have heard from Vicky Triponey and she states that she and Mark Emmert have had no communication in at least 10 years).  Her employment history below:

Interim Vice President for Student Affairs
The College of New Jersey
January 2012– Present (1 year 4 months)Ewing, NJ–took Vicky 4 years to find a job!!  She applied for and was rejected for other positions during the 4 year hiatus!

Vice President for Student Affairs
Penn State University
July 2003– July 2008 (5 years 1 month)

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
University of Connecticut
April 1998– June 2003 (5 years 3 months)

Interim Vice President for Student Affairs
Wichita State University
July 1997– April 1998 (10 months)

Associate Vice President for Campus Life
Wichita State University
September 1994– July 1997 (2 years 11 months)

Assoc. Dean of Student Life and Services
Wichita State University
June 1989– September 1994 (5 years 4 months)

Coordinator of Student Orgs. & Media
University of Georgia
March 1983– August 1986 (3 years 6 months)

Asst to Dean of Student Life/Dir of Orientation
University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

February 1980– March 1983 (3 years 2 months)

Apr 3 2013

Bob Costas to Host Show Reexamining Freeh Report


Bob Costas is taking another look at the Freeh Report.

Nittany Nation blogger Frank Bodani is reporting that, to give the report and its assertions a better evaluation, Costas is going to host a TV program on NBC, “a further examination of this issue in a month or two.”

Said Costas, “I said, ‘As the Freeh Report makes clear, Paterno was, in some sense, complicit’” to Sandusky’s abuse of young boys.

“I didn’t say he was part of a cover-up. I wish I would have said, ‘As the Freeh Report asserts,’ rather than, ‘As the Freeh Report makes clear.’”

Costas first reversed direction on the Freeh report a few weeks ago in an interview with radio host Kevin Slaten of KQQZ in St. Louis, but now is the first evidence we’re seeing of a potential TV program to address the issue. When he first commented on the report last July, Costas had only read summaries of the document, and not the entire 267-page report itself. Previously, he had advocated for the so-called “death penalty” for Penn State football for at least a year. He now thinks that the NCAA sanctions in place are undeservedly steep.

In a way similar to the Paterno report’s questioning of Freeh’s investigation, Costas will take aim at Freeh’s conclusions that, according to him, still raise questions of their validity. Costas acknowledged that the report by Thornburgh, Clemente, and Berlin raised legitimate questions about holes in the Freeh Report.

Though Costas says that, nationally, the public may not care enough to reverse its opinion on the issue, having moved on and forgotten, he adds, “I feel I have some responsibility to follow the story.” No other details about the program have yet been released such as an air date, besides that it will air on NBC “in a month or two.”

Apr 1 2013

Mark Emmert Declares “Eternal Winter in Happy Valley”


Big 12 Meetings Emmert Football

This is funny, but you must read the WHOLE Thing!!  Onward State‘s April Fool’s Joke!!  (it made many of us very angry today when we misunderstood a shortened version).

Earlier today, NCAA President Mark Emmert made an addition to the sanctions levied against Penn State this past July. In an uncharacteristic abuse of power, Emmert bypassed his publicist and decided to write the press release himself. Read the full document obtained by Onward State below:

Mark Emmert National Collegiate Athletic Association Indianapolis, IN April 1, 2013

My Fellow Americans,

I have personally crafted this press release to discuss the July 23, 2012 sanctions against The Pennsylvania State University. Up to this point, as far as we can tell, every penalty we implemented has been upheld by Penn State. (Note: When I use ‘we’, this pronoun represents both myself and the NCAA as a whole. Definitely not just me.)

However, we feel as though Penn State still has work to do. After closely watching the University’s leaders over the past eight months, it is clear the sanctions (including a $60 million fine, a four-year football postseason ban, vacating all wins dating back to 1998, and scholarship reductions) are collectively not enough.

Following a careful examination of the facts (while avoiding all biased and largely-opinionated media sources), we have determined the next step necessary to the successful re-shaping of Penn State’s culture.

State College, Pa. will no longer reap the benefits of a four-season ecological cycle. Summer, autumn, and spring are hereby eliminated, thus creating an eternal winter in Happy Valley. Previously unbeknownst to State College residents, this measure has already been in place since October.

The Penn State Board of Trustees and President Rodney Erickson have complied 100% with our requests, and I am happy to report that in March 2013, Happy Valley saw snow, rain, sleet, and hail, with an average temperature of 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Despite our climate and atmospheric alterations, we have a problem. There has been little to no change in Penn State’s culture. The community didn’t crumble. Students are still having fun. PSU athletes continue to rank towards the top in terms of collegiate academia. If these problematic trends continue, other actions – such as discontinuing THON, which definitely shows exactly what’s wrong with Penn State – will be taken.

Many people will question why we altered State College’s climate. Many will wonder how we achieved this. Some might even ask what winter has to do with Penn State’s imminent culture problem.

To those people, I say this: Louisiana State University was lucky enough to have me as their Chancellor, and I can promise you that football has nothing do with LSU’s culture and success as an academic institution. It was all me. That school was terrible before I arrived. And besides, I’m President of the NCAA. I don’t have to answer to you. I can do whatever I want without solid reason. I can even overstep my legal boundaries and contradict myself if I want to, although of course, I would never do either of these things.

Rest assured, the NCAA will continue to assess The Pennsylvania State University’s horrible problems. Together with Penn State’s Board of Trustees, we will weigh each decision heavily and avoid making any rash judgments, just as both parties have done throughout this entire ordeal.

Thank you, Mark Emmert

Apr 1 2013

Retire Paul Suhey–Lettermen Request!


SUCCESS WITH HONOR

March 28, 2013

Dear Fellow Lettermen,

We write to you about a matter of great importance to our University. As fellow Lettermen and alumni of the Pennsylvania State University we, like the rest of the Nation, were horrified by the actions of Jerry Sandusky. No words that we or anyone else can say will ever heal Sandusky’s victims, their families or the damage that he caused other than to say our thoughts and prayers remain with them.  Also horrifying has been the ensuing damage inflicted to the standing of our University due in large part to the failure of the Board of Trustees. It is for this reason that we are compelled to step forward and oppose Paul Suhey’s re-election to the Board. We take this action with the full understanding of the division this may cause amongst us. It is not a role we relish but, it is one we believe is necessary to prevent any further damage to our University.

At nearly every turn over the past sixteen months, the Board of Trustees has failed miserably to exercise the necessary leadership and responsibility to guide our University.  No greater illustration is the Board’s handling of Joe and the Freeh Report. While admittedly not knowing all of the facts, the Board unanimously rushed to judgment and fired Joe after 62 years of service to the University without ever once talking with him. Similarly, the Board to this very day has failed to discuss the substance of the Freeh report let alone question its evidentiary basis or lack thereof. The consequences of these actions have severely tarnished the reputation and legacy of Coach Paterno and have brought great harm upon the University, our beloved program and the innocent players and coaches who now occupy our locker room.

In the coming days, you will no doubt hear how Paul Suhey disagreed with these actions but cannot tell “his side” for legal reasons or how knew Joe as “Uncle Joe”. To this we say nonsense! Actions speak louder than words and if Suhey disagreed with the actions the Board was taking he had both an obligation and a duty to speak up and cast his vote accordingly. The fact that he failed to do so only underscores the point that he is not fit to serve on the board a day longer. The choice is for everyone to make but, for us it could not be any clearer – retire Paul Suhey, like he claimed to retire Joe, by not re-electing him.

Todd Blackledge’82

Robert Capretto ’67

Tom Donchez ’74

Franco Harris ’72

Justin Ingram ’00

Christian Marrone ’97

 Brian Masella ’74 Lydell Mitchell ’72

Michael Robinson ‘04

Steve Smear ’69

Brandon Short ’99

 

Apr 1 2013

Write a Review on Amazon.com!!


penn state amazon article

Write a review on Amazon.com and let them know what you think about someone using Penn State to sell their disgusting smut!!

Apr 1 2013

Merck Tries To Control Frazier’s Racist Comments


On the morning of March 17, 2013 – before Frazier’s apology had run in the CDT – a user with the screen name “BroadSt Bully” restored a paragraph that had been deleted 2 days before describing Frazier’s role in hiring Louis Freeh and firing Joe Paterno.  BroadSt Bully also added a paragraph about the racially insensitive comment made by Frazier 3 days earlier:
On March 14, 2013, at a sub-committee meeting of the Penn State Board of Trustees, Frazier uttered a racist and bigoted remark at a candidate running for the Board of Trustees who criticized the Freeh narrative.
BroadSt Bully also removed the qualifier “blue ribbon” which described the Special Investigative Task Force (“commission”).  12 hours later, a user identified only by his IP address 67.165.19.29 removed both of those paragraphs.  This IP address traces back to a Comcast user in Doylestown, PA.  3 hours later, a user in the Netherlands (possibly an administrator) restored the paragraphs with the qualifying edit note:
“The previous edit deleted balancing material that provides criticism of the figure in question. Wikipedia articles are not “fluff pieces” that say only positive things”
 Approximately 14 hours later (11:54 18 March 2013), the previous user once again deleted these 2 paragraphs.  40 minutes later, they were restored by an admin in Connecticut.

Merck Corporate Works on the Cover-up

 An hour later a user identified by the IP address 155.91.28.231 once again removed those paragraphs.  However, this IP address traced back to a corporate ISP:  Merck.
General IP Information
Top of Form
IP:
155.91.28.231
Decimal:
2606439655
Hostname:
155.91.28.231
ISP:
Organization:
Merck and Co.
Services:
Type:
Assignment:
Blacklist:
Bottom of Form
Geolocation Information
Country:
United States <!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>
State/Region:
New Jersey
City:
Old Bridge
Latitude:
40.3958  (40° 23′ 44.88″ N)
Longitude:
-74.3255  (74° 19′ 31.80″ W)
Area Code:
732
Postal Code:
08857
And then the internet sparks began to fly.  Over the next 3 hours, users would attempt to restore those 2 paragraphs, only to be deleted within minutes by the Merck user. 
At 14:03 user “Cornmd” restores the 2 paragraphs.  14:15 the Merck IP address deletes them.
 At 14:16 user “Ubiquity” restores the 2 paragraphs.  14:21 the Merck IP address deletes them. 
 At 14:22 user “BroadSt Bully” restores the 2 paragraphs.  14:22 the Merck IP address deletes them. 
 User “Arctic Kangaroo” tries to restore the paragraphs and within minutes, the Merck IP address deletes them.  Arctic Kangaroo restores the content at 14:25, at which point the content is temporarily removed for discussion by “Edgar181” at 14:31.
 At 14:39 BroadSt Bully restores the content with the edit note:  “Re-added sourced material. User’s IP address traces to Merck, who is Frazier’s employer”
At 14:57 BroadSt Bully adds titles to the 2 paragraphs “Jerry Sandusky sex scandal” and “Racially insensitive outburst.”
At 15:30 the Merck user deletes them.  Over the next 2 hours, the Merck user makes 5 more attempts to delete content, and add flattering career highlights for Ken Frazier, until an admin warns him that he is violating 4 different Wikipedia terms of service.  Five minutes later, the Wikipedia admins lock down edits of the Wikipedia page. Two hours later, the Merck user is blocked for one month from editing ANY web pages. 
This was not the first time this user was blocked by Wikipedia.  Here is the discipline history of 155.91.28.231 which warranted the one month penalty for “disruptive editing”:
 21:53, 18 March 2013 Ronhjones (talk | contribs) blocked 155.91.28.231 (talk) (anon. only, account creation blocked) with an expiry time of 1 month (Disruptive editing)
  22:21, 10 July 2012 Materialscientist (talk | contribs) blocked 155.91.28.231 (talk) (anon. only, account creation blocked) with an expiry time of 1 week (Copyright violations)
  20:11, 7 November 2008 RoySmith (talk | contribs) blocked 155.91.28.231 (talk) (anon. only) with an expiry time of 24 hours (Repeated reversion of text to Yak shaving contrary to prior AFD decision)
  22:13, 25 January 2006 Hall Monitor (talk | contribs) blocked 155.91.28.231 (talk) with an expiry time of 48 hours (massive content removal)
  21:00, 1 December 2005 Brian0918 (talk | contribs) blocked 155.91.28.231 (talk) with an expiry time of 24 hours (vandalisms)

Previous edit on Freeh Report entry on Frazier’s wiki page

Interesting to note Ken Frazier’s Wikipedia page had a previous edit disputed.
 On October 21, 2012, a user named “Callancc” described the Freeh report as being accepted “without review, but was reported to be riddled with conjecture, research with gaping holes, and unsubstantiated conclusions.”  It was revised on November 5, 2012 by an IP address from Boston University to say the Freeh report was accepted “and used as the basis for the NCAA sanctions against Penn State.” With the edit note:
“The last sentence was ridiculously partisan, clearly there only to attempt to discredit the Freeh report which was widely seen as fair and thoroughly done.”)
The Merck user created an account on Wikipedia on October 10, 2005 and spent most of his early time updating the Wikipedia pages of Ann Coulter and Ron Dellums (a long time member of the House of Representatives from California, who became the Mayor of Oakland in 2007).

Controlling the PSU Narrative

Ken Frazier’s comments to Bill Cluck had been widely  but they never reached a global audience until they were posted in Wikipedia.
There is a dogged determination from this Merck user to remove this content from Wikipedia.  In addition, the Merck IT team has been hard at work over the weekend to bury any negative articles circulating about Frazier on the internet and pumping up his bio and other positive articles as they appear in google searches.  Once again, it appears that Frazier is trying to control the narrative by controlling the information available to the public.
Which begs the question, what audience is he really trying to control?
Posted by at 8:20 AM
Mar 24 2013

PSU Cael Sanderson Coach of the Year


After Penn State’s third consecutive national title, head coach Cael Sanderson was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.

Sanderson led the Nittany Lions to a 13-1 overall record, with their only blemish being a 22-16 loss to Iowa. Penn State had five shutouts, including a 52-0 dominating victory over Indiana. The Nittany Lions also came in first place at the the Southern Scuffle, despite missing Andrew and Dylan Alton for the tournament and for dual meets throughout the month of January.

Penn State won by 12 points over Minnesota to win its third consecutive conference championship, which resulted in Cael Sanderson being named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the third year in the row as well.

Sanderson had all 10 Nittany Lions head to the NCAA Championships, with nine wrestlers advancing into the third session, seven wrestlers into the fourth session, and five wrestlers into the finals. Ed Ruth and Quentin Wright won their weight classes while Matt Brown, Nico Megaludis, and David Taylor were all runners-up.

“We’re super happy. Our guys did a great job.  Back and forth, our guys came through.  I think every year is a little — you have different challenges.  It certainly doesn’t get any easier,” Sanderson said.

Sanderson also won the award after his first season as a coach with Iowa State in 2007. He is one of three wrestlers to have ever won an NCAA title for four consecutive years and is the only wrestler to have an undefeated collegiate career with a perfect 159-0 record. Sanderson is a three time Hodge Trophy award winner, given to the most outstanding college wrestler of the year.

Mar 24 2013

Penn State Wrestlers 2013 National Champions


Penn State won the national team title for the third year in a row.

Penn State’s Ed Ruth and Quentin Wright won titles in back-to-back matches to seal the fourth national crown for the Nittany Lions and their third under Sanderson.

Penn State had 123.5 points. Oklahoma State was second with 119.5, and Minnesota third with 103 points.

Penn State wrapped up the team crown earlier in the evening, as Wright upset top-seeded Dustin Kilgore of Kent State 8-6 at 197 pounds to give the Nittany Lions an insurmountable lead over Oklahoma State.

Wright sealed the victory with a pair of impressive late takedowns of Kilgore, an NCAA champion in 2011 who had won 62 straight matches.

“I knew one of us had to take it upon our shoulders to get it and I thought ‘Why not me? Let’s go out there. Let’s win this,” Wright said.

Penn State began the day with a virtual lock on the title — and the Cowboys nearly stole the crown away. Penn State held a 20.5-point lead over Oklahoma State to start Saturday’s competition. The Nittany Lions also had five wrestlers in the finals, three more than Oklahoma State.  But Penn State didn’t have anyone who earned spots in Saturday morning‘s wrestleback session. That’s where the Cowboys made up 17.5 points to cut the deficit to 114.5-111.5.  Chris Perry then gave Oklahoma State a 1-point lead with a win over Penn State’s Matt Brown in the first title match, the 174-pound finals.

The Cowboys only held the lead for about 15 minutes, though.  They never got it back.

Ruth won his second straight national title with a 12-4 win over Robert Hamlin of Lehigh. Ruth finished with a takedown to clinch a major decision, giving the Nittany Lions a crucial extra team point.  “I looked over at the coaches and (they) were just saying ‘Cut him. Cut him.’ I was like, ‘Oh wow, he must be going for a major then,’” Ruth said.

There’s since been a lot of talk about modernizing a sport rooted in antiquity — and upgraded wrestler introductions for the finals were a big hit to the sellout crowd.  The athletes burst through puffs of smoke amid dimmed lights and blaring heavy metal music, their names displayed with colorful lighting. The end of every finals match was marked by four plumes of smoke emanating from each corner of the stage.

Mar 24 2013

Sandusky-Ziegler Interview on NBC Today Monday, March 25


STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — NBC plans to air excerpts of jailhouse interviews with
former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky next week that were given to a
documentary filmmaker working on a defense of Joe Paterno. (actually working on finding the truth–no matter where it leads).

The network said in the segment, to be broadcast Monday on the “Today” show, the convicted sex offender will give his account of the encounters that landed him in prison and discuss his former boss, who was accused in a university-funded
investigation of covering up allegations against Sandusky in a bid to preserve
the football program’s reputation. (actually, it was a “report” devoid of facts that was commissioned by a special task force to protect members of the special task force–not the University.  The University footed the bill.)

John Ziegler said Friday he interviewed Sandusky over the phone several times and in person at Greene State Prison, and that they exchanged letters. Ziegler confirmed to the AP he would share taped excerpts on the program but declined to disclose what they revealed.

editor note:  John Ziegler is not trying to defend Jerry Sandusky, he is trying to shed more light on truths of what happened and who might have known.  His website is full of facts and information, and it is hoped that tomorrow will shed more light on more truth. (not defend Sandusky)!! 

Mar 21 2013

Pennsylvania Rep Needs YOUR Help!


PA House member Scott Conklin has asked the help of everyone who cares about
Penn State and who understands that the PSU Board of Trustees needs to get
serious reform. Two House members allegedly have been lobbied by current BOT members to stall four reform bills so that they cannot reach the floor of the
House to receive a fair hearing. If the recent PA Senate hearing is to be
anything more than a distant memory, and BOT reform to avoid being buried by our status quo trustees, we need to provide serious, and I mean SERIOUS,
encouragement to those House members to stop obstructing these bills. And
encourage House leaders to assist in that effort. We need a tsunami of emails
and snail mail to the four individuals provided here. IF you are planning to write a letter, we encourage you to be short and to the point—the trick is to be clear from the beginning what you want from this person. Write your own letter, use this one, splice something short together—your call. If you’re not a resident of PA, don’t share that with them. You’re Penn State—that’s enough. Finally, feel free to mail any snail mail letter when you’re ready. However, emails should be sent on MONDAY!

Dear Representative:

I am
writing you to request that you assist in moving legislation relating to reform
of the Penn State Board of Trustees to the floor of the House so that it can
receive the hearing that it deserves. The current leadership of the Board is
attempting to offer only minor adjustments to Board practices and touting them
as major reforms. This is the same leadership which failed to respond
effectively to crises during the past sixteen months, and those failures have
done serious damage to the Commonwealth’s flagship university.

The
following bills need your cooperation and assistance:

- House Bill 299 –
Reduce the size of the Board of Trustees

- House Bill 310 – Reorganize
the voting structure of the Board
- House Bill 311 – Amend the Right-To-Know
Law to include State Related entities
- House Bill 312 – Amend the Ethics Act
to include State Related entities

We are all counting on your help to
bring the Penn State Board of Trustees into the Twenty-First century.

[name]

The Honorable Samuel H. Smith
Speaker of the
House
139 Main Capitol BuildingPO Box 202066Harrisburg, PA
17120-2066
E-mail:
shsmith@pahousegop.com
Facebook:Facebook.com/RepSamSmith

Representative
Mike Turzai
Majority Leader
110 Main Capitol BuildingPO Box
202028Harrisburg, PA 17120-2028
E-mail: mturzai@pahousegop.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RepTurzai

Representative
Daryl Metcalfe, Chairman
House State Government Committee144 Main CapitolPO
Box 202012Harrisburg, PA 17120-2012
E-mail:
dmetcalf@pahousegop.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RepMetcalfe

Representative
Paul Clymer, Chairman
House Education Committee
216 Ryan Office BuildingPO
Box 202145Harrisburg, PA 17120-2145
E-mail:
pclymer@pahousegop.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/RepClymer