Regarding the Silvis book delivery stunt:

[Franklin_Restores_TheTradition]

Spot on Tom. We're in this predicament in large part because of a serious flaw in the structure of the BOT. Our university is not necessarily run for the benefit of alums or the school itself. It can be/has been run for the benefit of those who select the members. In today's political climate and with a governor as bad as Corbett was, it really exposed just how serious that flaw is.

The PA legislature really needs to take a serious, serious look at correcting this situation to protect ALL of our public universities from the vagaries of politicos.

Couldn't agree more and nothing is a better example than the PA Public Universities' "tax subsidization", which is quite easily defined by the difference between "Out-of-State Tuition" Rate (full un-subsidized tuition on a per student basis) and "In-State Tuition" Rate. Furthermore, what the absolute amount of this "subsidy" should be that is paid Pennsylvania Taxpayers should be informed by the average per student "rate" of tuition at Pennsylvania DOE Direct-Operated Universities -- IOW, "In-State" tuition subsidy at PSU (as well as Temple, Lincoln and Pitt) should be targeted and informed based on the difference between the actual cost of an education at all PA Universities and the average tuition paid by students at the direct State-Run Universities.

Additionally, the percentage of students at PSU from "Out-of-State" should be strictly regulated to a finite number -- One of PSU's core missions as a "Land Grant University" is specifically to primarily serve the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and her citizenry, via her "Land-Grant Founding Charter", PSU is NOT, and NEVER WILL BE, a "private school".

The amount of the "subsidy" should not be a "political football" and used as a "political tool" to lever particular agendas - the subsidy should be calculated based on the number of students attending who are from "In-State" taxpayer households multiplied by the defined subsidy (which should be set and then indexed according to some king of Annual COLA - cost of living adjustment). But it is completely ridiculous that politicos can irresponsibly not fund what the PA Legislature created Charter CLEARLY states they should fund and even more so given that their motivation for not funding what they clearly should be funding is to hold a gun to PSU's head for "political leverage" and "patronage" -- PSU should be run in the best interests of the University and the students attending, not the largess and demands of corrupt, storng-arming politicos.

 

[NittPicker]

Since the public stance of the BoT is that they haven't reviewed a report for which they paid $8 million, it's safe to say more of them will be reading Silvis' gift than will be critically reviewing Freeh's opinion. They'll likely use the book as a presentment of facts and apologize.

 

[psu00]

Agree 100% that the Legislature needs to fix this. However, it does not seem they are going to, so what do we do in the meantime?

It's a long term vs short term issue. Long term depends on the legislature fixing the problem (and I wouldn't count on that). Short term the alumni reps will be outnumbered and marginalized in the BoT. IMO they need to go the PR route to exert pressure by cultivating media contacts and using that to promote issues and push the public to action (which then pushes the legislature).

Easier said than done- and I'm sure they've tried in the past. It just seems like the og goes to their media buddies to start stories when they need to (Inquirer) and even cooperates with books (Silvis) but the alumni reps end up getting a quote or 2 at best but always while being presented as the 'questionable/ not to be fully trusted opposition'. They need to try to drive the story rather than react to it.

A lot of what gets discussed here is not known by the unengaged general public. Even some of the most basic facts of this case. Most of them don't know who Silvis is or that he cooperated with that book. Get them to see what is going on regularly (without the BoT filter) and things will start to change- as we see every time any of this gets near a courtroom.

 

[Aoshiro]

Anthony seems to be the only one that is willing to 'fight fire with fire.' IMO that is part of why change has been so slow: the alumni-elected trustees are too nice and polite. Some of them also naively believe that some of the OG trustees will come around, despite a steady stream of evidence to the contrary.

Change has been slow because the alumni-elected trustees in the minority. No amount of screaming and yelling is going to change that. The only way to change that is to get the PA legislature to change the structure of the BOT. Everyone who is a PA resident needs to contact their congress critters on a regular basis about this and get your friends to do the same.

 

[Aoshiro]

Silvia confuses me...on one hand a Pitt Grad ( PSU MBA) on another seems to have worked with Joe Battista in donating $1 million towards the Pegula Arena...

Seriously these guys just seem so misdirected...

It's all about vindicating their actions in November 2011.

 

[demlion]

It's a long term vs short term issue. Long term depends on the legislature fixing the problem (and I wouldn't count on that). Short term the alumni reps will be outnumbered and marginalized on the old guard BoT. IMO they need to go the PR route to exert pressure by cultivating media contacts and using that to promote issues and push the public to action (which then pushes the legislature).

Easier said than done- and I'm sure they've tried in the past. It just seems like the og goes to their media buddies to start stories when they need to (Inquirer) and even cooperates with books (Silvis) but the alumni reps end up getting a quote or 2 at best but always while being presented as the 'questionable/ not to be fully trusted opposition'. They need to try to drive the story rather than react to it.

A lot of what gets discussed here is not known by the unengaged general public. Even some of the most basic facts of this case. Most of them don't know who Silvis is or that he cooperated with that book. Get them to see what is going on regularly without the BoT filter and things will start to change- as we see every time any of this gets near a courtroom.

Change has been slow because the alumni-elected trustees in the minority. No amount of screaming and yelling is going to change that. The only way to change that is to get the PA legislature to change the structure of the BOT. Everyone who is a PA resident needs to contact their congress critters on a regular basis about this and get your friends to do the same.

I agree in large part with the sentiments expressed here, but it has also been the province of the courts to protect the rights of minorities since the earliest days of this country. Of course, this being America, when we use that term minorities we think of racial ethnic and religious minorities, as well we should, but courts protect other sorts of minorities, including minorities on the boards of non-profits. Not only does the OAG have standing to bring a suit against the Trustees for Breach of Fiduciary duty to the University, but individual trustees have that right as well. So the Legislature is (happily) not the only place we can go to get relief, and the courts are in fact the only place we have gotten ANY relief.

 

[psu00]

I agree in large part with the sentiments expressed here, but it has also been the province of the courts to protect the rights of minorities since the earliest days of this country. Of course, this being America, when we use that term minorities we think of racial ethnic and religious minorities, as well we should, but courts protect other sorts of minorities, including minorities on the boards of non-profits. Not only does the OAG have standing to bring a suit against the Trustees for Breach of Fiduciary duty to the University, but individual trustees have that right as well. So the Legislature is (happily) not the only place we can go to get relief, and the courts are in fact the only place we have gotten ANY relief.

True but I don't see anyone seriously threatening the BoT with 'lack of fiduciary responsibility' lawsuits. That would certainly get the attention of those non executive committee reps that just vote as the og wants and keep themselves out of the headlines.

The real issue - IMO- needs to be focused on driving the message and getting all the pertinent facts public. That's what will drive the nonengaged public into action. I think of people like Wensilver- not a football, Paterno, or sports fan at all but looked into the story and got outraged as she began to dig and see the complete picture rather than the ESPN/ CNN 30 second version. It may take getting a willing journalist(s) from the Scranton/ WB, Harrisburg, Philly and Burg areas and literally spend an entire Saturday with them discussing the issues and presenting the points. Walk them from A to Z and explain it as you go. You'd be surprised how many of them have only a superficial knowledge of the issues.

If they begin to see the alumni reps as a 'source' rather than a fringe group that they have to begrudgingly get a quote from in reaction to a PSU press release then things change. IMO- alumni reps need to get the reporters to see them as good sources of info rather than some 'questionable' group.

 

[demlion]

True but I don't see anyone seriously threatening the BoT with 'lack of fiduciary responsibility' lawsuits. That would certainly get the attention of those non executive committee reps that just vote as the og wants and keep themselves out of the headlines.

The real issue - IMO- needs to be focused on driving the message and getting all the pertinent facts public. That's what will drive the nonengaged public into action. I think of people like Wensilver- not a football, Paterno, or sports fan at all but looked into the story and got outraged as she began to dig and see the complete picture rather than the ESPN/ CNN 30 second version. It may take getting a willing journalist(s) from the Scranton/ WB, Harrisburg, Philly and Burg areas and literally spend an entire Saturday with them discussing the issues and presenting the points. Walk them from A to Z and explain it as you go. You'd be surprised how many of them have only a superficial knowledge of the issues.

If they begin to see the alumni reps as a 'source' rather than a fringe group that they have to begrudgingly get a quote from in reaction to a PSU press release then things change. IMO- alumni reps need to get the reporters to see them as good sources of info rather than some 'questionable' group.

It seems to me there were breaches, so that threat would certainly be there, though not vocalized. We have access to the Freeh Report docs, but that does not necessarily mean we have the ability to put them on the nightly news. I agree that our chances of legislation improve as the public gets to know more of this stuff, but even assuming we got it all out there tomorrow, there is no chance the outfit that cannot pass a budget the governor will sign can pass a reform that the governor will sign. We are in agreement by and large, but I am not hopeful about the legislature as the fulfillment agency.

 

[lubrano]

That's flat-out inaccurate. Anthony is by far the most public in challenging the OG. He is by no means the only alumni-elected trustee that battles the OG. To claim otherwise shows a lack of knowledge about how many of the alumni-elected trustees operate, or how some of the other trustees operate.

As for why change has been so slow, I really don't think you can blame that on the alumni-elected trustees, especially the current group. They've been pretty united in fighting the OG.

The alumni-elected trustees number 9. They could all be flame-throwing types, or could all be "too nice," and it's doubtful that it would have made much of a difference. They have accomplished what they can while being in the minority. They've been handcuffed by the former Governor backing the OG (with his Gov-appointed trustees and the 3 Secretaries), as well as the A+ BOT revision that was enacted in Dec. of 2014 (which increased the size of the BOT).

None of the current alumni-elected trustees are under the belief that being nice and polite will convert the OG trustees. Many of them have made efforts at trying to swing some of the newer members of the BOT, but the OG makes it so that anybody that aligns with the alumni-elected trustees is marginalized.

How change can be effected in an environment like this is a challenge. It will take several more years of changes to the Governor Appointed trustees, and the OG trustees running into term limits, to even have a chance to be in the majority, and even then it depends on some of the other trustees joining with them -- something that is unlikely to happen if the alumni-elected trustees are non-stop flame throwers.

I do need some help. Hence I have endorsed Ted Brown, Bill Oldsey and Larry Schultz.

 

[psu00]

It seems to me there were breaches, so that threat would certainly be there, though not vocalized. We have access to the Freeh Report docs, but that does not necessarily mean we have the ability to put them on the nightly news. I agree that our chances of legislation improve as the public gets to know more of this stuff, but even assuming we got it all out there tomorrow, there is no chance the outfit that cannot pass a budget the governor will sign can pass a reform that the governor will sign. We are in agreement by and large, but I am not hopeful about the legislature as the fulfillment agency.

Don't get me wrong- I agree totally that you can't count on the legislature. My only point is that if you want to turn the tide in the media, and inform some of the public (which may result in a little more heat on the General Assembly) then you have to win over a reporter or 2 first. Not with a quick press conference but more an informal sit down discussion. You certainly don't leak any Freeh info but you get them to see the other side of this debate (everything from the JS mess, to governance issues, future of the university, BoT behavior etc) that they have been reluctant to look into. Drive the discussion instead of react to BoT moves.

Frankly, until someone threatens the BoT with lack of fiduciary responsibility lawsuits- they aren't even thinking about it IMO. It may be dumb but that's where we are. If you want to crack the wall of the og then you have to disrupt the mortar holding it together. When the 20 or so sheep think they personally can be held to account (rather than the leadership) then the cracks start. Until then- they think they are protected and relatively anonymous in this mess.

 

[MichaelJackSchmidt]

This is another BoT obfuscation move. The dirt on them has to be great to be so desperate. Why don't they invite that idiot Bernstein to speak on campus?

Bernstein will soon have a building named after him.

 

[Marshall30]

Bernstein will soon have a building named after him.

Yes, a cathole.

 

[lionlurker]

You'd think they would be embarrassed to be forced to use a truly pathologic figure like Bernstein, as their spokesperson. That in and of itself paints the picture of their desperation.

 

[psu00]

Dem, That really speaks to the level of corruption in Pennsylvania's state government. The mere fact that they aren't addressing the situation means that they are part of the corruption problem. So many people think that it's a Penn State problem. We here know it's not, it's a STATE problem. This goes way, way beyond Penn State.

I'm never going to say there's no corruption in the General Assembly, but I think sometimes we assume all these people have kept up on the details, new info, and conflict of interest like we have. The fact is they haven't.

When they read the local Patriot News/ Pennlive there's a very one sided approach to reporting. Basically, whatever the university spokesman says is treated as if Moses himself brought it down from the mountain top on a stone tablet.

So, if we were to walk into the Capitol building today and talk to Representatives and Senators- you'd be shocked at how poorly informed most are on these issues and the important details. I think it's much more ignorance than corruption in this case.

 

[wensilver]

<raises hand>
I took one for the team and downloaded the book.
I got to page 244 and stopped reading to email Ron Smith on the fact that he never factors in the role of the Office of Attorney General in all this.

Which is YUGE.

In our back and forth, he admits he only wanted to study the response by Penn State. He has plenty of questions about Second Mile as well as the OAG, but did not include those.

So, just like Louis Freeh not doing a "full, fair investigation" and actually stepping off campus to delve into the driving factors and those characters actually responsible - this book is not a fair representation. I also feel that Smith cut and pasted from Freeh to prop up his bias which exasperated me as well.

This was never about football and this was never about the dirty laundry in State College. This was always about Frank Fina and Tom Corbett targeting Penn State. Until these yahoos understand that their goose was being cooked all along by Harrisburg - and they never saw it coming because they were too busy fighting among themselves - this could very likely happen again.

I wonder if this could be a good case for NOT having Insular Local Businessmen, PSAA Social Climbers and/or aging Penn State Jocks Still Angling To Be BMOC on the Board of Trustees going forward. Clearly Paul Silvis is still trying to say "See - SEE - look at this - this is a culture problem - Paterno WAS the bad guy - it says so right here".

The culture problem all along was with Tom Corbett, #PornyPenPals and Prosecutors with a License To Lie.

 

[demlion]

I wonder if this could be a good case for NOT having Insular Local Businessmen, PSAA Social Climbers and/or aging Penn State Jocks Still Angling To Be BMOC on the Board of Trustees going forward. Clearly Paul Silvis is still trying to say "See - SEE - look at this - this is a culture problem - Paterno WAS the bad guy - it says so right here".

That is the heart of it right there. You cannot run a University with $5.3 billion in annual revenues like it is the local charity or businessmen's group. This University has developed thousands of leaders in all walks of life who live all over the world. It has developed thousands who live within a 3 hour drive of SC. There is no need to make the board look like a Rotary Club or local Chamber of Commerce or Garden Club Board.

No reason, that is, except this is the way you funnel influence to local honchos. The price you pay is you are not prepared when the storm comes.

PSU, they say, now has a crisis plan in place, which they did not in 2011. I have not read it and will not pretend that I am expert enough to critique it if I did. That said, just by looking at the people involved, I can say with full confidence that if another crisis were to hit, they would find a way to turn it to their advantage at the expense of the University. Just like they did last time, and crisis plan be damned.

Thank you for taking the time to go there and say it to their face.

 

[lionlurker]

I wonder if someone paid that guy in advance, to write that book. Perhaps he is just another one of their agents.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

I wonder if someone paid that guy in advance, to write that book. Perhaps he is just another one of their agents.

Good question! If that occurred, I would suspect the guy who was handing out copies of the book like they were Snickers bars!

 

[bkmtnittany1]

WenSilver...this has always been and will always be about laundering money thru the 2M and about the mob and building contracts at PSU. I am not patting myself on the back here but I said it 2 days after Louie the Liar's press conference that this was always about $$$$. This was backed up by Blehar a few months later when he started his blog and Frank Sheerhan. Add in One Term Tommy and Surma's personal vendetta's and you have the perfect storm....

 

[wensilver]

This is true @bkmtnittany1

WenSilver...this has always been and will always be about laundering money thru the 2M and about the mob and building contracts at PSU. I am not patting myself on the back here but I said it 2 days after Louie the Liar's press conference that this was always about $$$$. This was backed up by Blehar a few months later when he started his blog and Frank Sheerhan. Add in One Term Tommy and Surma's personal vendetta's and you have the perfect storm....

Like a bunch of crabs feasting on organic matter at PSU, yanked from the waters and tossed into a basket where they are scrambling over each other - Harrisburg dropped them into the boiling water.

I like my hardshell crabs with Old Bay seasoning. Penn State...not so much.

I support hammering the 2016 AG candidates on these issues:

 

[bkmtnittany1]

Let's not forget some of those guys who got the building contracts who were involved with the 2M also contribited heavily to Corbutt's gubenatorial campaign....he does not get a pass that POS!

 

[Ski]

You have my vote. I think we need fewer diplomats and more ball busters.

This post is spot effin' on.

Anthony doesn't just need allies, he needs fighters. I have observed Larry (Dem) here and on the Test Board for the entire time he has been in this community. While we may have polar opposite political views, I don't just want him on the BoT, I BELIEVE WE NEED HIM ON THE BOT. He has the perfect qualifications and temperament needed at this time to take on the OG SOBs and their co-conspirators.

I will feel bad for the sitting Alumni elected BoT member that Larry replaces, but this is no longer about numbers. We have maxed out in what we can do in getting the right number elected elected to the BoT. It is now purely about quality. The OG has and will continue to use every dirty trick in the book. Fire must be fought with fire and while others help, Anthony is the only one fighting back with fire. Larry's experience in the courtroom, as well as what he has done publicly on the steps of Old Main proves he is the right person for the job, right now. He has the fire in his belly. Unleash the Kraken.

Please, for the love of the Penn State we believed in, put Larry on your ballot.

 

[demlion]

This post is spot effin' on.

Anthony doesn't just need allies, he needs fighters. I have observed Larry (Dem) here and on the Test Board for the entire time he has been in this community. While we may have polar opposite political views, I don't just want him on the BoT, I BELIEVE WE NEED HIM ON THE BOT. He has the perfect qualifications and temperament needed at this time to take on the OG SOBs and their co-conspirators.

I will feel bad for the sitting Alumni elected BoT member that Larry replaces, but this is no longer about numbers. We have maxed out in what we can do in getting the right number elected elected to the BoT. It is now purely about quality. The OG has and will continue to use every dirty trick in the book. Fire must be fought with fire and while others help, Anthony is the only one fighting back with fire. Larry's experience in the courtroom, as well as what he has done publicly on the steps of Old Main proves he is the right person for the job, right now. He has the fire in his belly. Unleash the Kraken.

Please, for the love of the Penn State we believed in, put Larry on your ballot.

Ski, this means a great deal to me. It will be an awesome responsibility and an awesome opportunity to represent everyone here. The issues we face are about as close to purely right vs. wrong as anything I have ever seen. The partisan politics drops away as we confront issues like honesty, transparency, decency and trust. In those matters there is no party. There is only what decent people know is right and what these people do.

 

[Franklin_Restores_TheTradition]

Ski, this means a great deal to me. It will be an awesome responsibility and an awesome opportunity to represent everyone here. The issues we face are about as close to purely right vs. wrong as anything I have ever seen. The partisan politics drops away as we confront issues like honesty, transparency, decency and trust. In those matters there is no party. There is only what decent people know is right and what these people do.

Agree with this, it is the corrupt on both sides of the isle who are making PSU a "political football" for their own purposes. People of "good character" can disagree on fundamental political issues such as "fiscal discipline" (goverment spending should be limited to a certain % of the economy and the government like any other economic entity needs to "prioritize" their spending between "must haves" and "like to haves", not going to get funding for all "like to haves") and what the priorities of "government spending" should be, BUT........what the State-subsidy per student for "In-State Students" should be (e.g., difference between "In-State" and "Out-of-State" tuition), or its "annual funding", should not be a "political issue" or "weapon" -- PSU is the "Land-Grant State Institution" of Pennsylvania by founding and charter. Trustees fulfilling their proper "Fiduciary Duties" and being held legally accountable to those "duties" under Pennsylvania Trust Law is a matter of "right and wrong" (e.g., "blind justice"), not politics -- it only becomes a matter of politics when the Judiciary is corrupted and infected by hypocrisy and corruption which are literally forms of cancer for the morally and ethically "wrong side" of the Right/Wrong binary equation and can only be eliminated via disinfectant and evisceration.....and as we were all taught in science, the suns rays - e.g., "sunshine" - is one of the best disinfectants which is why they call the public disclosure requirements of PSU's Founding Charter (crafted by the Legislature and therefore PA Law) which our corrupt BOT likes to so blithely ignore, "Sunshine Laws" (e.g., RTK Laws for public entities - "Right to KNOW Laws").