It’s been two years since the iconic Joe Paterno statue was torn down outside of Penn State's Beaver Stadium in State College, but now it seems the community is ready to erect a new one. The residents of State College have been given the go-ahead on a $300,000 life-size bronze statue of Paterno two miles from where the old statue once stood.
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Paterno’s original statue was torn down in light of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal as an attempt by Penn State to distance themselves from the incident. The move was met with mixed reviews as Paterno was never brought up on any criminal charges before his death.
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The citizens of State College such as Kim Intorre, an organizer of the project, believe that it’s the right time for the community to pay their respects to Paterno.
"We just felt that the university was not ready yet. But the community is.”
Another organizer Ted Sebastianelli echoed what Intorre said about the University’s status.
"It's clear the university isn't ready to do anything; they're certainly not ready to put the statue back. That’s their call. Everybody has their own views on the statue and when it should be back up, where it should be and so forth.
"For me, this is something we can do ourselves and it's a great way -- a wonderful way -- to honor Joe for his 61 years of service. It doesn't have anything to do with the statue on campus.”
The NCAA placed Penn State football on a four-year postseason ban as a result of the scandal and docked Paterno 111 victories to dethrone him as the all-time wins leader in football. Think what you will of Paterno and Penn State, but it is clear that the recent struggles have brought an already close knit community even closer. Intorre closed with a statement that many Penn State faithful can relate with.
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"Without things the Paterno family has done. State College's lights would probably not be on.”
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