Thousands of Penn State students riot in defense of Paterno
Written by playerpress.com, Thursday November 10 2011
(PhatzRadio / USA Today) — STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Thousands of Penn State students loudly and angrily displayed their displeasure over the firing of football coach Joe Paterno on Wednesday night, rioting, screaming and loudly chanting, hours after the school’s Board of Trustees fired the 46-year head coach.
Lamp posts were tipped over and broken on Beaver Avenue, part of the campus business district, where students were met by police and pepper spray. A television truck was overturned, and students rushed the university’s administration building, “Old Main,” a couple of blocks away.
Students chanted “We Are Penn State,” “We want Joe” and “One more game” and yelled Paterno’s name as they rushed the building, where a half-dozen police officers waited on the steps, preventing the mob from going inside.
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The ugly tone of the evening was set at the Board of Trustees’ news conference when an audible gasp went through the room at the Penn Stater Resort as John Surma, the Board’s vice chairman, announced Paterno was no longer the coach.
More than one student in the audience yelled, “Your campus is going to burn tonight,” shortly after the announcement, which came at about 10:15 p.m. ET.
Police said they had not been informed in advance of the board’s decision.
Shortly before the large mob approached the Old Main administration building, a smaller, peaceful demonstration was held there by a group of students, some of whom held signs in support of the 84-year-old Paterno as they sang the school’s fight song.
“I think he has done so much for this school. He is the heart of this school. He’s given his life to it,” said Abigail Massaro, a 19-year-old sophomore. “In retrospect, he did make some crucial errors, but I think that firing him before his last game here is a huge mistake.
“There were some inklings, a notion, that he was going to be retiring this year anyway, and for them to discharge him like this without giving him a last opportunity, I think is wrong”
Loren Walden, also 19 and a sophomore, said she couldn’t believe the news about Paterno. “I was honestly shocked,” she said. “A few more games wouldn’t have made a difference. I think it’s disrespectful.”
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