It's been a little over two weeks since the release of criminal charges pending for 18 members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Penn State, and it's also been a little over two weeks of hearing constant criticism, not only towards the fraternity, but to the university as a whole.
Here's the problem with that last statement. The tragedy that occurred on the night in February in that fraternity house is not a university problem. The Pennsylvania State University is a world renowned institution of higher education, known for releasing intelligent scholars out into the workforce and into society.
To say the school is at fault for being culprits and catalysts towards the death of Timothy Piazza is just ignorant, absurd, and frankly annoying.
Before you label me as unsympathetic and naive to a situation that cost a young man his life, I want to clarify that I do feel the actions taken by the fraternity members of Beta were extremely careless and selfish, but don't smear Penn State as a whole just because it's easy to.
The university does not teach it's students how to drink heavy amounts of alcohol, how to haze others, and how to wait long enough to call 9-1-1. The university does not condone any implicit behaviors that could potentially put another student's life at risk.
The university requests that all students be educated on the dangerous use of alcohol and the instance of assault on campus during their "New Student Orientation" and furthermore, asks that they complete detailed and lengthy questionnaires about their own personal social behaviors that they partake in on the weekends before the start of the school year.
When the university is confronted with an alarming issue, they don't ignore it. Instead, they implement new rules and sanctions to help limit the potential of something as tragic as the death of Timothy Piazza from ever happening again.
What more can we ask the university to do? Should they start assigning faculty members to every house, apartment, and dorm room every night to watch over and make sure students are not partaking in behaviors that one may deem to be risky? It's just not possible.
So, I ask of you to look at this tweet written by Piazza himself back in January of this year and listen to it:
Right now, most of the news you hear about the university is due in part to this tragedy, momentarily negating most of the positives Penn State has to offer on many other levels and in different realms.
As people continue to constantly hear updates on new twists and turns in the case and on what could or should have been done to save a student's life, people's views towards Penn State start to alter. It's unfortunate, but I guess it's only natural as the terms "Beta Theta Pi fraternity brother dies" and "Penn State" start to intertwine.
But, Piazza is correct. If you don't know anything about Penn State, you have no right to talk bad about it.
As a student at this school for the past two years, I couldn't be more happy with my decision to call this place my second home. The care, dedication, and opportunities that are provided to students and their families are outstanding.
The people, relationships, organizations, and clubs made on campus are welcoming and benefiting. All this school hopes to accomplish is to prepare it's students to the best they can be.
If the roles were reversed and Piazza was still alive and this tragedy happened to a different brother from a different fraternity, I think he would still believe with all his heart what he wrote in that tweet.
So don't put down the academic institution's actions on the situation, but rather the boys who chose to mishandle and defy everything Penn State had taught them upon joining their faithful brotherhood.
