Penn State's administration has learned NOTHING about the proper response to sexual abuse & its cover up. Proof? The official announcement of an attempt to buy the silence of Jerry Sandusky's victims.
Details after the Curly Tail of Kos ...
In a post entitled Jerry Sandusky verdict: Penn State wants to settle with victims at PennLive.com, Penn State issued a statement that reads, in part:
The purpose of the program is simple – the University wants to provide a forum where the University can privately, expeditiously and fairly address the victims' concerns and compensate them for claims relating to the University. Counsel to the University plan to reach out to counsel to the victims of Mr. Sandusky’s abuse in the near future with additional details.
(Emphasis added ...)
"Privately" is just a euphemism for telling the victims to "Shut up,
shut up, SHUT UP!" Yet again, the Powers That Be want to silence the victims, they just can't do it in the dark anymore, hence the buy-out offer.
"Expeditiously" means they're in desperate damage control mode, seeking to stem the tide of negative publicity. I also wonder how many Penn State alums have withdrawn financial support?
"Fairly" translates to "at the lowest possible cost to us." In other words, the administration is scared shitless at how fast the verdict came back, which points to the likelihood of HUGE damage awards in the inevitable civil suits. Better a low-dollar payout in private, than a high-dollar payout after a flood of negative publicity from a civil trial.
Reading between the lines, I think Penn State has subtly made it clear: settle now, or we'll fight you tooth and nail later.
Please note, I firmly believe it is the sole the right of a victim to settle privately, sue publicly, seek other recourse, or let sleeping dogs lie. However, the tone of the announcement indicates the administration does not yet get it that Sandusky's activity and cover-up is a systemic problem.
Minor Edit: My interpretations of "Privately" and "Expeditiously" now appear as I originally intended them. I write / revise in MS Word first, then post to dKos and edit further for online appearance; somewhere in that process, they got reversed, but now they're OK.
Minor Update: *blink* *blink* Rec list - cool! Thanks everybody!