|
- Paternoville, a tent city outside Beaver Stadium where students camp out for prime football tickets, was scrapped this week in favor of Nittanyville.
- Nike took Paterno's name off a child care center on its corporate campus the day the Freeh report was released.
- The halo that had floated above Paterno's head in a State College mural was also removed by the artist, who added a blue ribbon in support of child abuse awareness.
The Penn State library, though, has kept his name on the building. And Di Maria wonders if critics are acting in haste in stripping Paterno's name.
"Are they going to be satisfied with just a halo? Are they going to remove the whole painting? The library? Should they tear that down? Isn't that a tribute, a monument to Joe Paterno, also," he asked. "A lot of people aren't putting things into perspective right now."
Di Maria never met Paterno, and his one chance to greet the former coach -- around the time of the statue's dedication -- was scrapped. He said he was told Paterno was "sidetracked," and a planned luncheon never developed. Di Maria said he never heard from Paterno about the statue.
The artist also has not heard from Penn State about any plans for the statue should it be removed from the stadium in the near future.
Di Maria says his heart goes out to the victims. But he knows what Paterno meant to the community and the program before the scandal erupted, and he'd like those who knew him -- at his best -- to remember him as he is forever frozen in bronze.
"We must consider, I don't mean to make a comparison, but the kids that were attached to all the good, the good legacy that Joe Paterno left behind, are they becoming victims in their own respect by stripping them of this joy, of this experience with Joe Paterno," he asked. "The statue, everything that's associated with them in a positive way, do we have to pay attention to them also?
"Or should we just throw everything away that Joe Paterno ever did in a positive way?"
Good question.
Time will tell.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor