Video: Penn State Holds Candlelight Vigil For Child Abuse Victims

People gather in front of the Old Main building for a candlelight vigil on the Penn State campus (AP)

Penn State is still reeling from the horrifying accusations that a former assistant football coach abused and raped young boys—sometimes on campus—and that the school ignored reports of the abuse. In a marked shift from Wednesday night's student riots over beloved Penn State coach Joe Paterno being fired, thousands of students and staff gathered on campus at Old Main last night for a candlelight vigil in honor of the child sex abuse victims. Watch some videos of the event below:

“Let’s make tonight the starting point of setting the standard,” LaVar Arrington, the All-American linebacker who went on to a Pro Bowl career in the NFL, said at the vigil. “The worst crime that we could commit right now is to leave here and forget what happened. It’s on us to restore the fight of Old State.”

Interim school president Rodney Erickson, who took over two days ago after the Penn State Board of Trustees fired University president Graham Spanier, also spoke at the event: “Healing cannot occur until we understand how responsibilities to these children failed and how we can prevent such tragedies in the future,” Erickson said. “We are certainly not adrift.”

Everything is far from over for Penn State with this terrible case: experts agree that administrators,and possibly even Paterno, will very possibly face civil lawsuits seeking extensive monetary damages after the criminal case against former assistant coach Jerry Sandsky is done. “People say there might eventually be 20 victims identified in this case, but who knows if the number might not be 200? The damages sought could total $100 million,” said lawyer Michael Dowd, who has represented hundreds of child abuse clients, told the Times.

There are serious obstacles to civil cases against state universities and their employees—state universities are protected from tort claims by a doctrine known as sovereign immunity—but Philadelphia lawyer Harold Goodman agreed with Dowd's assessment: “The damage to the victims is so profound—pain, suffering and perhaps lifetime injuries—that juries usually are unbridled as to how to calculate the damages. The damages are likely to be immense.”

Later today, Penn State will face Nebraska in the first football game since the child sex-abuse charges were made against Sandusky, and since legendary football coach Paterno was fired. There was a bomb threat early this morning at Beaver Stadium in State College, but police and dogs searched and found nothing.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ben Yakas in News on November 12, 2011 11:15 AM

Comments [rss]

Dan

Here's additional footage from that evening. This night represented Penn State. If you think the riots represented this school, you are greatly mistaken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

innwdc

Penn State alumni have raised over $328,000 for RAINN in just three days, and the amount raised is increasingly rapidly: http://www.proudtobeapennstate...

Donations directly benefit RAINN's prevention initiatives and provide support for those affected by this crime through the National Sexual Assault Hotlines (800.656.HOPE and online.rainn.org).

2BklynNative2

I have never been a conspiracy theorist but the facts associated with this case sure point to a networked coverup with college atheletes, child rape, power, money and a missing DA. All that is missing is the Roman bath-house and togas.

Then Penn kids riot because their beloved coach was fired.

WTF - those years in college have not taught them to read, think and come to a conclusion before rioting and flipping over a news van.

DonKeysHoTea

these are the future staffers for the national security council. "what? you heard what? launch cruise missiles! this is bullshit!"

InMasonicShadows

Penn State and Penn are two different universities.

Gothamist_Cynic

Sooooooo....what does this have to do with NYC?

zippy_monster

Or, you know, San Francisco since this is showing up on SFist too.

JC

I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part.
- Bluto

antimisogynycrusader

Watch them switch back into riot mode if they lose today. Anyhow....GO HUSKERS!

Guest

BTW do you think they would still have held this vigil if JP still had his job? I think most of them are silently praying ahead of today's game....

guestymcspanky

*facepalm*

Colonel_Ingus

Too late kids. You showed your true colors the other night. This candlelight "vigil" is more like a calculated PR op.

PS. You failed Marketing 101.

Amber

For the 4 or 5 thousand students that rioted the other night and made themselves look like assholes, there are at least an equal amount of students who have their heads and their hearts in the right place. There were also a lot of alumnae who traveled from all around the country to be in State College just for this vigil.

Blogarithm

@Colonel_Ingus:disqus
...Did you realize your handle sounds suspiciously like "Cunnilingus?" I suggest pushing for that promotion to Brigadier General Ingus before somebody points this out.

In all seriousness though, you are right. Lighting a few candles shows a lot less about the schools characters than overturning and smashing vans.

Colonel_Ingus

No, Blogarithm... I'd never noticed that. Thanks very much. I'll get right on that.

Though, in fairness, I must do you the same favor and point out that your handle is the sound I make in to the toilet after a dozen bad oysters at the midnight kitchen. BLLLLOGARITHM

Guest

My thoughts exactly....

guestymcspanky

Derp. You do know that there are 45K+ students at Penn State, and that they do not share a single hive consciousness, right?

MoistPup

riiiiiiiiiiggghht, sure they don't.

schmeep

Ahem..."No, we were rioting because we were mad AT Joe Pa, not at the morally right thing to do which supersedes our narcissistic attitudes. We're 18-21 year-olds, of COURSE we understand that the world doesn't revolve around us and our college experience."