A Penn State club decided to rename the area where students camp prior to football games “Nittanyville” instead of Paternoville in light of the findings of the Freeh investigation.
Students began camping outside Beaver Stadium prior to football games in 1993 when the school joined the Big Ten. The camping area was named Paternoville in 2005, but leaders in charge of the club have decided to rename it Nittanyville.
“We always have discussed the idea of changing the name once Joe was no longer the head coach,” Paternoville Vice President Jeff Lowe said Monday in a press release.
“The discussions slowed down a bit in January as we waited for more information. With the Freeh Report being released, we began the process of careful discussion and planning so we could make the right decision if faced with the situation where we would have to change the name.
“The idea of being in the middle of a political war over the name, due to our association with Joe Paterno, has to lead to threats, hate mail and efforts from people outside of Penn State to try and ruin our ability to run an effective organization,” Lowe said.
At last check, the Joe Paterno statue remains outside the football stadium. The Penn State Board of Trustees reportedly are adamant about keeping it there, but at least some students were smart enough to recognize a change was necessary.
“Past presidents were made aware of our plan and did give us their full support. Obviously they had thoughts and opinions on the matter, but most of all they were very adamant on letting us know they supported whatever decision we made.”
“The discussion to change the name was initiated by us,” Paternoville President Troy Weller said. “When we were coming closer to a decision, we notified the university of our proposed plans and they gave us their support.
“Now, it’s a new era of Nittany Lion football,” Weller said. “And by changing the name to Nittanyville we want to return the focus to the overall team and the thousands of students who support it.
“We thank the Paterno family for their gracious assistance and support over the last several years.”
Leave it to a student group on campus to step up and do the right thing when so many adults still can’t seem to do it. Others need to follow their lead. Unfortunately, judging by the reaction on the old Paternoville Facebook page — which has already been renamed — many people are outraged by the decision.
H/T Ben Jones
