The question NOBODY asks...What were 10 yr old boys doing in the college in the first place?

[glarius]

I've watched all the coverage on this terrible incident and have waited in vain for one of the journalists to ask the obvious question..."Putting aside the weirdness of showering with the 10 year olds....how did 10 year olds happen to be in the college in the first place?"
Everyone comments on the interview with Sandusky and his lawyer, but no one asked them that question.

[Gamow]

1. Kids are often waterboys and equipment runners

its not uncommon, you even see it in the NFL.

[glarius]

2. O.K....I guess I'm not up on these things...Thanks for the info. n/t

[HopeHoops]

3. BINGO!

[Texasgal]

4. The Boy Scouts

coordinate here on UT game days as ushers on game day. The kids get to see the games for free for their efforts.

I don't think it's odd to have young people involved with Universities extra curricular activities.

Maybe I don't know enough about it. :shrug:

[muntrv]

5. I thought it was summer camps for football.

[supernova]

6. Football camp is another possibility

Often colleges in the off season will run camps for kids interested in said sport. Usually for a couple of weeks at a time. Duke has a pretty popular basketball camp every summer. (And yes, I'm hoping it's just camp.)

[Tansy_Gold]

7. Apparently you haven't read any of the background information

Sandusky founded and then worked for a charity, The Second Mile, that worked with at-risk children.

Through his connections at Penn State -- he maintained an office there, had keys and access to all the buildings, etc., etc. -- he could take kids from Second Mile to the campus and show them a good time. Young boys from disadvantaged backgrounds were able to go on guided tours of the football team's locker room, go to games, visit with Paterno. They were awestruck.

THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE DOING ON THE CAMPUS -- SANDUSKY BROUGHT THEM THERE.

Nobody asked the question because nobody had to; they read the background info and asked questions about the stuff they didn't answers to in the research.


Sheesh.

[glarius]

14. Well excuuuuse me!

I know Sandusky brought them there. I was just wondering why the people there wouldn't wonder why.
Don't get so worked up over these things...think of your blood pressure!

[Texasgal]

22. The poster has a point...

The issue of young boys being on campus has only been reported over and over again.

I agree, read the story.

[DirkGently]

8. I was under the impression many of them were in Sandusky's "Second Mile" program

[Rebubula]

9. I spent several years going to football camps

Most were held at the University of Maryland or some other local college.

We would stay in the dorms, eat at the cafeterias and hang with the coaches and sometimes Pro players.

Pretty standard.

[JVS]

10. Sandusky brought these kids to the campus, he didn't find them there.

[NYC_SKP]

11. Never mind hotel rooms. Excerpt:

"...Victim 4 became a fixture in the Sandusky household, sleeping overnight and
accompanying Sandusky to charity functions and Penn State football games. Victim 4 was listed,
along with Sandusky’s wife, as a member of Sandusky’s family party for the 1998 Outback Bowl
and the 1999 Alamo Bowl. He traveled to and from both bowl games with the football team and
other Pemr State staff, coaches and their families, sharing the same accommodations. Victim 4
would frequently stay ovemight at Toftrees with Sandusky and the football team prior to home games; Sandusky’s wife was never present at Toftrees when Victim 4 stayed with Sandusky.

This was where the first indecent assaults of Victim 4 occurred. Victim 4 would attend the pre-
game banquet and sit with Sandusky at the coaches’ table. Victim 4 also accompanied Sandusky
to various charity golf outings and would share a hotel room with him on those occasions.

Victim 4 stated that Sandusky would wrestle with him and maneuver him into a position
in which Sandusky’s head was at Victim 4′s genitals and Victim 4′s head was at Sandusky’s
genitals. Sandusky would kiss Victim 4′s inner thighs and genitals. Victim 4 described Sandusky
rubbing his genitals on Victim 4′s face and inserting his erect penis in Victim 4′s mouth. There
were occasions when this would result in Sandusky ejaculating.

He testified that Sandusky also
attempted to penetrate Victim 4′s anus with both a finger and his penis. There was slight
penetration and Victim 4 resisted these attempts. Sandusky never asked to do these things but
would simply see what Victim 4 would permit him to do. Sandusky did threaten to send him
home from the Alamo Bowl in Texas when Victim 4 resisted his advances. Usually the
persuasion Sandusky employed was accompanied by gifts and opportunities to attend sporting
and charity events.

He gave Victim 4 dozens of gifts, some purchased and some obtained from
various sporting goods vendors such as Nike and Airwalk. Victim 4 received clothes, a
snowboard, Nike shoes, golf clubs, ice hockey equipment and lessons, passes for various
sporting events, football jerseys, and registration for soccer camp. Sandusky even guaranteed
Victim 4 he could be a walk-on player at Penn State. Victim 4 was in a video made about
linebackers that featured Sandusky, and he appeared with him in a photo accompanying an
article about Sandusky in Sports Illustrated...."

http://undergroundsportsnetwork.net/site/2011/11/09/jerry-sandusky-grand-jury-report-part-5/

(NB: last three paragraphs here are only one in the grand jury file, which is public domain in any event)

x(

[notadmblnd]

12. He ran a program for underprivleged children .

He got the kids from the organization, pretended to be a mentor, molested them and probably gave them small gifts to get them to keep quiet.

[treestar]

13. Good point.

When I was in college I don't remember seeing any kids!

[Maine_Nurse]

17. Really? We used to hang out at our university a lot...

they had great bike trails and outdoor sports facilities and an awesome indoor pool that was cheap for kids to use.

[treestar]

18. I must have been mostly in the dorm and in the library

Town was full of college students, so kids may have been hard to see!

[Journeyman]

15. Sandusky had taken them for the afternoon for a "play date". . .

I suspect the parents believed he was going to chaperone their kids around campus, show them the sights, help them understand how they too could one day attend a university and make something better for themselves. That is, after all, the purpose of the the Second Mile organization.

Divorced from the reality of what we're learning, I suspect other adults saw this as a good thing, the act of an accomplished, decent man helping mentor children. And why not take the kids to the University and tour the athletic facilities? It was that aspect of Sandusky's life which had appeal for the kids -- the opportunity to pal around with someone well-connected with a legendary sports program.


It's regrettable but, one impact from all this will be a renewed hesitation on the part of so many people to volunteer to help youth organizations. My brother coached teams in baseball and softball for his son and daughter for decades and was quite successful. The baseball teams he coached for his son were consistently ranked well in the nation, and they were invited many times to play in tournaments at Cooperstown and other national venues. Before this PSU debacle, he told he would like to help with some of the local teams, specifically with 8 to 10 year olds since they are the easiest to work with and seem to appreciate the help the most, but he's reluctant to volunteer because of how some parents might react to a "strange man" wanting to be around their kids. He understands their fear, baseless though it is in his case. Today though, in light of recent events, he'll avoid these groups like the plague. More's the pity. He's a great coach and could offer these children a lot. But he's also a lawyer and quite conversant on the unwarranted trouble this could stir.

[AnnieBW]

16. They run a LOT of summer football camps at PSU.

And other universities.

[fishwax]

19. Sandusky brought them there

To show them the football facilities, to work out with them, etc. It's in line with the common tactic among predators to bestow gifts on their victims to gain their trust, admiration, loyalty, etc. I'd guess most kids in the program would think it would be pretty cool to get to see where the PSU football team works out, gets ready for games, and so on.

[customerserviceguy]

20. The same reason

Michael Jackson ran an amusement park. It's a way to impress a kid you want to have your way with.

[Codeine]

21. I used to get to go to our local Cal State campus often.

Quiz Bowls, Model United Nations, Model Congress, Academic Decathlon, and some other academic competitions were held there.