UNIVERSITY PARK (KDKA) — Penn State students were anxious to share their opinions on the latest chapter of the scandal that has rocked their campus.

“I think everyone’s a little surprised,” Blake Carpenter, a student, said. “It’s definitely a lot to wrap your head around and understand, like, fully exactly what happened and the whole entire story.”

“It’s really sad – bad for the university, terrible for the Paterno family,” Ty Smith, a student, said.

Students gathered in the Hub to watch Louis Freeh’s news conference but the channel was suddenly changed as it began, leaving students to look elsewhere for their information.

Student government leaders are urging the Penn State family to read the report before forming their opinion.

MORE:

• Read The Report
• Read Louis Freeh’s Full Comments
• Watch The News Conference
• PSU Board of Trustees’ Reaction
• Attorney General’s Statement On The Report
• Paterno Family Reaction

“Knowledge is power and so to really have an opinion on what’s been going on and to the state of Penn State, you really need to have an understanding of what went on and what needs to change,” John Zang, a member of Penn State’s student government, said.

The report paints Joe Paterno as the reason Jerry Sandusky wasn’t brought to justice sooner.

Today, Paterno’s statue stands, but many wonder for how long.

“I think Penn State made him that he was some sort of god-like figure and that he was infallible and I never believed that,” Jeremy Tauber, a student, said. “I did not believe that he was some sort of infallible demigod or even a god. He’s just a man like you and me.”

For now, students say it’s time to focus on moving forward and healing their school’s reputation.

“I think it always is going to be disappointing that everything happened and we just have to move on from it and be the freshman class that makes a change and makes a difference and tries to push back all this,” Marie Matthews, a student, said.

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