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Resolution to Re-Investigate Freeh Report Fails After Heated Meeting

After what can only be described as a complete shitshow of a meeting in the Nittany Lion Inn, the Board of Trustees voted 17-9 to deny Al Lord’s modified resolution that would have appointed a committee to re-investigate the Freeh Report after both yelling at one another and getting yelled at from the public.

Every alumni trustee present made a case for Lord’s resolution, most poignantly Lord himself at the meeting’s onset. And though both Chairman Keith Masser and Lord told the crowd not to participate in the meeting and instead to simply observe, it aggressively did so anyway.

The resolution would have appointed a four-person Ad Hoc Committee that would have included Lord, Lubrano, and two other members designated by the Chair to examine the Freeh Report, meet with Freeh and his team, review the set of undisclosed communications and report its findings to the full board. After that, the board would have produced a report of its own to several constituencies.

Lord said the resolution constituted an effort to get past “yesterday’s issues.” He cited the negative Penn State flags and attire at the Rutgers tailgates earlier this year as an example of how Penn State hasn’t stood up for itself regarding the scandal.

“If we don’t stand up for ourselves, I wouldn’t expect Rutgers to,” Lord said to laughter.

Often, Lord’s comments drew loud, deliberate applause from the PS4RS-heavy crowd of about 100 that was on hand. The loudest came after Lord suggested that any members on the board who were scared to act because of how their actions would be perceived should resign. Masser’s attempts to silence the crowd noise with his gavel were futile.

Keith Eckel provided the first rebuttal to Lord’s explanation, telling the board that it must remain unbiased and uphold its fiduciary responsibilities to the university. That didn’t go over so well. Anthony Lubrano deemed it a personal attack. Bob Jubelirer then yelled for about five minutes: “Where is the authority of [Rodney Erickson] to speak for this board?…Where is Louis Freeh? Why doesn’t he come in here and explain himself?”

Soon after Jubelirer those comments, all decorum was lost.

One of those crowd members told the security guard to “bite me,” then “woof”ed at him as he was being led out.

“I wanted to get us on the news,” that woman, Denise McClellan, told Jubelirer afterward.

After the resolution failed, Vice Chair Kathleen Casey presented a seemingly meaningless resolution to monitor investigations and legal proceedings that passed 17-8.

For the majority of the meeting, President Eric Barron sat there with pursed lips, perhaps pondering the deaf ears on which his letter for civility has fallen.

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About the Author

Tim Gilbert

Former Managing Editor of this site, now just makes lots of #content for it from the Phyrst’s Table 69. Senior from Philadelphia. First-generation Penn Stater. I might go to law school after this, but I might not, too. “For the Glory” is in my email signature because I’m a douche. [email protected] is my email if you want to tell me why I suck. Alternatively, you can call me out on Twitter @OlGilb.

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