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ESPN Editor, Penn State Alumna Starts Petition for Spanier-Less Diploma

One 2009 Penn State graduate isn’t happy that her degree was signed by then-President Graham Spanier. Alexa Keeley, a current ESPN content editor who has worked for the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” since 2010, started a petition on Change.org out of her disgust at needing to pay $40 for a diploma without Spanier’s name on it.

“All of the former alumni (sic) of Penn State have paid a lot of money in order to earn their education at this university,” the petition read. “Penn State is a GREAT place to learn and excel.  However, the university insists alumni have to pay $40 per diploma in order to receive a new one without Graham Spanier’s name on it.  Why should the alumni have to pay for a mistake that the university covered up. (sic)  I am calling all alumni, students and even those who didn’t go to Penn State to please sign this petition to allow all those who are innocent to receive diplomas that are not associated to anyone involved in the disgusting child molestation scandal.”

It is Penn State’s policy to charge $40 to reissue a diploma, which is apparently the thing stopping Keeley from getting a new one. Spanier was Penn State’s president from 1995 to 2011 and still holds the title of President Emeritus as well as a tenured faculty position in the department of Human Development and Family Studies (although he does not teach classes). As you probably know, Spanier was dismissed from the presidency in 2011 as part of the Jerry Sandusky fallout. He faces multiple charges stemming from allegations of failure to report child sexual abuse, although his role in the situation remains ambiguous (A New York Times writer described the case against Spanier as “at best problematic, at worst fatally flawed.”) He has yet to face trial on these charges and no date is currently set.

The petition has four signatures at the time of publication. You can view it or sign it here.

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About the Author

Kevin Horne

Kevin Horne was the editor of Onward State from 2012-2014 and currently holds the position of Managing Editor Emeritus, which is a fake title he made up. He graduated from Penn State with degrees journalism and political science in 2014 and is currently seeking his J.D. at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. A third generation Penn Stater from Williamsport, Pa., Kevin is also the president of the graduate student government. Email: [email protected]

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