The results of the alumni Board of Trustees election, announced last Friday at the monthly meeting in the Nittany Lion Inn, were anything but surprising.
Former Penn State football player Adam Taliaferro, widely seen as the front-runner throughout the campaign, predictably garnered 15,629 votes, appearing on just under 42% of the ballots. The always-outspoken Anthony Lubrano wasn't far behind with 10,096 votes, and the third and final winner, retired Navy SEAL Ryan McCombie, finished with 4,806 votes.
So what does this mean for Penn State?
With a record setting 37,579 votes cast, the Penn State Board of Trustees announced the winners of the alumni election at their meeting Friday afternoon. In front of a modest crowd in the Nittany Lion Inn ballroom -- including candidates and spectators alike -- it was announced that Adam Taliaferro, Anthony Lubrano, and Ryan McCombie will fill the three vacant alumni seats.
In December, Penn State donated nearly $1.5 million dollars to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR). Now, Penn State gave nearly $1.1 million to the Penn State Hershey Center for the Protection of Children, which will be based out of the new Children's Hospital at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
It would have been too easy to acknowledge the events of this year with a brief sentence buried in an an otherwise self-indulgent senior column.
News of the child sexual abuse scandal broke with more force in State College than anywhere else in the country. There were certain obvious ways in which this happened. The aftershocks from this fall continue to reverberate around Happy Valley, however, and the worst may be yet to come.
Here's what I think we need to remember now more than ever.
Penn State President Rodney Erickson, once notorious for the frequency of his e-mails, sent out a final spring message this morning to every Penn State student. The e-mail praises Penn Staters for their efforts and conduct since the incidents in November, and outlines several recent achievements that he is particularly proud of.
With the alumni Board of Trustees campaigns in full swing, Onward State has now released short profiles of each candidate. Each profile includes a very brief bio with links to their mission statement, website, Facebook page, and Twitter if available. A record 27,000 votes have been cast as of Thursday. Penn State graduates have until 9 a.m. on May 3rd to cast their vote.