Thing is, I am faculty in higher education and I am not around children on campus very much. When I am, the kids are related to my students or colleagues. I am one of the people who is unlikely to witness such abuse first hand.

So I think it probably wouldn't make sense to designate us as mandatory reporters, but my point earlier and raised again in this thread is that we should not have to be designated "mandatory" in order to call the cops and make sure a complaint is filed.

I call 911 if I see a car smoking on the side of the freeway. I have called 911 when I drove behind a suspected DUI. I believe in alerting authorities when I think a major crime has been committed or people are in danger. I sure as fuck would call 911 if a child was being abused.

I rescinded an offer of admission to a prospective student who sexually harassed a current student during a visitation weekend.

I don't have to be a mandatory reporter to do all of these things.

In the comments sections of local newspapers, there are people saying that Paterno had "no standing" to call 911. Since when do people think you need some kind of legal standing to call 911? Legal standing comes in much later.

A car was driving the wrong direction down a freeway after a multi-car accident. I called 911. Should I not have?

I was not involved in the accident.

People's stupidity kills me.

I think calling 911 would have been beside the point, by the time he found out, which was, I assume, not moments after it was witnessed.

McQueary should have called 911. AFTER he pulled Sandusky off the kid and beat the shit out of him.

You know, it's not even about getting Sandusky into police hands as much as it would have been about making sure that kid was okay. Who knows if he was ever examined? How many ten-year-old boys go home and tell their parents they were raped?

The new football coach is giving a press conference. Pretty much, "We've got to understand that this team has put a lot of hard work in … they deserve to have this day" on questions about the game on Saturday, and "no comment" or "that was not my decision" on everything else.

I need to post a fun trivia fact before I have a rage blackout in my office.

The word cucumber was spelled and pronounced "cowcumber" in the 17th & 18th centuries until it rapidly and inexplicably changed to cucumber!

from twitter.

How many ten-year-old boys go home and tell their parents they were raped?

Exactly! These kids are so afraid of doing something wrong that when wrong is done to them, they have nowhere to turn. We talk about stranger-danger in classrooms, but we don't address what do you do when someone you trust abuses you.

Frankly, I think that the whole football program should be shut down.

Never going to happen. It brings in something like $50 million to the university. Though their "brand" is now tarnished.

I am glad that the Trustees seem to understand that this isn't just a PR move to fire people. They do seem to have a sense of outrage and moved quickly.

The students of Penn, however, need mandatory classes in ethics and volunteer work with abused children.

You know, it's not even about getting Sandusky into police hands as much as it would have been about making sure that kid was okay. Who knows if he was ever examined? How many ten-year-old boys go home and tell their parents they were raped?

This.

Someone elsewhere pointed out that the incident happened at 9:30 at night and the building was basically deserted. The degree to which he was leaving a young child so totally at the mercy of his attacker is hard to fathom.

McQueary should have called 911. AFTER he pulled Sandusky off the kid and beat the shit out of him.

IJS Seems the natural reaction. I can't imagine struggling with what to do when you see a child assaulted.