During the Penn State investigation it was discovered that the head coach, Joe Paterno, was told that his defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, was sexually abusing little boys during a football camp. After the scandal broke in the media, the University president was replaced. The interim president made a statement that in the future, Penn State would “not only do what is required under the law, we will do what is right.” In my current profession, I am required by my organization’s policy to report suspected child abuse to Child Protective Services (CPS). But, even if I wasn’t required to report such abuses, I would do so anyway. If the suspected person was a colleague who I considered to be a close friend, I still would not hesitate to report the abuse. To me, it is the right thing to do. I am reminded of Craig Johnson’s explanation of Kant’s Categorical Imperative, “people should do what is morally right no matter the consequences.” I know that the friendship would suffer, but it would be my moral obligation to turn him/her in. I believe that the Penn State interim president was recognizing the fact that the law wasn’t followed in the Sandusky’s case. He is also acknowledging that the incident should have been reported. I believe he is trying to instill in the Penn State community to always do what is morally right and to report any abuses in the future.
