At Penn State Lehigh Valley, Joe Paterno's legacy quietly honored

On Monday, students and administrative officials fondly reflected on the death of Joe Paterno. Take the NEWS POLL.

When news of Joe Paterno's death broke on Sunday morning, Alison Reinhart, a sophomore at Penn State Lehigh Valley, rushed to Facebook to begin rallying her student body.

With the help of the administration, Reinhart organized a gathering on Monday afternoon in front of the campus' Nittany Lion statue to honor the legacy of their legendary football coach.

The crowd of roughly 30 students, encouraged to wear blue and white, were solemn over the coach's death but "excited" about having the opportunity to proudly represent their school.

"Everybody just wanted to represent Penn State and they all wanted to show that we love Joe Paterno, no matter what," Reinhart said. "(It didn't) matter if he wasn't our coach anymore but to us, he's still Coach JoePa, no matter what."

Monday marked the first day of classes since Paterno's death for students at Penn State Lehigh Valley in Upper Saucon Township.

In addition to Reinhart's event, the administration chose to remember Paterno with several quiet reminders, such as a blue light shining on the Nittany Lion statue, a silent video tribute to the coach on a television screen in the reception office and the lowering of the Pennsylvania state flag to half-staff near the front entrance to the campus.

Chancellor Ann Williams said Paterno had visited the Lehigh Valley campus, which moved from Fogelsville to its new location in 2009, a few times during her tenure and had the chance to meet him on several occasions.

Williams said students at Penn State Lehigh Valley have shown an outpouring of respect for Paterno and are attempting to find ways to make sense of the situation.

"I think it's an understatement to say that it's just a sad day for the Nittany nation," said Williams. "Students are struggling I think a little bit with the loss of an icon. There's been a lot of love and admiration for Joe Paterno and what he's done for this campus, as well as this university."

Kenneth Thigpen, director of academic affairs at the campus, said that throughout the day, students had quietly been visiting the statue in between classes to pay their respects

Thigpen first met Paterno more than 30 years ago when he was a literature professor in University Park. He said the coach always made sure his football players were present in Thigpen's classes and took their classwork seriously.

"Over the years, I had many football players in my classes that Joe actually continued to encourage to go there and I have to say that they were some of the most serious and diligent students that I had overall," said Thigpen. "He was not a phony in his devotion to academic life and to having student-athletes as part of Penn State tradition."

Though he never met Paterno, Richard Fatzinger, the campus' coordinator of athletics, said there was no doubt in his mind that the coach was larger than life.

"I think it's impossible to talk about (Joe Paterno) and not say that he effects every campus because he was the face of Penn State," Fatzinger said. "I'm sure more people could identify him than maybe who the president was or who the (athletic director) was or whatever and that's because of the many things he did for the university."

Fatzinger said that although news of Paterno's death has brought another element of emotion to the mix, he believes the campus has been dealing with the issue of how to honor his legacy ever since he was fired by the school's board of trustees on Nov. 9 in the wake of child molestation charges filed against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

"I think there's a feeling of sadness, there's an emptiness," said Fatzinger. "I think that actually started when he was dismissed (and) I think people were confused as to how to best handle it because they have all of this respect and admiration for him and there's so many unanswered things."

Freshman student Devin Heckman said that while he's also noticed a different mood around campus, he thinks the best way to honor Paterno would be to continue on studying and performing well in class.

"It's a little less peppy than it normally is, but you got to do what Joe would want you to do and that's succeed in education," Heckman said. "So that's what we're going to do."

Heckman said regardless of campus, Paterno's death comes as a blow to students but it's important to make sure his legacy continues to shape the university.

"It strikes a chord with all of us," said Heckman. "We're are Penn Staters and Joe made Penn State. Everyone says Joe was Penn State, Joe still is Penn State."