This page was last updated on July 15, 2012.
Redemption through demolition; Mark Slyman; Beaver County Times; July 12, 2012.
Mr. Slyman has written at least 15 letters since March 2009. The previous Slyman letters I critiqued are here, here, here, and here.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“If Penn State University is truly sincere about redeeming its image after the Jerry Sandusky trial, I think a good way to prove this would be to demolish the Lasch Building that sits on the campus where so many of Sandusky’s evil crimes against his young innocent victims had taken place. Then, use the razed land to build some kind of memorial to remember not just the Sanduskys, but all the victims of this most disgusting crime.
“A gesture like this could go a long way for the university to try and win back the respect of a very saddened society.”
[RWC] PSU should do what’s right and not worry about “redeeming its image” or “win[ing] back the respect of a very saddened society.” Regardless of the decisions, they should be well considered and not rash. If you choose to leave something stand, you can always change your mind. If you destroy something in the heat of the moment, that decision is permanent.
As for the Mildred and Louis Lasch Football Building, here’s what “Ken Smukler, a grandson of the Laschs,” said: “You don’t build a building and put your name on it expecting that something like this is going to happen, but we have seen a lot of good things happen in that building … and we expect to see a lot of good, honorable things happen in that building in the future.” Further, the building’s facilities would need to be replaced. Money used to replace the building would have gone to fill some other need or want.
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