I am shocked by recent comments from emerita trustee Mimi Barash Coppersmith: “The people who are angry and so nasty, that’s not the way Joe Paterno would have liked it and it is not the Penn State way.” Really?

Is the Penn State way to blindly follow an inept governing body? Is it the Penn State way to turn your back on a “friend” in a rush to judgment without due process? Is it the Penn State way to show a lack of consideration for the long-term ramifications of a major decision?

As a board member, Coppersmith found there to be no conflict of interest when she rented significant office space to Penn State in her property.

We have come to an impasse. The best interests of board members and those of the greater university are not the same. The Joe Paterno way was to care about the long-term best interests of the university. The Penn State way of the board is to look after the short-term best interests of the board. The time for Coppersmith to dissolve her relationship with the university is long overdue.

Carolyn Saylor State College