Letters: Penn State playing game of ‘Russian roulette’; Writer got the COB wrong

Penn State playing game of ‘Russian roulette’

I find it frightening that President Barron continues to play Russian roulette with the health, safety, and lives of all members of the university community, by failing to require vaccinations from everyone who comes on campus. There have already been two fatalities among the students — what is it going to take to get action on this to prevent further tragedies? Will it take the death of the six-year-old daughter or son of a faculty member who was exposed to the virus on campus, was asymptomatic, and brought the COVID virus home? Will it take the disability of a department chairperson who contracts long-term COVID and who can’t ever return to his or her duties? Will it take a member of the football team who, career ruined, infects his teammates and causes PSU to drop out of the Big Ten games for the rest of the season because the other teams won’t play us?

The delta variant of the COVID virus is 2 times more transmissible than the original one was, and each person who gets it could spread it to 3.5 to 4 other people, because of the increased number of aerosols that remain in the atmosphere where an infected person has been. In my opinion, the first responsibility of the president is to keep the the whole university community safe, not to protect the Penn State’s bottom line. Can’t we wake up to the reality of this situation before it’s too late, and more lives are lost?

Writer got the COB wrong

In his Aug. 16 letter, Carl Wendler contributed to spreading misinformation. Four of his assertions are factually incorrect: 1. The Community Oversight Board’s powers are primarily restricted to observation, review and recommendation, there is no direct “control” over police, 2. The discussion on the COB had very little to do with “defunding,” 3. The State College Borough has authority to oversee their own police department and therefore create a COB (this existing authority/oversight was actually an argument utilized against the COB in public meetings), and 4. Osaze Osagie’s “medical condition” was not only known and available to the officers, written knowledge of this and his then-current crisis were required for the issue of a 302 warrant which was the sole reason for the police being present at Osaze’s apartment. It’s unfortunate that some community members lump together multiple grievances inappropriately, in exactly the way the 3-20 Coalition is falsely accused of doing. Further, the personal attacks on Tierra Williams are concerning and unwarranted. Mr. Wendler calls her an “instigator,” I know Ms. Williams to be a TRUTH-TELLER. It has been ignored that she sat quietly, respectfully, and patiently through an hour of anger and vitriol by people opposed to the COB and coalition as a whole; and committed only the offense of standing up for herself when she refused, as the only Black woman to speak during the entire evening, to be disrespected and silenced by the crowd. Accountability is not offensive, it is the pathway to a better community.

Bad move for Happy Valley Adventure Bureau

Since I moved to Happy Valley a decade ago, one of the most ill-advised moves is by a local agency, namely: the visitor bureau (Happy Valley Adventure Bureau). What is the ill-advised move? HVAB had an ideal location at the corner of Porter Road and Park Avenue. Great location with plenty of parking, easily accessible from U.S. Route 322 and I-99. Where did they relocate? They moved to a downtown State College location tucked alongside the Fraser Street Parking Garage. Brilliant! By the way, Happy Valley Adventure Bureau is aptly named; it is an adventure trying to get there.

Kudos to council for COB action

I want to congratulate State College Borough Council for its unanimous decision to establish the Community Oversight Board.

I believe that the board will put the relationship between the SCPD and the community on a new level of communication and understanding.

It will encourage good professional policing and should be welcomed by all who believe the police should serve the people and that the people should support the police.