Thousands of Penn State University students took to the streets around campus overnight on Thursday to protest the sacking of their beloved football coach, Joe Paterno, in the fallout from a child abuse scandal and cover-up. Chanting "Hell no, Joe won't go" and "We want Joe back," students overturned a television van during the protest in the university town of State College.
Scores of police and state troopers, some in riot gear, tried to clear the streets, and some officers used pepper spray to disperse the demonstrators. Authorities were not immediately available to say whether there had been any arrests. "I feel bad about the victims, obviously, and people are shocked. I have friends on the team and they are really upset about it," said student Kele Powell, 19, on Thursday.
Penn State, its football program and Paterno, 84, - one of the most iconic names in American sports - were thrown into turmoil on Saturday when long-time assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, 67, was charged with sexually abusing at least eight young boys over a decade. Two other university officials have also been charged with failing to report an incident in 2002 when Sandusky allegedly was seen sexually assaulting a child.