Friday, September 5

Franco Harris: "We Are"


Sept. 4, 2014

“We Are”                                                                                                               


“When someone stirs the ashes, be sure they know what they are doing, otherwise, the fire will burn them.”

Unfortunately there were, and still are, those who try to make us lose heart, try to weaken our resolve and try to numb our emotions; they try to make us forget who “We Are” and what we stand for.

However, we discovered who “We Are” way before Louis Freeh, the NCAA and the Penn State BOT of 2011 (with Tom Corbett, John Surma, Karen Peetz, Ken Frazier, Jim Broadhurst and Rodney Erickson) started telling us who “We Are”. As our BOT took charge, they were confident we would all go away; all they did was stir the ashes.

“We Are” is the spirit that becomes part of us. It is a common thread, simple but powerful, that runs through us and binds us together. “We Are” is our call for unity, goodwill and fellowship. It can mean hello or good-bye or can be used to inspire our sports teams to victory. “We Are” is about being honest and doing what is right. Joe Paterno told us “being successful and staying successful is about doing the little
things right.”

“We Are” is our culture. This is our way of life. This is the culture that we have thrived in. And, yes, we will maintain our culture in spite of our own BOT, the NCAA and Louis Freeh. We will not let anyone take our Penn State away from us. To ensure this doesn’t happen, the alumni need a bigger voice on the board.

Finally, people from all over the world are beginning to see and learn about the real culture of Penn State. They are beginning to understand who “We Are” and what we stand for. This is happening because of the spirit of Penn Staters who are willing to fight for the truth, who will not give up until the truth is revealed.  I am proud to call myself a Penn Stater…more than ever before.

“We see Truth as a Knowledge of things as they were, as they are, and as they are to come.”


Franco Harris ‘72

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