Hagiography is always dangerous. Outside its usage in Christian circles when discussing the saints, it refers to uncritical or reverential biographies. Students, and really everyone, ought to remember that individuals are neither entirely bad nor entirely good. They are not completely infallible or totally at fault. Each and every person, no matter how great his or her achievements, has the potential to screw it up or cause harm.

In reacting to the firing of Penn State President Graham Spanier and head football coach Joe Paterno, everyone should remember that building up and devoting enormous amounts of energy to academic and athletic programs, respectively, does not redeem a failure to report improprieties done by a subordinate to authorities who can either stop the activity or punish it accordingly.

The failure to more thoroughly investigate and prosecute the allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky belongs to several individuals. While they may have done all that was legally required of them at the time, more can always be done. Going above and beyond is sometimes necessary.

Firing Spanier and Paterno may be an embarrassment to the Penn State community. But an even bigger embarrassment and drag on their success would be having a sex-abuse scandal under investigation on their hands, especially when there are so many questions about why eight boys were potentially victims in 15 years. The scandal is an obstacle to them continuing to do their jobs well. No institution that retains individuals whose integrity is in such doubt can retain its credibility.

Some students have said the rioting by Penn State students, insisting they want Paterno to remain, is understandable. (In the words of one student, as reported by The Daily Collegian, “We stand united as students. We don’t care what anyone else has to say. We want Joe and we want him back.”) It is, if they care more about their university’s prestige and fame as an academic and athletic institution.

If, however, they are interested in upholding any standards of decency, the protests are reprehensible. Rioting because their coach was dismissed after he may have declined to do all he could to protect a series of young boys is juvenile, repulsive and ignores the harm that befell eight boys.

Rioting in the way the Penn State students did is to selfishly think only of their own well-being. It ignores potential crimes and moral corruption.

Penn State’s athletics motto is “Success with honor.” In our view, success requires honor, and honor is a success in its own right.