PSU Worthington/Scranton Standing Together Against Child Abuse

Dunmore, Lackawanna County - Exactly one year after Jerry Sandusky was arrested, the Penn State Worthington/Scranton campus came together to fight child abuse.

Students held a special event Monday morning to show that they stand together as one community against the horrific acts that Sandusky was convicted of.

Dozens of students turned out.

"We want to show how Penn State University does really help victims of child abuse," student Colin Parker said.

It was November 5, 2011 that Sandusky was arrested for abusing several young boys. He has since been convicted at trial and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

"Last November it was a lot of grief," student Amber Brodbeck said. "It was a lot of grieving over the process. It was really upsetting. It really impacted us all so now its more of we're really coming together, we're showing it didn't hurt us, it didn't ruin us, we're still one university and we're going to get through it."

With several former top university administrators re-arraigned last week on new charges, students say they plan to stand strong.

"I believe our goal is to make it, we're one university and we're going to stand against this to be different than Sandusky and everyone else involved," student Jewels Greenlaw said.

Students partnered with the Children's Advocacy Center in Scranton for Monday's program. Last year, that facility saw 843 child victims of abuse and trauma. This year, that number will top 1,000, partly because of the barriers broken during the Sandusky investigation.

"This kind of thing can happen anywhere at anytime," director Mary Ann LaPorta said. "People who you know, people we love, people we think we love or who we think love us."