We believe that it's appropriate to remember and appreciate the many contributions Joe Paterno made to Penn State and the broader community in his roles as a football coach, educator and philanthropist without the presence of a statue in downtown State College.

We believe that honoring Paterno for all the good he did in his life and career is a personal issue, not one that an entire community should be implicitly included in by the presence of a statue.

We believe such a statue is likely to be a lightning rod for controversy and possible vandalism.

We also believe a statue sends a wrong and inaccurate message to the rest of the country about this community's priorities, especially as the decision to place the statue in a prominent public space is based on the opinions and means of a relatively small number of people.

The Paterno name rightly remains prominent in many public ways in this community, from the Paterno Library to Peachy Paterno ice cream to tee-shirts and bumper stickers seen around the town. However, we believe that Joe Paterno himself would see such a statue as an unnecessary. This was a coach who kept the names off his team's jerseys for decades as a symbol of elevating the team over the individual. How is glorifying his individual likeness in keeping with that tradition? We don't pretend to speak for the Paterno family, but we believe Joe wouldn't want this, either.

Thank you for your support.