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'Blue Out' Planned At Penn State Game To Focus Attention On Victims

The "stop child abuse" blue ribbon.
Blue Out PSU vs. Nebraska — Stop Child Abuse!
The "stop child abuse" blue ribbon.

All the attention this week on the firing of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, the protests afterward by many of the school's students and the actions or inaction of school officials when they learned that a former assistant football coach might have been sexually abusing young boys on campus, has left many others in the Penn State community saying the focus needs to be on the victims and preventing child abuse.

That's why when the school's football team takes the field against Nebraska on Saturday at noon ET in State College, Pa., you may see a lot of blue in stands.

While earlier this season preparations were being made for a "white-out" by fans — as in, they were supposed to wear white as a show of support for the team — students are now organizing a "blue-out" to raise money for the Blue Ribbon Campaign against child abuse and Prevent Child Abuse Pennsylvania.

According to the student-run Daily Collegian, the store selling "Blue Out" T-shirts to raise money for Prevent Child Abuse Pennsylvania has sold thousands and will likely be out of them by the end of today.

Meanwhile, there's another effort underway that's aimed at Penn State alumni. ProudToBeAPennStater.com is raising money for the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), which runs the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673). The campaign says it has raised about $100,000 so far.

Saturday's game is being broadcast by ESPN.

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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