The most eye-opening piece of literature coming out of State College these days isn't a master's thesis on molecular biology. Instead, it's a grand jury report so shocking and upsetting that we almost refuse to believe it.

I pored over 23 pages of the Centre County indictment that describes 40 counts of sexual molestation and child abuse allegedly carried out over 15 years. Some of the abuse was hosted at the Penn State Athletic Department.It's a developing story. Each day, additional details come to light.Eight child victims have been identified so far with more to come. A graduate assistant tells how one child, 10, was raped in the showers by a top former Penn State football coach. The grad assistant saw it happen and reported it to school officials, equivalent to talking to a wall. Janitors saw similar behavior but were afraid to tell for fear of losing their jobs.But one young boy finally spoke up, and now the firings have begun not janitors but at the highest levels, starting with the university president.The shock factor here is off the charts.A nationally respected institution of higher learning somehow became a house of horrors for vulnerable elementary school kids. People at all levels apparently knew it was happening yet nobody contacted police.Former PSU linebacker Matt Millen summed it up with this comment: "If we as a society can't even protect our children, then we are truly pathetic." Something at Penn State is truly pathetic.Why did this happen and how could it have continued for so many years? There are many theories.One theory which nobody seems to be mentioning is that Penn State, like other large institutions, operates essentially as a bureaucracy. Bureaucracies exist under different rules. They can foster a culture all their own, often times out of touch with the norm. They create their own shared assumptions, sometimes with skewed values. Sometimes, a sense of arrogance.In bureaucracies, there is chain of command. A supervisor has another supervisor, and then another, and so on. When it comes to issues, bureaucracies rely on a simplistic system called cover-your-butt. Theoretically, as long as you report a bad deed to someone above you, you're exonerated in all ways, no matter how bad the deed. (If only life were that simple!)Add to this a Penn State culture where football is king, beyond reproach. And why not? Football is a major meal ticket. Penn State football generates the most revenue ($70 million) and highest football profit ($50 million) of all universities in the Big Ten and is among the top revenue-generating programs in the country. Bottom line: college is a business. Football is a cash cow, therefore a sacred cow.The indictment suggests that somewhere along the line, key PSU insiders ignored or didn't comprehend the most basic concepts of human decency and values. According to investigators, the innocence of young children was destroyed in repeated patterns over years because Penn State officials knew about child sexual abuse in the athletic department and kept quiet. Take, for example, the boy seen being raped by a former coach. Nobody at PSU cared to find out details or ask if the boy was OK. Nobody even cared to learn the victim's name. Instead, they simply asked the former coach to turn in his key.When morals are maligned, football appears to be all-important. Football comes first. In this tragedy, a molested child and many more apparently were regarded as meaningless distractions to the greater priority of football excellence and collegiate image. Penn State officials swept the dirt under the rug, says the indictment. That strategy worked for many years, enabling a serial predator of children to continue his hunts and conquests.Today, trustees are forced to clean house. The dominoes of a dynasty are toppling. The feds are investigating. A very shamed Penn State is trying to figure out exactly how far out of step it is from the rest of society.These events are hard to accept for all of us with close ties to the university. This stuff cuts deep. But even harder to accept will be the individual stories of child abuse when those graphic details finally surface. All interested, mature adults with an open mind should take time to fully read the grand jury report. It describes how underprivileged children have been harmed for life. Penn State trustees will never be able to make it right. But they need to take measures to lay groundwork for healing.In the meantime, Penn State finds itself treading new territory.The slogan has been Success with Honor. Everyone agrees there's been great success and well-deserved pride. But, for now, the honor has disappeared. It was punted away, and nobody knows where the ball bounced.