Penn State Riot: Student Protest Grows After Joe Paterno Fired

Penn State students took to the street on Wednesday night after head coach Joe Paterno was fired, effective immediately, by the Board of Trustees. Paterno is a beloved figure in State College, and the news that he was out as head coach triggered a huge gathering in downtown State College. Students took to the streets, and have been rallying in protest -- some screaming "We Want Joe" -- since the move was announced.

A few photos from the scene can be found below. The first should give you a sense of what's going on in State College, and involves a "look at me" moment.

Via KegsNEggs

via Daily Collegian

Lastly, this view of the situation as it stands now, which shows the magnitude of the gathering in State College.

via Jon Wertheim

This clearly looks like a situation about to get out of hand. While one could classify this as college students being college students, there's no need for a potentially destructive gathering on top of everything else that's rocked the Penn State community recently. It's already bad enough; the students -- who are probably a small representation of the Penn State community at large -- rallying and protesting in the streets are making the situation worse.

For more on the situation that continues to develop at State College, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog, which has been on the forefront of the story from the beginning, Black Shoe Diaries, and revisit this storystream for updates.