Inside Higher Ed reported last week on a development from the University of Notre Dame following the tragic death of a student-worker on campus. The student, Declan Sullivan, was filming a football game for the school in dangerous winds when the platform on which he was standing collapsed from underneath him. He was killed, and investigations began. This was the usual course of actions, but what the school's president, Rev. John Jenkins, did next, was somewhat unusual. From the article:
"Rev. John I. Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, issued an open letter last week apologizing for the death.
'There is no greater sadness for a university community than the death of one of its students under any circumstances,' Father Jenkins wrote. 'Declan died in a tragic accident while in our care. For that, I am profoundly sorry,' Father Jenkins continued. 'Declan Sullivan was entrusted to our care, and we failed to keep him safe. We at Notre Dame -- and ultimately I, as president -- are responsible. Words cannot express our sorrow to the Sullivan family and to all involved.'"
Why is this so unusual? According to Ada Meloy, general counsel for the American Council on Education, colleges and universities are so bogged down by the fear of lawsuits, that after tragic events like the one at Notre Dame, apologies often come halfheartedly, and sometimes months or years after the incident. "I think this is a refreshing thing for the president to do," said Meloy, who added that such statements typically follow a consultation with a lawyer and trustees. "I’ve taken the view that this is a better way to go than to hide behind the idea that, by admitting something, you’re causing a problem or making things worse."
The story goes on to explore how other universities have dealt with similar situations, the reasons why apologies are often so weak, and how students reacted to the situation at Notre Dame. When the phrase, "mistakes were made" passes as an acceptable express of remorse by our leaders, it is refreshing to hear someone in a position of power take responsibility, offer sympathy, and try to correct the situation.
It is unfortunate that because this act gets picked up by the media its motivations are questioned. It is sadder still that some of us, Catholics who are taught to look for the good in people before the bad, cannot acknowledge the goodness of this one act without overshadowing it with a critique of other acts. Disagree with many things about Notre Dame-never doubt that the University cares for its students.
Perhaps, now he will follow it up with an apology for the millions of deaths he indirectly supports by confering honors and undue respect at a Catholic college for the most pro-abortion American president in our history...
As Stalin said, "The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic."
How boring this site would be if the only comments were from those who agreed with the post. You should thank Brett for his contributions; otherwise, you might as well re-name the site, "DailyKos". Keep 'em coming, Brett; don't let them censure you.
Your reply is an attempt at censorship that you and others have taken before. Instead, you should welcome contrary voices since the opinions by the authors here are often so homogeneous. There is plenty of opportunity to comment by anyone and I see no evidence of contrary opinions stifling comments by others. In fact on some posts I see people that rarely post expressing their opinions which says to me that there are more people reading the articles than the comments would indicate and that there is no inhibition by what one says that stops other people from commenting.
This attitude is not the one knew when I was taught by Jesuits who seemed to welcome a good debate and were eager to educate those who had contrary opinions.
That said, I think this is also a credit to America Magazine and Tim, who are pretty fair about this sort of thing and allowing other voices to be heard. If only they could hire a traditionalist blogger to the staff ;)
My comment is slightly off-topic; however, my point is that the respect that Jenkins shows the family of the student and his display of valuing human life - as opposed to hiding behind legalities or bureaucratic rationalizations - should also be shown when dealing with the terrible issue of abortion. I.e. he should also be courageous enough to stand against politicians who actively support a practice that kills millions of innocents each year - rather than hiding in nuance and technicalities.
The reaction to the death of one student, as compared to the deaths of millions is telling. Both deserve a Catholic witness but only the single death is witnessed to by this "leader" of the top Catholic university.
As far as the tort laws which underly part of the post here, it is difficult to weight the injustice of certain situations (correcting situations leading to a tragic death) versus the greed of some who can play the system for economic advantage. Does any one really think the tort lawyers are interested in the plight of the victims they represent? But how do you correct grievous situations that exist and prevent gross negligence in the future?
A related thing is that bad stuff happens and trying to ensure that nothing bad happens will stifle a lot of desirable things. It is one thing trying to ensure safety, it quite another to take every possible means including restrictions on activities to ensure nothing bad ever happens. It may turn out that in this particular case, it was unnecessary and that bad judgment was involved but that should not be used to restrict behavior or action unless it is totally risk free.
I believe the Clintons had their War Room and then there was the Journo list. Liberal talking points do have an amazing sameness to them, shallow, lack of insight etc.. I am surprised the ''right wing'' ad hominem wasn't added.
I don't take offense at your gentle reminder of the guidelines, especially since this is one of the more open spaces on the Catholic webspace.
Not good enough because of that worthless paper he gave to Obama..... ND must lose to Army on Sat.. and then to USC later.. penance is a b-h