I am writing in response to the article “MIT fraternity deserves prosecution” in the Oct. 6 Daily. This article has finally stated clearly what is wrong with this country by finally saying something so outlandish that a few people might stop and say, “How’s that again?”

“Too often, individuals have been used as scape-goats for organizations.” How’s that again?

What is an organization? It is a collection of individuals with a common goal or interest. But it is still a collection of INDIVIDUALS! Have we come so far in this country that a boy’s death can be laid at the feet of an abstraction like an organization? That is a frightening thought.

Someone was responsible for Scott Krueger’s death. In fact, many individuals probably played a part in it. Let’s start with Scott Krueger. Did he HAVE to drink? No. Peer pressure is overwhelming, and he probably didn’t feel that he had a choice. But he DID have a choice. Was there really no one there with enough self-respect and courage to point out that it wasn’t really necessary? Apparently not.

As I read this article, I thought of my two children and the daycare I leave them at every morning. If I were to find out today that the daycare had been burnt to the ground with no survivors and that it was carelessness or negligence by a worker that caused it, what good would it do me to prosecute the organization? Someone started that fire, and that is what killed people. Someone bought Scott Krueger a drink, someone handed it to him and he drank it. And that is what killed him.

Levi Sauerbrei

Sophomore

Electrical engineering