A few weeks ago a young student at the University of Notre Dame died while on his part-time job— filming the school’s football practice.
The young man was filming from a hydraulic lift, which collapsed under extremely high winds.
It was a sad, tragic event for all concerned. The family has been very forgiving of school officials. They have a younger daughter who also attends the school, and a younger son who also dreams of attending Notre Dame.
The school can certainly be criticized for not taking the proper precautions to ensure that this kind of terrible incident never could have happened. They clearly failed in their responsibility.
Often times, a company or organization will stand behind legalities and say nothing, or very little, when such a terrible incident occurs. And certainly they say nothing in terms of responsibility, for fear of legal reprisals.
However, on this occasion, the President of the school, Fr. John Jenkins, said
"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."
Companies and institutions are often told by lawyers never to take “responsibility”, because it opens legal doors that can be very costly. So it was revealing to see how school officials, perhaps instinctively as opposed to listening to legal “advisors”, responded.
No comment can not bring back a life, or make things right. Yet it was somehow important that the University officials, at the very least, took public responsibility for a grave error.
