The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks,
The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and
spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."
I congratulate the DAILY EGYPTIAN for the hard and decisive editorials published on April 20 and 21 concerning the events around the mysterious death of Brent Johnson. While I am not especially interested in the details of what the Pi Kappa Alpha group did on that fateful day, there ARE two groups that deserve answers: the young man's parents and the SIU administration.
Although I am single, if I had a child who died in such circumstances as have been described so far, I would most certainly be asking both the University and the fraternity for answers. They sent Brent to the University with the understanding he would not be put into danger by organizations connected with the University. That seems to have been violated with the activities of early April. Assuming the parents are raising questions, I DO hope the SIU community does everything in its power to bring the truth to light for them.
I fear Ms. Shotsberger has a strange view of family (letter, April 21). There is a huge difference between the deaths she describes (being hit by a train and overdosing). As far as I recall, neither were involved in an activity sponsored by an SIU-sanctioned group. They made terrible choices, but were not being guided by people with SIU authority. The people who were with Johnson when he died DO have a responsibility ˜ to Brent's parents and to SIU administration to explain in detail what their activity entailed. A young man died ˜ how it came about needs to be answered so that such incidents do not happen again.
A perfect example for Ms. Shotsberger ˜ I am taking a small group of students to England next month as part of a study-abroad program. I have a responsibility to the students, their parents, SIU and myself not to put them in a position where they could be injured. Yes, I want them to enjoy their time in England, but we have a clear understanding of what is and is not acceptable during the trip. Should something happen while we are overseas, I would certainly expect to answer to the student's parents and the University about what happened. I would not hide behind a sham of "family and brotherhood." I will do my best to make sure the students enjoy a fun, educational and safe trip.
It may well be difficult for the people involved to talk about what happened, but if they were truly "brothers," shouldn't they feel an obligation to tell those that equally cared and looked after Brent Johnson?
Dr. James Stewart
Lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
