A friend of mine who teaches chemistry at a college down south told me he had a student come in just before finals and have a nervous breakdown in his office. My friend walked him over to counseling and opined tome that the kid should not have been in college. Apparently he had had a breakdown in high school and was crumbling under the pressure.

We can all agree that it’s very sad when a youngster kills himself. This does not mean that Princeton was right or wrong if, as alleged, they did pressure him to leave. If Princeton stands in loco parentis, then we should look at what course the law would take if the actual parents had said “Son, it’s time you stood on your own. We want you to get a job, move out and gain confidence in yourself.” If the boy killed himself, the legal and popular judgment would be that they had made an unfortunate mistake.

However, as I said, whenever I encounter the word “justice” I substitute “money”.

Bob