In 1997, Scott Krueger, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology freshman, died of alcohol poisoning during his initiation into the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. The fraternity was charged with manslaughter and disbanded shortly thereafter. The case was dropped when no members appeared in court.
Now, two years later, MIT has revoked Charles Yoo’s diploma. Yoo was the fraternity’s pledge trainer at the time of Krueger’s death. He graduated from MIT in 1998 and has since started a job as a Philadelphia stockbroker. This action could cause Yoo to lose his job.
Instead of punishing Yoo two years after the fact, action should have been taken immediately. For a year Yoo continued to pay for classes at MIT in order to earn his degree. If school officials wanted to punish Yoo for the events that occurred, then they should have not allowed him to complete his schooling instead of allowing him to pay tuition for another year.
MIT appears to be searching for a scapegoat for a death that occurred two years ago. The school’s actions are a little too late. The entire fraternity should have been punished at the time of the crime. Taking away Yoo’s rightfully earned degree will not bring Krueger back.