University Star

Here’s something to ponder.

Someone tells you to avoid a hot stove at risk of being burned. Next to it, a sign with the same message. People next to the stove say not to touch it, but you do nonetheless — whose fault is it? Most people I know would answer an emphatic “Yes” to that line of questioning.

A lawsuit against Texas State before the Texas Supreme Court resulting from a 2005 drowning asserts differently.

Jason Bonnin, a 22-year-old financing senior and server at a restaurant near Spring Lake Dam, decided to jump off the deck into the water with co-workers.

The first time the group jumped, Bonnin experienced difficulty with the undertow, but he was OK. He was sucked down under the water and drowned when he jumped again. His body was found two hours later, according to reports.

Anyone making a right turn off Aquarena Springs Drive onto Sessom Drive sees this pretty mini-waterfall and dam. When the weather is nice it is a popular place to frolic, and if you’re a rough type — tube or jump out of the dam into the river below.

The problem with this daredevil type of behavior is the university explicitly bans it, and was before Bonnin jumped in. Not only were there numerous signs warning of the undertow and danger of jumping, but that Bonnin and his friends were specifically privy to the strength of the undertow according to the defendant’s petition (Texas State). The plaintiffs (Bonnin’s parents) feel there is a case to sue the university for gross negligence in allowing an undertow by the dam to have ever existed despite this knowledge.

I am saddened and sympathize with the parents of this young man, but I beg the question, is this lawsuit not passing the buck as to the responsibility for Bonnin’s actions? The petition to the court further explains Bonnin’s was not intoxicated at the time. He debated with his friends the best way to jump into the water in an attempt to dodge the current. Does that not sound like someone who specifically ignored all common sense and warning?

The plaintiffs argue Texas State was responsible to rid the dam of any undertow when major repairs were performed in 1998. However, if you tell someone not to play around in the area in the first place, why should they encounter the undertow unless they were not supposed to be there?

I feel this will open the door to any plaintiff to sue the university because they did not exercise forethought — or if they did (as in this case), they disregarded it in the name of fun. 

— Asha McElfish is a public administration junior