[Goose]

I get that a University has a enormous responsibility.  Finding a middle ground between allowing Animal House and trying to be Carrie Nation University is not easy, I suspect.  But doable for all those smart folks.

IMHO the problem isn't finding an appropriate "middle ground". The problem is that the US legal system can't cope with a "reasonable best efforts" attempt at anything. We often see lawsuits filed in cases where the respondent had actually made such an effort, but the jury judged it wasn't enough. This judgement is often based on ability to pay, not whether there was actually "negligence". Stanford has great ability to pay and they are not a sympathetic "defendant". The administration is petrified by their fear of lawsuits, so they do arguably more destructive things to ensure "they can't be sued". They are far from the only organization that behaves that way.

[Goose]

I get that a University has a enormous responsibility.  Finding a middle ground between allowing Animal House and trying to be Carrie Nation University is not easy, I suspect.  But doable for all those smart folks.

IMHO the problem isn't finding an appropriate "middle ground". The problem is that the US legal system can't cope with a "reasonable best efforts" attempt at anything. We often see lawsuits filed in cases where the respondent had actually made such an effort, but the jury judged it wasn't enough. This judgement is often based on ability to pay, not whether there was actually "negligence". Stanford has great ability to pay and they are not a sympathetic "defendant". The administration is petrified by their fear of lawsuits, so they do arguably more destructive things to ensure "they can't be sued". They are far from the only organization that behaves that way.