Two Die at A Sophomore’s Homecoming Party Brawl
Two people died yesterday after a sophomore’s homecoming party at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) turned into a brawl over what was termed a dare game.
The two, Mike Scott (20) and Ken Williams (21), were second years at MIT undertaking Bachelor of Science in Pure Mathematics and Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication, respectively. They had attended a sophomore homecoming party, usually organized by the students’ council of the MIT to allow second-year students to reunite with former high school colleagues. The brawl that caused their death started as a mere dare game as it is with the MIT homecoming party tradition. According to those who witnessed the incident, the fight started after one student was dared to kiss his friend’s girlfriend. Things escalated too fast as the friend threw a bottle at the dared student, prompting their respective “gangs” to fight.
The deceased was allegedly part of the fight. Witnesses claim that they might have died due to the stampede caused by the brawl, as many students were running for safety while others hid. The police, however, thought differently about the incident.
Speaking to a group of journalists, the Head of Massachusetts Police Department, Mr. Monroe, linked the event with criminalities. He claimed that the two had stab wounds at the necks when the police arrived. “This does not look like a simple brawl. Whatever happened to those boys was well articulated. They did not have stab wounds anywhere else apart from the neck. You would expect them to have bruises all over their bodies if it was a brawl,” he said. He assured the public that the police would do their duty by deeply investigating the incident to determine whether criminalities were involved in the death of the two.
The deceased’s families had a similar opinion as Mr. Monroe. Scott’s mother, Irene Scott, claimed that her son was disciplined and would never participate in such violent activities. She insisted that the brawl could have been a murder plan against her son, who was performing well in academics and sports. “My son was murdered. This isn’t a simple brawl killing. How comes no one else was injured apart from my son and the other boy,” said a tearful Ms. Scott. She demanded the institution to take responsibility for the situation and probe the killings to bring the murderers to book.
In its response, MIT, presented by Prof. Brooks, the Students’ Dean, condemned the incident but denied the criminal allegations. According to Prof. Brook, MIT is an institution based on morals and values, and it is intolerant to criminal activities. He said that the homecoming party is meant to help students build their social connections, and all security protocols are followed to ensure that students enjoy themselves safely. He, however, agreed that further investigations would be appropriate in determining what happened.
The deadly brawl raised a public uproar regarding the necessities of the students’ party. Most comments argued that MIT was irresponsible for holding such parties as such brawls had been witnessed before. One Facebook user wrote, “it is unfortunate that we lost two innocent lives because of a mere party. Where were the security officers to regulate the students’ behavior? Such homecoming parties should be banned to save these young people.” Another user claimed, “I would not be surprised if they were under drug abuse. Ban these university parties. They are immoral.”
