I know it was not school-sponsored, never thought or said it was. Doesn't matter, someone organized it...and whoever that was determined that a stupid contract would assure the safety of these kids because they signed it. I wonder how many of the organizers ever cheated on their income tax as adults or have not honored their word in some manner. Or how many or did something they were told not to do when they were teens. The situation these teens were in was far more serious than to have been trusted to honor a stupid contract.
IMHO there is absolutely no excuse for not watching these teens, whether there was some signed contract or not. The life and well-being of any child is too precious to hand it over to possible danger because you want to allow them freedom! It was just irresponsible to let these kids alone, especially at night, and expect "adult" behavior. Heck, even adults go off, get drunk, make stupid decisions.
They played the game of "We're understanding adults who just want to be your friends, kids," and the result is that the group returned - minus one young girl.
If you or anyone else is going to hold the facilitators (chaperones) accountable, then one must hold the parents accountable and unfortunately if Natalee was not forced into the vehicle, then she should be held accountable. It is easy to point fingers at others. None of us were there, we do not know the facts of what transpired at this point. But for the # of facilitators compared to the # of students (which was known to the parents) it would be quite a difficult task.
The "contracts" were a feel-good measure by the organizers of the trip, the kids and the parents. "Look Mom, I'm not going out drinking, I promise, Karen and Susie's Dads will be there... I'll even sign a contract! Don't worry, I'll be fine..."
They are also a sorry reminder of the litigious society we live in today.
All that aside, personally, I'd like to hear more about Natalee's father. You know, what he does for a living? Who he works with? Business contacts and partners? Clients? Ex-clients? Who he knows in... oh, say... the FBI?
The point is that while Ms. Holloway's disapearance is tragic, it is a statistical anomoly....and at some point, these "kids" fly away from the coop. Indeed, I would guess that the avg age of our fighting foces in Iraq is not too far removed from Ms. Holloway's age.