What happened to accountability?

I have to say that I really miss the days of old when a parent makes a child accountable for their actions. I am amazed daily by the parents of adultsand children that try to come in and take care of the child's responsibilites. I am a big proponent of my children taking responsibility for their actions.
Recently, my step-daughter had a problem with another girl at a football game and got suspended from school for it. I talked to her about it and she admitted that she had thrown the slushy at this girl and gave me some reasoning about she was in a fight with her friend and she has helping her friend. I immediately called the girl's mother to address the situation and get the entire story. The mom and I had a nice conversation about it and then I said something to her that really shocked her...I asked when a good time was for me to bring my daughter over to apologize in person for what she had done....She was so surprised and immediately stated that this was not necessary. I told her that it was absolutely necessary in my opinion and to please let us know what a good time would be. You know, she never did call me back to let us come and apologize. So, instead of letting it go, I made my step-daughter write her a letter of apology. I believe in accountability for your actions. My children might not follow through into adulthood, but right now you will do the right thing. As I like to say " put on your big girl panties and deal with it"!