passed no easy source of food. Unfortunate, since I'd skipped dinner. I skip a lot of meals. One of the downsides of being a workaholic. It means that when I do get to eat, I need to EAT.
The one thing I had learned was why Miriam Chambers had been at last night's meeting. Todd might have a reputation as a tough conservative and a brilliant fund-raiser, but she obviously played a major role in creating that image. He could hardly chew without looking to her for approval.
Now I was sitting on a sturdy wooden chair listening to Dean Dunham deliver a description of his investigation into Shondra's accusations as meager as the meal I'd just left. Brevity might be the soul of wit, but I wasn't here for wit, I'd come for information. I waited, pencil poised, from beginning to end, and found nothing to write down.
As soon as he finished, I pounced. "Tell me about the hierarchy," I said. "The reporting system from dorm residents to you."
He looked puzzled. "Todd said..."
"Do the residents report directly to you?" I interrupted.
"We're a pretty small school," he said.
"Do they..."
"Yes."
"And you keep student records here, in your offices?" He nodded. "So if Shondra had reported a harassment problem last year, it would be here in her records?"
"If she had reported it... but there was no report."
"That's what Todd said. So let's back up. When a student comes to a dorm resident, or an advisor," I paused. "Are they the same? Their advisors are the dorm residents?"
"Yes." A silence while he appeared to be counting windows. "Well, usually."
"What's the procedure for noting a student's concerns? What kind of record-keeping takes place?"
He explained it to me. A form filled out, copies in their file at the dorm and in his. "But of course, not everything gets written down."
"Of course not. But serious things? On-going things?"
"I would hope so."
You would hope so? Mister, you're supposed to be in charge. Was this the Walt Disney school of management? Wishing will make it so? "When Shondra's complaints first came to light this fall, did they begin with her expressing concern about telephone calls or did you first hear about it because of the pictures?"
"The pictures," he said. "But you know she..."
"So she never spoke to any of the residents about being bothered by phone calls?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm trying to get the big picture. What you knew when and how you, by which I mean St. Matthews, responded, so we can present a favorable picture of St. Matthews that's grounded in fact."
"I'm sure Todd told you. She complained about the first picture. We investigated. Concluded that she'd done it herself. Then there was the second picture. We looked into that and reached the same conclusion. That's when she really started making trouble. When she said Alasdair had done it."
"Tell me about your investigation."
"I thought I just did," he said. "Anyway, I don't see why it matters. Todd said you were here to help us communicate with our parents. To reassure them that there is nothing untoward happening on this campus."
Untoward was a pleasing locution. Too bad we weren't here to discuss language. Today I'd vowed to stay pleasant, so I flashed him an apologetic smile. "I know it seems strange, but sometimes I have to go backward before I can go forward. I need to know what I'm dealing with. The last thing St. Matts needs is to send out a letter that will expose it to claims for libel or slander. So if you could run me through it?"
Dunham looked like I was speaking in a foreign tongue. "I thought that truth... "
I raised a hand to stop him. Truth was a defense, assuming you could establish truth, but we were trying to avoid a situation where we had to defend ourselves. I often think I should give up consulting and go to law school. At the very least, I am always a lawyer's daughter. Truth, established by a trial, or even a battle of lawyers, was something St. Matthews didn't need. In the world of pop celebrity, any press is good
The one thing I had learned was why Miriam Chambers had been at last night's meeting. Todd might have a reputation as a tough conservative and a brilliant fund-raiser, but she obviously played a major role in creating that image. He could hardly chew without looking to her for approval.
Now I was sitting on a sturdy wooden chair listening to Dean Dunham deliver a description of his investigation into Shondra's accusations as meager as the meal I'd just left. Brevity might be the soul of wit, but I wasn't here for wit, I'd come for information. I waited, pencil poised, from beginning to end, and found nothing to write down.
As soon as he finished, I pounced. "Tell me about the hierarchy," I said. "The reporting system from dorm residents to you."
He looked puzzled. "Todd said..."
"Do the residents report directly to you?" I interrupted.
"We're a pretty small school," he said.
"Do they..."
"Yes."
"And you keep student records here, in your offices?" He nodded. "So if Shondra had reported a harassment problem last year, it would be here in her records?"
"If she had reported it... but there was no report."
"That's what Todd said. So let's back up. When a student comes to a dorm resident, or an advisor," I paused. "Are they the same? Their advisors are the dorm residents?"
"Yes." A silence while he appeared to be counting windows. "Well, usually."
"What's the procedure for noting a student's concerns? What kind of record-keeping takes place?"
He explained it to me. A form filled out, copies in their file at the dorm and in his. "But of course, not everything gets written down."
"Of course not. But serious things? On-going things?"
"I would hope so."
You would hope so? Mister, you're supposed to be in charge. Was this the Walt Disney school of management? Wishing will make it so? "When Shondra's complaints first came to light this fall, did they begin with her expressing concern about telephone calls or did you first hear about it because of the pictures?"
"The pictures," he said. "But you know she..."
"So she never spoke to any of the residents about being bothered by phone calls?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm trying to get the big picture. What you knew when and how you, by which I mean St. Matthews, responded, so we can present a favorable picture of St. Matthews that's grounded in fact."
"I'm sure Todd told you. She complained about the first picture. We investigated. Concluded that she'd done it herself. Then there was the second picture. We looked into that and reached the same conclusion. That's when she really started making trouble. When she said Alasdair had done it."
"Tell me about your investigation."
"I thought I just did," he said. "Anyway, I don't see why it matters. Todd said you were here to help us communicate with our parents. To reassure them that there is nothing untoward happening on this campus."
Untoward was a pleasing locution. Too bad we weren't here to discuss language. Today I'd vowed to stay pleasant, so I flashed him an apologetic smile. "I know it seems strange, but sometimes I have to go backward before I can go forward. I need to know what I'm dealing with. The last thing St. Matts needs is to send out a letter that will expose it to claims for libel or slander. So if you could run me through it?"
Dunham looked like I was speaking in a foreign tongue. "I thought that truth... "
I raised a hand to stop him. Truth was a defense, assuming you could establish truth, but we were trying to avoid a situation where we had to defend ourselves. I often think I should give up consulting and go to law school. At the very least, I am always a lawyer's daughter. Truth, established by a trial, or even a battle of lawyers, was something St. Matthews didn't need. In the world of pop celebrity, any press is good
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