Wild Justice Part 22

"In contrast, at Belmont the evaluation process is a joke-- even the, er, enriched acronym, SmurFFs, this university has chosen to call the evaluation forms for student feedback attests to this."

"Were you ever given specific instructions relating to the evaluations?" asked Diana.

"Yes, Dr. Lyle Stone, at the beginning of the course, told us that there would be evaluations periodically and that it was very important for us to fill them out since they would provide feedback on the course content and the instructors.

He also stressed that they would be confidential.

"I remember being impressed, thinking, Oh great! Then instead of a proper evaluation procedure, the forms were left in piles at the end of rows to be filled out during the lecture or taken home to do. Just get them back before the end of the week, they told us."

"Did you ever initiate a conversation with Lyle Stone regarding how you felt about doc.u.ment examiners and student confidentiality?"

"Yes, right after the lecture, the first part of this May, Roz Peel and a couple of other students and I went up to him after lecture.

"We told him that we were concerned that our student evaluations, which we had been told were confidential, and which we had been told had a specific purpose, had been sent outside the university without permission or knowledge of the students."

"Would you be referring to these doc.u.ments?" Trenchant got up from her chair and walked around the table until she came to where Jennifer was sitting and handed her exhibits 3 and 4--the SmurFFs Jimbo Jones was reported to have discovered.

"Yes."

"What happened then?"

"He said that no student evaluations were sent out and that our confidentiality had not been breached.

"I disagreed with him and said that I had seen copies of those evaluations and the report of the doc.u.ment examiner.

He started yelling then and became very defensive. He said that the only evaluations that were sent out had been written by you.

We said that if he knew that, why send them out. Then he got abusive of you and said like you were crazy to do something like that.

He said that they sent them to a doc.u.ment examiner because they knew you wrote them. He said he would never do that with any evaluation that a student made out."

"Can you recall anytime during the first semester that I had an injured wrist and couldn't put instructions on the board?"

"Yes, it was in December--exam week, the 9th through the 13th.

I did some of it for you."

The panel started to bombard Jennifer with questions. Good, Henry thought, apparently they aren't interested in her direct evidence relating to the incapacity of Diana as they are totally ignoring that testimony. Instead, they are giving all indications of being hurt by her denunciation of the way the evaluation process is carried out at Belmont.

A typical faculty reaction, Henry chuckled to himself as he listened.

They aren't asking questions, they're defending our evaluation process by giving long speeches. Here's a.n.u.se explaining at length that the university takes student confidentiality very seriously and pays a great deal of attention to evaluations. He's trying to stroke the witness into backing off from some of her allegations and it appears to be working. . .no, not any more, he went too far.

Jennifer was quite sharply reminding Frank that she had written her concerns to various administrative officials around campus and the fact that student evaluations had been misused had been confirmed.

I'd better help, thought Henry. "You must understand that Lyle Stone had to give the answers he did because by that time he knew the results of the examiners report and anything he said was referring to that."

The witness, however, remained adamant. It was her distinct impression that Stone had already convinced himself that Diana had written the critiques before they were sent to the examiners.

The witness, however, remained adamant. It was her distinct impression that before they were sent to the examiners Stone had already convinced himself that Diana had written the critiques.

Henry was ma.s.sively uncomfortable with what this suggested.

It wouldn't do to have the panel hear much more of this.

He commenced another long speech, explaining that Lyle couldn't have said anything like that because it was not Lyle Stone that sent the 'suspect' SmurFFs out--it was Mark, the university attorney.

"So you see, you must have misunderstood," he concluded, patronizingly.

Before the witness could respond, a.n.u.se professed not to understand why it made any difference how the evaluation was conducted.

He went on and on in this vein in a querulous, whining voice.

Once he had wound down, Esther started to muddy the waters because she didn't understand what was sent out and when.

"Are you saying all the SmurFFs were sent off campus?" she asked.

"No, the discussion is about these 'suspect' evaluations,"

explained Jane, indicating the exhibits.

"Well, that's all right then," Esther explained in a motherly tone to the witness, "those SmurFFs never left. The examiners came here yesterday and looked at them." Esther had become more of a s.p.a.ce cadet than ever, thought Jane. And obviously, Henry and a.n.u.se are disturbed by this.

Stupid broad, thought Henry. He signaled Janet that the hearing was off the record and gathered the panel into a huddle to straighten out Esther before she did some real harm.

When the hearing reconvened, all the players went round again with paternal and maternal advice. Rather than asking for information from the witness, they took turns telling her that she hadn't heard what she was testifying about. Obviously, she was mistaken.

"Now, I'm sure you see that no one was trying to attempt to have any student identified by having a doc.u.ment examiner look at these," cajoled a.n.u.se.

"That's what you say. But I think what you have done is illegal.

I really think it is illegal and if I find a way to do it, I am going to stop it. . ."

a.n.u.se tried to interrupt, but Jennifer was on a roll. "We had an oral contract. Dr. Stone stood up in front of the whole cla.s.s and told us what the evaluation forms were to be used for.

And they weren't, they were used for something else and that is not right."

Henry was stung into action. He interjected to a.s.sure her that she must not worry because the administration would never violate a student's confidentiality or go back on its word to them.

He thought he was pouring on oil, but Jennifer knew bulls.h.i.+t when she heard it. "I don't believe it," a.s.serted Jennifer stoically.

Diana took this opportunity to reinforce Jennifer's testimony with another example of the kind of honesty and fair play that the administration practiced. "You are arguing with my witness, not questioning her. She has good reason for her belief.

When I came into this hearing, it was with the a.s.surance from my department chairman and the chairman of this panel, both senior administrators, that I had been given all of the material that would be presented as evidence relating to the handwriting examiners.

"This proved to be unequivocally false. The evidence you have introduced, Mr. Chairman, contains many doc.u.ments that were never given to me to examine before the hearing."

This started another bout between Diane and a.n.u.se, who apparently able to read Lyle's and the chair's mind, kept insisting that what Lyle and Henry meant was that Diana had been given all of the material available at that date.

Henry rushed in to agreed that yes that was what was meant.

"Lyle gave you everything he had at that date."

"Then it was inc.u.mbent upon this committee to see that I had all of the evidence before the hearing."

"But," protested the chair, "we didn't get all the evidence ourselves until today."

"Then it shouldn't have been presented until I had an opportunity to examine it! I am finished with this witness."

Henry quickly announced that there would be a break.

When they were back on the record, Henry announced, "Once the witnesses for Diana complete their testimony, we will call Lyle back to clear up the misconceptions this last witness has introduced. Also we will call Ann Biggot, and Mark. . .," To straighten out the panel on the doc.u.ment examiners, he thought to himself.

He continued, "while we are at it, we should probably hear from Jimbo."