e students. They
considered him to be the most impartial, open-minded administrator they
had ever known. His feet of clay surprisingly revealed when he washed
his hands of the students pleas and sided with the administration,
telling the students who petitioned him for help that I am a criminal.
At least the blacks on campus weren't surprised by this. They had long
ago discovered he was not only a smart cookie, he was an oreo.

But, Diana mused on gratefully, Dan was the exception. Many pleaded on
my behalf. Someone once said that all it takes to stop evil is for one
good man to speak up and many good men, and women, did just that. They
spoke up for justice and fair play. They argued with administration
officials, citing example after example of male faculty misconduct over
the years that had gone nearly unnoticed and never punished.

They asserted that a witch hunt would hurt the Belmont image and
reflect badly on all who worked there. They all knew what a farce the
SmurFFs had always been and all this fuss over seven? Sure,
evaluations were used at times by administrators as justification for
not reappointing a faculty member, but even then, there had to be a
preponderance of negative evaluations.

It was of no avail. The administration was adamant. So much for wise
sayings but the fact that some people did try was heartwarming, Diana
thought.

Roz broke her revere, gently. "It's time, Diana."

Was it her imagination or was the panel friendlier this morning, Diana
mused as she entered the room and took her seat. I do believe besides
saying good morning, most of them smiled at me. Maybe things are
looking up.

A chastised Randy returned to the witness chair. He looks ridden hard
and put away wet, thought Diana with amusement.

Responding to a question from Annette, he avowed that, "The year that
Trenchant didn't teach, we rewrote the lab manual. We didn't use any
material from the manual written by Trenchant."

When all on the panel had indicated that they had no more questions to
ask him, Henry asked Diana if she wished to question the witness. To
himself, he added, God help us if the little twerp doesn't do what he's
been told. Mark had assured him that he and Lyle had a good long
session with Randy and felt that he had now seen the light and would
behave properly.

"Yes, please. I'm confused, Randy. You have said that you saw one
evaluation that appeared to be more directed toward on