Chapter 7 - The Professor They Tried to Silence
By sunrise, the story was everywhere.
WESTBRIDGE PROFESSOR ACCUSED OF MANIPULATING STUDENT INVESTIGATION.
An anonymous social media account had posted a photograph of Professor Anderson meeting with Emily outside the architecture building.
The photograph was real.
The accompanying claim was not established.
The account alleged that the professor had coached Emily to make false accusations against Brandon Hayes.
It also claimed that Anderson had promised her a competition award in exchange for her cooperation.
Emily stared at the post in horror.
"That's a lie."
Sophie sat beside her.
"I know."
"He never promised me anything."
"I know."
Emily scrolled.
Hundreds of comments.
Some people defended the professor.
Others accused him of abusing his authority.
Someone had posted his office phone number.
Another person had found photographs of his daughter.
Emily felt sick.
"This is because of me."
Sophie turned toward her.
"No. This is because somebody is spreading allegations about him."
"But he helped me."
"He did his job."
Emily looked down.
Professor Anderson had been one of the only people who'd believed her when she could barely believe herself.
Now he was being publicly attacked.
She couldn't bear it.
The university issued a statement saying Anderson had been placed on temporary administrative leave while it reviewed allegations involving the investigation and competition process.
The statement did not declare him guilty.
But that distinction disappeared almost immediately online.
Students began sharing the headline without reading the statement.
Emily's classmates whispered when she entered the studio.
A few avoided her altogether.
Jasmine sat beside her.
"Don't read the comments."
Emily closed her phone.
"Everybody thinks I got him fired."
"He hasn't been fired."
"You know what I mean."
Jasmine hesitated.
Then she said, "I spoke to the investigator again."
Emily looked up.
"What?"
"I gave them the messages Brandon sent me last year."
Emily stared.
Jasmine continued.
"I also told them about the day he blocked my studio doorway. There was another student there."
"Who?"
"A girl named Natalie. She's graduated now, but she agreed to speak with them."
Emily felt tears rising.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't want you feeling responsible for me."
Jasmine smiled sadly.
"We're all making our own decisions, Em."
Emily looked at her friend.
For weeks, she had felt as though everyone was suffering because she'd spoken up.
But perhaps that wasn't what was happening.
Perhaps other people were finally deciding they didn't want to stay silent either.
Professor Anderson spent the morning at home.
His wife, Laura, sat across from him at the kitchen table.
She was a public librarian, practical and warm, with short curly hair and a habit of drinking coffee long after it had gone cold.
She read the university's letter.
Then she looked at her husband.
"Did you discuss Emily's complaint with anyone outside the reporting process?"
"No."
"Did you promise her an award?"
"No."
"Did you interfere with the investigation?"
"No."
Laura placed the letter on the table.
"Then we'll respond to the review."
Daniel sighed.
"It's not that simple."
"I know."
He rubbed his face.
"People are putting Lily's photograph online."
Laura's expression tightened.
"She's already reported the accounts and spoken with her campus safety office."
"I know."
He stared at the window.
"I just wanted to get to the bathroom."
Laura almost smiled.
Then she reached across the table and took his hand.
"You opened a door and saw somebody being hurt."
He nodded.
"And you didn't pretend you hadn't."
Daniel closed his eyes.
His wife squeezed his hand.
"Now tell the truth about what happened. That's all you can control."
At the university, the faculty association arranged for Professor Anderson to receive advice and representation during the review.
He supplied his written account, the chronology of his communications with the investigation office, and the records of his actions concerning the architecture competition.
The records showed he'd reported Emily's account-compromise concern to the administrator and IT, rather than deciding the dispute himself.
He had not been a member of the competition committee evaluating her submission.
And his meeting with Emily outside the building had occurred in the presence of several other students.
The photograph had been cropped.
In the original image, Sophie and Jasmine were standing only a few feet away.
The anonymous post had cut them out.
It also omitted the date.
The photograph had been taken after Emily's complaint was already under investigation.
Professor Anderson's representative submitted the complete photograph and supporting records to the review.
Then something else happened.
Maya contacted the university investigator.
She had received another message from Kyle.
This one included a link to the anonymous post.
Underneath, he'd written:
See what happens when people get involved?
Maya saved the message.
Then she reported it.
Emily's mother called that evening.
"How are you holding up, baby?"
Emily was sitting on the floor beside her bed.
"Not good."
"Want me to come over?"
"You worked all day."
"I can still come."
Emily smiled weakly.
Then she began crying.
"Mom, I feel like everything gets worse whenever somebody helps me."
Margaret went quiet.
Then she asked, "Do you remember the apartment we lived in when you were little?"
"The one with the leaky ceiling?"
"That's the one."
Emily sniffed.
"Yeah."
"Remember how the landlord kept painting over the water stain?"
Emily frowned.
"Yes."
"What happened every time it rained?"
"The stain came back."
"Exactly."
Margaret paused.
"Painting over the damage didn't fix the leak. It only made the wall look better for a while."
Emily stared at the little sewing kit on her desk.
Her mother continued.
"Those boys have been hurting people. You reporting what happened didn't create that problem. It exposed it."
Emily wiped her eyes.
"But the professor—"
"He's making his own decision to tell the truth. You don't have to carry his choices for him."
Emily took a shaky breath.
For the first time, she began to separate the harm others were choosing to cause from the decision she'd made to speak up.
Two days later, the university announced that an outside reviewer would handle Professor Anderson's case.
A separate independent investigator had also been appointed to examine concerns about institutional conflicts of interest in the student misconduct process.
Dean Pierce was removed from direct involvement in Emily's case while those concerns were assessed.
It was an important change.
But it wasn't the end.
That afternoon, the new investigator requested another interview with Emily.
She was nervous when she arrived.
Margaret came with her.
Sophie waited outside.
The investigator, a woman named Catherine Wells, explained the purpose of the meeting.
"We're reviewing the incident, the reported retaliation, and the evidence concerning the recording. You can take breaks whenever you need one."
Emily nodded.
Catherine placed a document on the table.
"We have received additional communications from one of the students involved."
Emily's heart pounded.
"Tyler?"
"Yes."
She explained that relevant messages had been preserved and made available for review.
They showed planning before the restroom incident and discussion of the recording afterward.
Then Catherine turned to another page.
"There's something else we need to ask you about."
Emily swallowed.
"What?"
"Have you ever met a student named Natalie Price?"
Emily shook her head.
"No."
Catherine nodded slowly.
"Natalie graduated from Westbridge last year. She's provided information about a separate incident involving Brandon Hayes."
Emily stared.
Catherine continued carefully.
"She also provided a copy of an email she sent to a university official at the time."
Margaret leaned forward.
"What happened to her complaint?"
"That's part of what we're examining."
Emily looked at the document.
At the bottom was a date.
Fourteen months earlier.
Brandon had been accused of harassing another student long before he ever approached Emily.
And according to Natalie, she'd been discouraged from pursuing the matter after mentioning his father's influence.
Emily suddenly understood why Brandon had been so confident.
He hadn't simply believed he could get away with hurting her.
May you like
He had reason to think the university might look away.
But this time, there were too many people watching.
