Bully Yanked The Freshman's Ponytail — Didn’t Know She Was Trained in Krav Maga
Chapter 22
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Sophie looked at him. "We share a room," she said. "I'm telling you what I saw in the library. I don't see how my relationship with my roommate changes what I saw."Dr. Voss made a small note.Then Marsh submitted the video. He had already provided copies to each panel member before the session started; he now requested that it be played in the room: 41 seconds.The room watched. Nobody spoke.Derek's advisor said, "The video shows Ms. Whitfield striking Mr. Greer and pushing my client.""The video shows Mr. Greer grabbing Ms. Whitfield from behind," Marsh said. "Before any action by Ms. Whitfield. The sequence is visible."Dr. Voss looked at the advisor. "Counsel," she said, "the video clearly shows Mr. Greer initiating physical contact. Are you disputing what the video shows?"A pause. "We have concerns about the context in which the video was recorded," the advisor said."The context," Dr. Voss said. "Is the video accurate?"The advisor did not answer. Dr. Voss made another note.Then Marsh asked the panel's permission to enter a document into the record. He described it as correspondence from the office of the dean relevant to a prior conduct complaint involving the same respondent.Derek's advisor was on his feet immediately. "That complaint was withdrawn," he said. "It is not relevant to these proceedings.""The complaint was withdrawn," Marsh said. "The conduct that prompted it was not retroactively undone. And the manner in which the withdrawal occurred is directly relevant to a pattern of institutional response that this panel may wish to be aware of."Dr. Ellison looked at his colleagues. Dr. Voss said, "I would like to see the document."Diane Foster stood up from the back of the room. She was 20 years old, with straight brown hair and steady hands, and she had been sitting quietly since before the hearing started. She walked to the witness seat and sat down.She said, "My name is Diane Foster. I am a sophomore. Eleven months ago, I filed a formal complaint against Derek Moss for behavior that was substantially similar to what Ms. Whitfield has described today." She placed a printed email on the table. "Six weeks after I filed, I received this letter from the office of the dean suggesting that my scholarship eligibility was under review. The letter did not state a reason. It was sent four days after Derek's father met with Dean Hargrove."The room was very quiet. Diane looked at the panel directly."I withdrew my complaint because I could not afford to lose my scholarship. I want the panel to understand that I am not saying that to ask for sympathy; I am saying it because it is the truth about what happened. And because I kept this letter for 11 months and I could not make myself throw it away." She pushed the email across the table. "I kept it because I thought someday someone might need to see it. I think today is that day."She stood up and walked back to her seat.In the second row, Derek's father was looking at the wall to his left. He was not looking at anything in particular; he was looking at the wall the way a person looks at something when they are recalculating. Derek was looking at the table in front of him. His advisor was writing very small and quickly on a notepad.