Freshman Just Wanted Dinner — Until Three Bullies Made a Mistake That Cost Them Everything
Chapter 15
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"I looked up everything I thought might be relevant."Carol sat back. She looked at Claire in a way that was harder to read than her previous expressions. Then she said, "Go to your classes. I'll be in touch."Carol Whitfield closed her office door after Claire left. She stood at her window for a moment. Below, students were crossing the quad in the gray morning light. Then she went to her filing cabinet. She opened the drawer labeled Student Affairs and went to the section behind the tab marked Academic Year 2023–2024.She pulled three files. She set them on her desk and sat down.She opened the first one: a student named Rachel Brennan, a junior who had been on a merit scholarship eighteen months ago. A complaint had been filed against her by another student alleging threatening communications. The complaint had been routed through the Dean of Students' office with a note in the margin:Forwarded per JW recommendation. JW: James Weston. Rachel Brennan had withdrawn from Hartwell six weeks after the complaint was filed. The complaint was never fully adjudicated; the file said:Matter resolved, student voluntarily withdrew.Carol opened the second file: a student named Devin Harris, also on scholarship fourteen months ago. Similar complaint, similar routing note. Devin Harris had transferred to a different school during the winter break of that year.She opened the third file: a student named Priya Okafor, scholarship student, eight months ago. The complaint against her had been filed by a third party, not directly by Tyler. But the third party's contact information in the file was a personal email address registered to a Marcus Reed. Priya Okafor had taken a medical leave of absence and not returned.Carol sat very still. Three students, all on scholarships, all within eighteen months, all gone. She put the files side by side and looked at them.Then she picked up her phone and made a call to the university's IT department. She asked a very specific question about the metadata attached to digital files submitted as evidence in student complaint proceedings. The IT director said he would need a few hours.Carol said, "Take whatever time you need, but please make it a priority."She hung up. She looked at the three files on her desk. This was not a Friday night incident at a diner; this was a pattern. And Carol Whitfield had built a twenty-year career on knowing the difference between a single incident and a pattern.Claire did not know any of this. She went to her Introduction to Law class and sat in her usual seat: third row from the front, slightly left of center. She took notes in her new notebook. She asked a question about the evidentiary standards in civil versus criminal proceedings; the professor answered at some length, clearly pleased by the question.