ogance got in the way of establishing a
rapport with students. It also prevented him from really understanding
how very little he knew about radiology.

Henry had spent a great deal of time with Randy preparing him for
today. It had been a harrowing ordeal. Perhaps the actual testifying
would be more harrowing, Henry thought as he nervously reviewed to
himself what he had learned about Randy from Lyle.

Randy had come to Belmont from a college in Ohio having sufficiently
outstayed his welcome there. As is true in most college
administrations, faculty sexual misconduct was considered mere
professorial peccadillo and was studiously overlooked. If a woman
student appeared to be on the verge of making a fuss, administrators
had a remedy called 'The Grievance Procedure'. Administrative
personnel talked to the woman and were able to subtly or directly lead
her to understand that problems would arise in her matriculation if she
persisted with charges of sexual harassment or rape.

If this didn't work, a brief investigation identified her friends and
she was appraised of situations that might affect them should she
remain recalcitrant. Most didn't.

This was all done under the aegis of Academic Freedom, mused Henry.
The principle of academic freedom evolved years ago. It sheltered
serious scholars from the whims and avarice of the shifting politicians
and their politics. Now it was made better use of. We administrators
use it as a tool to circumvent trouble. Nearly all institutions,
battling the emergence of women and other minorities into the
collegiate arena, use it to maintain the status quo and rightfully so,
Henry decided. Academic freedom was used to shield the many ways we
avoid compliance with both federal and state laws. If we opened
ourself to public scrutiny, we'd never get anything done.

Universities are, were and should be a law unto themselves. They can
tolerate only those who are willing to make sometimes painful
compromises. Those who could not, and were compelled to fight for
so-called human rights and the original meaning of Academic Freedom,
soon left or were not reappointed.

Randy Fecesi was, despite his foibles, a prime commodity. He was
funded. This made him much sought after since colleges were looking to
capture research dollars. There was good reason for this, Henry noted.
Because it paid better, colleges and universities had stopped putting
the emphasis on teaching and instea