00:00I wanted to talk to you about my project presentation. I've been working on it and
00:04I have most of it done actually, but some things come up at home. A family matter
00:09and it's fairly urgent. I was hoping we might be able to discuss the possibility
00:13of moving my presentation to a different date. I completely understand if that's
00:18not straightforward. I just wanted to ask. Yeah, sure. You know, I don't think I
00:25actually had a chance to say this, but you look great this semester. Thank you.
00:31You know there's something different about you this year. I can't quite put my
00:37finger on it, but something more confident. It suits you. I appreciate that. I did
00:44want to stay focused on the project question though, if that's okay. My
00:49family situation is a bit time-sensitive, so I really just need to know whether a
00:53date change is possible. You know what I've noticed about you since the first
00:57week? You're not like most of them. You know the other students come in here and
01:02they want a grade, but you actually care about the work, and that's rare. I find
01:09that genuinely interesting. I do care about the work, which is why I want to make
01:16sure that I present it well, and right now I'm not sure I can do that on a
01:20scheduled date with everything going on at home. What's going on at home? It's a
01:24personal matter. You can tell me. I'm not just your professor, Kimberly. I'd like to
01:32think we have a rapport.
01:39Can I help you? I'm just dropping off some departmental forms. You're the new
01:44receptionist. You know you're expected to knock before entering faculty offices.
01:48This is a private meeting. My apologies for the interruption.
01:54I should go. I'll come back another time about the project. Oh, Kimberly.
02:15Are you all right? I'm fine. I just, I need to go. You don't have to go anywhere yet. Take
02:22a moment.
02:23It's not the first time he's done that. Said things that had nothing to do with the coursework.
02:29I've gone in there for legitimate reasons. Questions about assignments, about my thesis
02:34direction, and it always ends up somewhere else. Somewhere I didn't ask to go.
02:39How long has this been going on? Weeks. Maybe longer, if I'm being honest. There were comments
02:46earlier in the semester that I told myself I was reading wrong. That I was being oversensitive.
02:52But it's just been getting, it's been escalating. Today was the furthest it's gone.
02:58Have you told anyone? I don't know who to tell. I didn't know if there was a process or who
03:05controlled it or whether going through it would somehow make things worse for me.
03:09He's on my thesis committee. If I made a complaint and nothing came of it, or if it got back
03:14to him,
03:15I don't know what that would mean for me academically. I've just been trying to manage it.
03:20That is entirely understandable. An understandable response to an entirely unacceptable situation.
03:28Are you really just the new receptionist?
03:31I want you to do something, and I understand if it feels like too much to ask. I'd like you
03:37to go
03:38back into that office. What? Go back in. Ask about the project. Exactly as you came to do. You have
03:46every right to be in that room asking a legitimate question. I will follow you in approximately one
03:52minute. Do you want me to go back in there? I want you to ask your question. The one you
03:58came here
03:59to ask. You deserve an answer to it. And you'll come in after me? In one minute, yes. Okay.
04:13Kimberly, you came back. I still need an answer about the presentation date. That was the reason
04:19I came in. Of course. Of course it was. Come on in. Sit down. I'd rather stand. Un-sist. Down.
04:27Now.
04:35I just need to know, is it possible to move the presentation to a later date, given the family
04:40circumstances that I mentioned? A simple yes or no would really help out a lot right now.
04:46A simple yes or no, huh? Please. Well, a postponement can possibly be arranged. What, what does that
04:55mean, possibly? It means I'm inclined to be accommodating. I've always been accommodating
05:01with you, Kimberly. You know that. Accommodations like that tend to, uh, come with certain expectations,
05:09though. Hmm? You understand what I mean by that? I think. I think we can work something
05:18out. You removed that hand. I'm sorry. Who exactly are you? I've seen enough. What I just witnessed,
05:29combined with the documented complaints that preceded my arrival here, is more than sufficient.
05:36Documented complaints, huh? What complaints? Look, I don't know what you've been told,
05:42but if students have made complaints about me, I can assure you they are coming from a place
05:46of personal grievance, not any actual... I am not the new receptionist. I am the incoming dean
05:53of this university. I have been conducting an unannounced assessment of staff conduct and departmental
06:01culture following a significant volume of complaints from female students. Complaints
06:07that, I want to be direct with you, have your name attached to them with troubling consistency.
06:13Dean. Right. I, uh, look, I think there's been a significant misunderstanding here. I mean,
06:25what you just walked in on was completely taken out of context. I have always maintained a very
06:31professional environment, a very supportive environment in my classroom, in my office, with
06:38every student I have ever worked with. I take that seriously. I, I take it very seriously. Go on. Well,
06:46the students who have apparently made these complaints, I can only imagine who they are. I mean,
06:52there are always students who struggle academically and, you know, these students, they, they look for
06:57somewhere to place that frustration sometimes. I've seen it before. Are you finished? I, I, I'm saying
07:04that this situation is being characterized, I'm, I apologize, but a little unfairly and I would just
07:11like the opportunity to speak with someone in a formal capacity before anything actually gets official.
07:16Your employment at this university is terminated. Effective immediately. HR will be in contact with
07:24you regarding the formal process. You are to leave the building today. You can, you can't be serious.
07:33You don't have any proof. What is this? Fair enough. You will hear from my lawyer. I am so sorry,
07:46Kimberly.
07:48I'll see you later. All right.
07:55Kimberly, I am so sorry this happened to you. I want to say that plainly. It should not have taken
08:02this long for this institution to act. Thank you. I don't just mean today. I mean,
08:09thank you for listening in the hallway for not just walking away. I've been waiting for someone to not walk
08:15away. You should never have had to wait. One of the first things I intend to do in this role
08:22is make
08:23certain the structures around this don't depend on someone like me happening to walk through the right
08:28door at the right time. There will be clear reporting channels, mandatory conduct standards,
08:35a culture in which what happened to you today is genuinely impossible, not merely discouraged on paper,
08:43but structurally prevented. Do you think that's actually achievable? I've heard language like that
08:49before. Policies get written and nothing changes. That's a fair challenge. And the honest answer is
08:56that it depends on whether the people building those policies have actually experienced the failure of
09:03the ones being replaced. Which is why I want to ask you something. Would you be willing to be part
09:10of
09:10that process to help shape what those practices actually look like from the perspective of a student
09:17who has lived through the failure of the current ones? I'm not asking for a statement. I'm asking for a
09:23seat
09:24at the table. Yes, I would. Great. And you do get that extension.
