CHAPTER 34

The hearing resumed.

Dr. Stacy Denton was sworn and Diana thanked her for waiting so long. "Would you please state your qualifications as an expert witness?"

"Yes, but first I must ask that you waive the privilege of confidentiality."

"Of course. I absolutely waive the privilege of confidentiality so that you may respond to my questions and those of the panel."

Stacy then delivered a long list of professional qualifications having to do both with mental health counseling and organizational consulting.

As she was giving the requested information, Jane wished the panel could hear of the immense prestige Dr. Stacy Denton had acquired throughout the university community over the years that she had been a part of the Counseling Department. Not only was she widely acclaimed, she was genuinely liked and successful as a person, in the department she directed. At the age of 42, she had shown abilities in her field that most did not acquire until their later years. This caused some annoyance for her since she was constantly besieged by other counseling agencies all over the country, to come to them.

Jane remembered that when she had felt the shackles of threat surround her, and realized that she really had no voice or will on the committee, she had called Stacy. Of course Stacy could not tell her that she had counseled Diana at the time she was first charged. She could only listen to Jane's anguish at her own impotence. It was only after Diana had called to ask Stacy if she would be willing to sign an affidavit for the federal court action, that Stacy could see a way to do something. She offered to also appear as a witness at this final Belmont hearing if it were felt she would be needed. Few people of her stature would have waited outside the hearing room as she did, knowing that the committee might not even hear her testimony.

She testified that she had seen Diana professionally several times and that in her years of experience and training she had learned techniques to determine behavior.

"I saw no evidence that Diana was lying, dissimulating or faking. I should say that in my position here, I see many people who are in trouble and there is a pattern to these reactions. She exhibited what we in the profession call the typical victim reaction.

"In subsequent visits, I did a more thorough mental status exam. I used all sorts of techniques that uncover whether a person may be unconsciously suppressing the fact that she wrote something, or did something.

"I believe that she could not have been lying." Stacy said succinctly. "She was too upset, too shocked, to really fake me out."

Henry carefully distorted her words in the recommendation the committee later signed and sent to The Pope to read, `the psychologist found that Diana Trenchant had a genuine victim response and truly believes herself to be innocent.' A far, and exceedingly prejudiced, cry from the actual testimony of the psychologist. In fact, in the six page document, he devoted only ten lines to Diana and her witnesses testimony-

- one short paragraph!

Diana asked Stacy if she could, without violating confidentiality, tell of similar cases at Belmont where a faculty person had been accused of wrong doing.

"It happens quite frequently, perhaps as often as once a month-- certainly a regular event. And in none of these cases which might involve repeated incidents of drunkenness, sexual harassment, and, well, I can't go into details, but these are serious areas of misconduct that I'm referring to-

-not something as insignificant as seven SmurFFs! In none of these cases was the person ever told to resign or face a termination for cause hearing. The problem was handled by the proper department head. Either a warning was given or appropriate disciplinary action was taken."

When Diana asked if the committee had any questions, Jane, in an attempt to demonstrate the proficiency of this expert witness, once again bravely ventured forth asking Stacy to delineate some of the techniques used in this case and how she evaluated them.

The psychologist did this clearly and precisely, giving the methods used and how Diana reacted. It was very illuminating testimony and

totally ignored, except by the women who had hoped that it might cause Henry to listen.

At one point, Anuse tried to twist Stacy's words around so it appeared that she was been saying that Diana had denied that there was any trouble with any person in the department.

Stacy Denton set him securely and competently back on his heels, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that she was no person to try those tactics on.