On her desk, a yellow legal pad with handwritten notes I couldn’t read from where I sat.
“I’ve spoken with Priya,” she said.
“And I’ve spoken with the two other faculty members who were present in the lounge.”
“Did they confirm it?” I asked.
“They did,” she said.
“One of them was uncomfortable confirming it, but they did.” She set her pen down.
“I’ve also pulled the syllabus for Professor Holt’s graduate seminar.
Your thesis is listed as assigned reading under a section titled ‘Common Structural Failures.’ It has been on that syllabus for two semesters.”
I looked at her.
“Two semesters,” I said.
“Yes.
Which means he began using it the semester after you submitted it — while you were still enrolled and completing your final year.”
The room was very quiet.
“He was teaching his students that my work was an example of failure,” I said, “while I was still his student.”
