Catch a Falling Knife

administration building. I resisted the desire to run and tried to heed the words of Satchel Paige: “Don’t look back because somebody may be gaining on you.”
    As soon as I had put enough distance between me and the demonstrators so that I could breathe I started to look around. Mark had given me a map of the campus, which had modern buildings and was set among hills that would be green as soon as leaves appeared on the trees. The well-kept lawns were already green. Yellow forsythia and yellow daffodils had started to blossom in flowerbeds beside the walks.
    The bright greens and yellows put me in a better mood. I walked up marble steps and through doorways with glass doors into the Administration Building.

Chapter 3
     
    A functional and impersonal counter greeted me as I entered an office directly opposite the entrance. A student type sat behind the counter, busily staring at a computer monitor. I wondered what she was looking at. I had used computers when I was a professor, but I had never owned one and I didn’t derive much pleasure from watching a screen. I preferred reality.
    She reluctantly dragged her eyes away from whatever enthralled her and said, “Can I help you?”
    I repressed a desire to say, “I don’t know, can you?” and to give her a lecture on the difference between “can” and “may,” but that job belonged to an English teacher. I said, “Yes. My name is Professor Lillian Morgan. I would like to speak to Priscilla Estavez.” Mark had given me her name.
    “Do you have an appointment?”
    “ No. I just need five minutes of her time.”
    “What’s it in regard to?”
    “I would like to ask her some questions about your sexual harassment policy.” I tried to say that in a positive way.
    “She’s in a meeting.”
    “That’s okay. I’m in no hurry; I’ll wait.”
    “I don’t know how long the meeting will last. You can have a seat if you want to,” she said, doubtfully.
    Everybody was always in a meeting. I took a few steps to a chair set against the wall, with thin metal legs and a molded seat and back in one piece. I sat down and noticed that its lack of comfort was not conducive to waiting. I hoped my presence would motivate my helper to contact Ms. Estavez.
    After several minutes I heard her talking to somebody on the phone. She spoke softly and the counter intervened so I couldn’t understand what she said. But then her head appeared above the counter and she said, “Ms. Estavez will see you now.”
    She directed me down a hallway that started at one end of the counter. I passed several doors until I came to one with a sign beside it that read, “Patricia Estavez, Student Affairs.”
    The door was open so I walked in. Ms. Estavez sat behind a metal desk, reading a document, but she looked up and smiled as I entered. She stood and said, “I’m Priscilla Estavez.” She offered me her hand across the desk.
    “Lillian Morgan,” I said, as I took it.
    She said, “Nice to meet you,” and motioned me to a seat in front of the desk, which I accepted. It was more comfortable than the one in the waiting area. “What school are you with, Professor Morgan?” she asked.
    “Duke.” I said it almost without thinking and hoped I didn’t look too old to still be teaching. By contrast, she looked young and earnest. She had pulled her reddish-brown hair back into a knot and she wore frameless glasses. Her white blouse was buttoned up to the neck.
    “I attended Duke,” she gushed. “What department are you in?”
    “Mathematics.”
    “Oh, I could never do math.” She laughed and I smiled in what I hoped wasn’t a condescending manner. She looked me over for a few seconds. “What can I help you with today?”
    “I understand that you’re in charge of the Sexual Misconduct Office.”
    “That and a few dozen other things. This is a small college. We have to wear many hats. It’s not like Duke.”
    I chose my words carefully. “I’m doing a study of harassment policies—on the side, of course—and I’d like to find out something about yours. I’ve heard it’s unique.”
    “Oh, is Duke thinking of changing its policy?”
    Be careful. I had only a vague idea of Duke’s current policy. “No. That is, not right away. I’m doing this pretty much on my own.”
    “Well, let me give you a brief outline. The reason we implemented a new policy is because it was very difficult for a student to file charges of rape or similar abuse. We needed an approach that