Death of the Ayn Rand Scholar by Gray Cavender (classic literature list txt) 📕

in common. And, Wes was right…Ersula was Jillian’s replacement when she shifted from the Research Division to being a detective at Tempe PD. In a way, even though she was a researcher and not a sworn officer, Ersula seemed like a ‘thrill of the chase’ sort of a person to Jillian. She didn’t ask Jillian anything about the Siemens case because she already knew all about it. To be fair, that was her job, but Jillian would not be surprised if Ersula also followed her career trajectory and left Research for actual police work.

Professor Greg Farrell was in Political Science—Jillian remembered that now they were called ‘Politics and Global Studies’—and was a member of the Faculty Senate Committee that had drafted ASU’s Zero Tolerance Policy on sexual relations between faculty and undergraduate students. The policy, which was still being debated, was obviously relevant to the Task Force’s consideration. Jillian had known some Justice Studies students who’d had classes with him, so, after they were both appointed to the Task Force, she’d checked him out on the Rate My Professor website. He was a popular prof and apparently was considered to be ‘cool.’ He looked the part: shaved head; one ear ring; beard not quite a beard, but almost… It was obvious to Jillian that he wanted to chair the Task Force, or if not that, to at least run the meetings. However, Sarah was a powerhouse in her own way…and was fully in charge.

Unlike Professor Farrell, Cedar Lanning didn’t try to run the meeting. He did, however, constantly drop names…especially President Davidos’ name...whom he always called ‘Jacques’…’Jacques this, and Jacques that.’ He wore a slim-fitting light blue suit, no tie, an open collar white shirt, and tan lace-ups with very long, Italian toes. He had slicked-back black hair.

Professor Natalie Martin was from Women and Gender Studies. As an undergrad, Jillian had taken a Domestic Violence course with her…Ersula had taken the same course in another semester. Professor Martin’s area of study was comparative studies of domestic violence, and she had co-authored Anti-Harassment Policies at two other universities, which is why she’d been appointed to the Task Force. She was in her late 40s, but her shoulder-length hair was prematurely white, and had been even when Jillian had taken her undergraduate class. There was a nice contrast between her hair and the blue and black scarf that she wore…scarves were a signature accessory for her. Jillian felt that Professor Martin was a bit stand-offish toward her. She hadn’t been that way when Jillian was in her class, but had become so once she started the MS program. Jillian wondered (OK, assumed) it was because she’d also started working at Tempe PD.

Reginald Payne was a professor in the Athletic Department. Jillian thought that he was a great addition to the Task Force. He and Ersula Tenney were the only two African-American members on the Committee. His PHD was in Sports Management, and he had been in the athletic programs at a couple of other universities—Kentucky and Southern Methodist—before coming to ASU…so he knew the ropes. What Jillian respected about Professor Payne is that he was very pro-student athlete, but was also ‘no nonsense’ in his approach to maintaining grades AND in his refusal to tolerate any form of problematic behavior among student athletes. He’d made his position clear in the Committee’s first meeting. A student peer who had taken a course with Professor Payne had once told Jillian that he “ran a tight ship.” He wore light tan slacks, a starched dark blue shirt, and his black loafers were shined to a high gloss.

Isla Para was the student rep on the Task Force. She was a small young woman, maybe five two. Her make-up gave her face a very white appearance, which was in contrast to her dark lipstick. Her long black hair was knotted into a pony tail tied-off by a bright wrist band. A white blouse, a black shirt and black low-cut tennis shoes completed her ensemble…that, and a prominent #MeToo button. Isla was a part of the national alliance of students that was lobbying for strong anti-harassment policies on university campuses. She was a Political Science major, a senior, and the President of a student organization, The Coalition on Coalitions, which was an alliance of a number of campus groups. Jillian remembered seeing her campaign posters all across campus during the student government election. Isla’s two campaign issues had been sexual harassment and tuition hikes…she’d won in a landslide. Back when Jillian was a student, she would have agreed with Isla’s platform, and, for that matter, still would. Isla always made it a point to sit by Sarah at these meetings, either because Sarah chaired the Task Force, or maybe Isla wanted to go to a top ranked law school and was trying to learn from Sarah how to do that, which made good sense to Jillian…everyone needs a mentor.

They hadn’t gotten far into their agenda when the first question about Professor Siemens came up. Cedar Lanning had been talking about ASU’s brand—he was always talking about that—when he segued into a comment about the murder.

“So, we’re doing all this work on the Task Force, which is great for our brand, but what’s offsetting it…literally, as I speak…is this murder that happened on campus. The media are having a field day with this…I’ve been with Jacques at least twice a day since this happened…and I can tell you that he’s getting almost non-stop calls from concerned parents who are donors to ASU…I might add…and our friends in the legislature are worried that the more…how shall I say this…hyper conservative element…will milk this event for political gain…given Professor Siemens’ ideological…leanings.”

He looked directly at Jillian as he finished, then added, “We’re lucky that Detective Sergeant Warne, here, is a member of our group. I’m hoping she can shed some light on an otherwise dark situation.”

People turned to Jillian, but before she could answer, Isla Para said, “In a way, I was