My Weekend with John

“Why now? Why did you wait to come forward?” he yelled.

“Because I didn’t have the guts to!” The meeting closed shortly after the seven member Disciplinary Committee sat in silence over the scene that had just erupted. One of us had to be lying, because the stories we told were contradictory. John and I used to be friends in 8th grade, with many things in common, but not theft. After John stole right in front of me, I chose not to associate with him. Though my weekend involvement with John was over, my school involvement was not. We played football, lacrosse and Jazz Band together.

Towards the end of last year’s football season, John unexpectedly quit. Within days, three football players including myself who had lockers close to John’s had money stolen during practice. A ‘reliable adult witness’ saw John in the area at the time the theft occurred, and since I counted 113 unlocked lockers at the time, the circumstances suggested the thief had inside information regarding the whereabouts of the money. This was the event that prompted me to come forward with my case.

Although the circumstantial evidence was compelling, the Dean of Students did not feel it as solid as my eyewitness account of the theft back in eighth grade. For this reason, it was decided that the investigation would center on that incident rather than the recent one.

The Disciplinary Committee convened the following week, with John and I each allowed a faculty member present to act a character reference. In addition, several of my friends who were witnesses of John’s past stealing episodes reported to the Committee. While my AP Biology teacher offered to vouch for my good character, John’s character witness the Technical Theater teacher took personal offense at the accusations and berated me in the presence of the committee. He suggested that I fabricated the whole event to punish John and that the whole school unfairly scapegoated him.

The slowest week of my life passed before I was summoned back to the Dean’s office. When he announced that the Committee decided unanimously in my favor, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Although the Committee believed that John’s guilt was established by the preponderance of the evidence, they had to act in accordance with rules regarding student testimony. John was placed on probation for the remainder of his Bishop’s career. Any dishonesty would result in expulsion, or other severe disciplinary action.

This ordeal imparted many valuable lessons. First of all, I bought a lock for my locker. More importantly, I learned just how hard it can be to stand up for what I believe. John’s close relative was not only a favorite teacher at the school, but also held a high administrative position. Shortly after this incident, both she and the Dean of Students resigned their positions. I was harassed. I was threatened. I still have to see everyone who was involved in this case on a daily basis, and I have learned to work with them. Among my good friends, I am fortunate to have one, who like John, shares my interests and classes but is honest.

Most importantly, I regret the pain the case caused innocent people. Neither John’s mother nor his aunt deserved this ordeal. I can only imagine their pain and embarrassment. For John’s sake, and for the sake of the school community, I hope he has stopped stealing. I think all those who helped me with this case at Bishop’s did an admirable job in handling it. If I could do things over, I would have rectified the situation back in 8^th grade.