Something Was Wrong - S25 Ep9: Flipped the Script

Episode Date: February 19, 2026

*Content Warning: grooming, institutional betrayal, sexual violence, on-campus violence, intimate partner violence, gender-based violence, sexual assault and harrassment. Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips: somethingwaswrong.com/resources   SWW Sticker Shop!: https://brokencyclemedia.com/sticker-shop SWW S25 Theme Song & Artwork: The S25 cover art is by the Amazing Sara Stewart instagram.com/okaynotgreat/ The S25 theme song is a cover of Glad Rag’s U Think U from their album Wonder Under, performed by the incredible Abayomi instagram.com/Abayomithesinger. The S25 theme song cover was produced by Janice “JP” Pacheco instagram.com/jtooswavy/ at The Grill Studios in Emeryville, CA instagram.com/thegrillstudios/ Follow Something Was Wrong: Website: somethingwaswrong.com  IG: instagram.com/somethingwaswrongpodcast TikTok: tiktok.com/@somethingwaswrongpodcast  Follow Tiffany Reese: Website: tiffanyreese.me  IG: instagram.com/lookieboo *Sources: -Scavelli, Melissa. “UCO Students Allege University Didn’t Protect Them from Sexual Harassment by Professor.” KOKH, 12 May 2021, okcfox.com/news/local/uco-students-allege-university-didnt-protect-them-from-sexual-harassment-by-professor-Stieber, Dylan. “Petition Calls for UCO Interim Assistant Dean to Be Permanently Removed.” UCentral Media, 21 June 2021, ucentralmedia.com/petition-calls-for-uco-interim-assistant-dean-to-be-permanently-removed/-“Students React to Lawsuit against UCO, Sexual Allegations against Theatre Professor.” News9.Com, 21 May 2021, www.news9.com/story/60a5af5bede9c70bc225d950/students-react-to-lawsuit-against-uco-sexual-allegations-against-theatre-professor

Something was wrong is intended for mature audiences and discusses topics that may be upsetting. Please consume the following episodes with care. This season discusses sexual, physical, and psychological violence. For a full content warning, sources, and resources for each episode, please visit the episode notes. Opinions shared by guests of the show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Broken Cycle Media. The podcast in any linked materials should not be misconstrued as a substitution for legal or medical advice. We reached out to Professor Cato Bus and the University of Central Oklahoma for comment in response to allegations in the weeks prior to this episode's release. We have not received a response.

Thank you so much for listening. You don't know anybody till you talk to someone. Last time, on something was wrong. I call my theater ed advisor. She gets back to me and she tells me that this is something I need to bring to Title IX, and that's when I got introduced to UCO's Title IX office. He essentially asked me to be a character witness for him, since they had called me in. Right after that conversation, the Title IX office was right by where we were talking, and I walked there and met with the Title IX lady.

I told her immediately that he had told me everything and that none of it was true. She told me that regarding my allegations, that his initial response, was that, quote, I can't say she's lying. So you'd think, oh, close the case, right? No. I think that Title IX office really took advantage of a bunch of naive girls in a number of ways.

And one of them was telling me that it would be anonymous, that Miranda wouldn't see any information that would clue in to the fact that it was me who said this. It wasn't until winter break when I didn't see him for, three weeks. I was really, for the first time, that whole semester, given the time to, like, reflect on the implications of her title nine against him and what that meant for me. Towards the end of my second semester of junior year and between Scotland, our contact slowly dwindled. Here's Miranda. When I went into my senior year, I was so exhausted from hiding this secret, especially from all of my peers. I was just really uninterested in everything that was going on.

I didn't really have fun at parties. I hung out with Olivia less and was just really tired of being at school and having to be around him in any sort of capacity. He was still my acting teacher. So I was still taking classes of his and I was still seeking training from him on the side because I needed him to help me audition for graduate school and prepare for these big things that were coming up after my senior year and I needed him to write me letters of recommendation. So I was still like continuing to contact him in those ways. None of it was sexual or as if we were in a relationship anymore, but we never acknowledged it. He would still try at times. He would text me and be like, I really miss you. Did you ever feel like there was any sort of retaliation by him as you were pulling away?

There's no giving me bad grades or withholding educational stuff from me. He wrote me glowing letters of recommendation for graduate schools and gave me all of the training and support that I needed to perform at these graduate school auditions. The only real bit of retaliation is that my senior year, he was directing a play and we did fall auditions for everything. One of my good friends at the time was directing a play that I really wanted to be in, and he knew that I wanted to be in, but they were happening at the same time. And so if I was in her play, I couldn't be cast in his play. I later found out from her when she found out about our relationship that he refused to let her cast me in her show. So he insisted that he cast me in his show, and he purposefully didn't cast me in a lead role.

It's like a Greek show, so he cast me as a part of the chorus, which is the opposite of what I was slated to be cast in my senior year of being in that department. His play that year was an offshoot of Trojan women, and the entire concept of the play was feminist theater, which is just so ironic. He turned it into Trojan Women 2.0, written by Charles Me and the way that this play was staged is that, All of the members of the chorus were prisoners of this make-believe kingdom. Almost every single woman of color in the department was in this play. He made us all be prisoners and all of the white girls that were in the department. A lot of them were the royalty members in this show. He would text me a lot throughout the rehearsal process about how beautiful the scenes that I was in were

or how he needed me to be for the rest of the chorus because I was like the chorus leader. I would email him instead of texting him because I wanted to be clear that I like didn't want to speak to him in that way. But I also didn't really have the tools to tell him that. To your knowledge, did he target other women of color? The real truth is that there were not a ton of women of color at the university, just in general, but he definitely paid the women of color, I would say special attention in the vein of being an ally is, I think, how he would choose to describe it at the time, giving women of color more opportunity for specific things, like shows, and making sure that they were more

represented. Here's Rihanna. Trojan Women was the last show I was in at UCO. and it was with Cato. I actually was planning on not coming back to UCO that semester. I didn't have the funds to enroll. And Cato offered, I really want to cast you in this role. So you need to be a student.

Enroll in these classes. And I'll give you a scholarship of this much money. And we'll talk to the Bursar and make sure you can stay in school, which I thought was so weird because he and I both knew that I had participated in this Title IX case against him. And I think it was like a form of cleanup. I need to change Rihanna's mind about this and she needs to know that I'm actually a good person or something or I need to have a form of control over Rihanna again. It was a show about sexual assault. It was a show about women in a war-torn time and the terror that they face. And then also there were pop musical

numbers in between making light of this situation. And what was that experience like being directed by him? Awful, anxiety-inducing, nightmarish, so confusing. I didn't know why I was there. He allowed me to pick a monologue from a different play that we then spliced into the play. The monologue that I did was very focused on sexual abuse. I have an experience of sexual abuse outside of Cato, and that was brought into the play. The monologue that I did was about sexual abuse.

I am talking about my own sexual abuse experience, and a sexual abuser in front of me is directing me on how to make that performance better. I don't even think now I can process how fucked up that is. I was a 19-year-old doing that. I had recently gotten out of a mental hospital. I checked myself in because I was processing sexual abuse that had happened to me as a child. And immediately after getting out of that facility, I am then thrown into rehashing this sexual abuse trauma with someone that has contributed to that experience.

I think I'm just at a loss for word. I'm so sorry. It sounds very triggering. What was it like working with Miranda on that play after the conversation that you had about the Title IX? We hadn't been in like a full-length play together at that point. I was really excited to work with her, and I think that contributed to the confusion and awfulness that I was experiencing because I would get to hang out with my best friend. And then it would be this incredibly triggering and traumatizing material that we're doing. It was so uncomfortable.

I remember just constantly being in fight or fight and so terrified of messing up or saying the wrong thing. Now, of course that makes sense. I had acknowledged in my brain that Cato was an abuser, that he was engaging in this inappropriate behavior, and then had somehow backtracked that in my mind. Actually, he's a director that I want to work with, that I feel safe working with. There was just like a disconnect there. It was terrifying and awful. And I would not relive that time for any amount of money.

And when did you leave the department and what ultimately made you decide to do so? After Trojan Women ended, I just stopped going. There was no big implosion or big moment of decision. I think I was so burnt out from all that I had been through in the past two years. I just gave up. I was in a financial bind because I could not. afford to continue enrolling anyway. And I never got those funds from Cato. I think I quit mid-semester after the play was over. If your skin care isn't working, you're probably skipping this step.

Gentle daily exfoliation. I love using the toning pads from barefaced and they have transformed my skin. Bareface sells one of these every three minutes so you know they're that good. I love the way they make my skin look. Less clogged pores, smoother, clearer skin. and they give my skin a healthy glow. And who doesn't want to glow? They're gentle enough for daily use, but effective enough that you'll see a difference within two weeks. Bare-faced was founded by a nurse practitioner

and is built on the philosophy of less but better. Intentional formulas, no unnecessary steps, and products designed to work together for long-term skin health. With over 250,000 customers, more than 2 million orders, and a 90% returning customer rate, The results speak for themselves. If you want to see results and find a skincare routine you'll actually stick to,

this is where I recommend starting. Head to barefaced.com and use code SWW for 15% off at checkout plus free shipping. That's SWW for 15% off plus free shipping. Barefaced. Less steps, better skin. Here's Miranda. Second semester of my senior year, we traveled again. We went to KCCTF in Texas.

I was so ready to graduate. I was over being in school there. KCCTF should have been the most exciting trip for me because it was my last one. All of my peers were partying and hanging out, and I chose to stay in our hotel room by myself. And I think that that was just an indication into how ready I was to move on and particularly to not have to have him be in my life anymore. And he knew that.

But despite that, was still trying to text me a lot. It really at that time grossed me out in a lot of ways because it was so obvious that I didn't want to speak to him in that way. And he was still actively trying to press my business. boundaries. He was the head of the department, so he would show up in outside rehearsals or to my scene design class, which he had no business being in. Just to like pop in and see what's going on, it's a signal that he's still around. I remember feeling just very exasperated by having to navigate through all of this. By my last semester in school, the veil had been completely lifted and I

had no interest in seeing him at all once I had graduated. I graduated in the spring, and then that summer, he would text me quite often and I would ignore him because at that point, I genuinely needed nothing from him, so I chose to not engage at all. That summer, I auditioned for Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, and I got cast in a lead in The Tempest. Somehow, he found out, because he was pretty active on social media so he could see stuff that I was posting and I was running like promotions on this show and stuff. He might have texted me and been like, I'm going to come see you, but he never really told me when exactly he was coming so I couldn't mentally prepare myself. And he just showed up. Of course, it's like a public event so he can come, but it was quite jarring to

see him. He talked to me a little bit afterwards. That would have been the last time that I ever saw him at all. Then the fall of that year of 2019, I broke my leg falling off of a scooter and he found out through one of my friends. He sent me a long text about if I ever need anything to let him know and he broke his leg once and he misses me so much and he loves me. I just didn't respond. His attempts to contact me at this time were pretty desperate. He then sent me a long Snapchat message about how he was acting in a film and fell on stage because he wasn't eating or something. And he had to go to the hospital. He's sending me this long message and is ending it by being like the whole time I only thought of you.

I miss you so much. I love you so much. I hope that you're well. Really trying to make me feel bad for him, I think, because he also sent me like a photo of his head. head bloodied, which is disturbing. Around this time was when I was toying with the idea of filing my own title line against him. So I screenshot the message. It's on Snapchat so you can see when someone screenshots your message so he knows that I screenshot it, me screenshoting it, and then him getting the notification. I was hoping that it would send him a clear message to not

contact me and truthfully I hoped that it scared him. I didn't respond and I blocked him on Snapchat. I blocked his phone number and I blocked him on Facebook, Instagram and every other place that he could exist in my life. This was probably in like September or October of 2019. I hadn't made any decisions about whether or not I was actually going to file with the university or not, but I knew that I probably was going to do something someday because not being in school had given me all this time to reflect on what really happened. And so I screenshot it and kept it because I was like, I think I'm going to need this at some point. In November, I broke my leg. I couldn't walk for three months. By the time that I could start walking, it was March of 2020 and COVID had happened. So I had had

six months of reflection to really be alone with my thoughts, which was at the time really difficult. In that time frame, I was seeing everything through a new eye. Finally, being able to realize that I had experienced such a manipulative level of abuse was really difficult to process. And I had to do it by myself. I had an excellent support system. I had an excellent support system. but no one knew. I sought out therapy, which I think saved my life in a lot of ways. I had an excellent therapist at the time. And when I started going to therapy, I just went and sobbed for a full hour.

It took a lot of courage to even be able to tell this stranger about what happened. I think it took several sessions before I was really able to express why I was there in the first place. I then decided that I wanted to file a Title IX complaint against him. I didn't go to therapy with the intention of filing anything. I went with the intention of trying to make it better. I filed my Title IX through the university. It was official, and it was with the Director of Employee Relations. We had like an initial Zoom meeting once I filed the title nine, and she was like,

I really want to speak to you about this in person. and so we had a Zoom call, and that's when I would have told her about everything that happened in depth in addition to what I had submitted to them, which was an incredibly thorough document. I reported it and typed out a bunch of stuff, listed my witnesses. My therapist was very supportive of this, mostly because filing the Title IX meant that I had to start telling my support system what happened to me. It took so much work for me to even be able to tell Olivia, who had been my best friend for five years at that point. When I first told her and when I was filing the Title IX, I couldn't even talk to her about the specifics of what happened. Here's Olivia. Beginning of the pandemic, spring 2020.

It was just like a normal day. She had texted me asking if I wanted to hang out. We haven't seen each other in a while because of the safety precautions that everybody was taking. She asked if we could go pick up dinner and bring it back to my house. She came and got me and on the way home, she just casually was like, hey, there's something I need to talk to you about. I immediately got really nervous because I thought she was moving. She then was like, you're going to have some questions and I just want you to know that like, I'm an open book and I will tell you whatever you want to know. And so I was like, okay, she asked, do you remember a few years ago when all that Title IX show,

it happened. And I said yes, and she was like, well, all of it was true. And I am filing a new report with the university. I was not as shocked as I would have thought I would have been. I think it made a lot of sense once she said it. And it was not this unspoken thing between us, but I think I had always kind of wondered what their relationship was actually like because I knew they were very close. Not that I ever thought that it was sexual. Immediately, I was honestly really pissed off at him. It really upset me because I felt like he had betrayed my true. trust and he had taken advantage of her and some of the behavior where like he had tried to isolate her from me because I felt, sorry, I'm probably going to get emotional whenever I talk

about this. I felt like it was like my job to keep her safe and I'm very like protective of Miranda. It really sucked knowing that I was close to it happening but didn't know and couldn't have done something for her. We didn't really talk about it a whole lot more that night, but I remember her telling me that she was relieved that I knew, and she gave me permission to share it with my then boyfriend, if I wanted to, who we're married now, but he also went to school with us and knew Kato very well. I offered to be a witness if she wanted me to be,

and shortly thereafter, I got the email from Title IX asking to set up a time to meet on Zoom, and I wrote out a statement because I just felt so nervous about talking to them. They asked me and Miranda if she wanted to add me as a co-complaintant. In case that would strengthen her case, I left that up to her. And she decided, yes, they're strength in numbers. And the more people we have, the better. So I sign on as a co-complaint.

Here's Rihanna again. We stopped talking about Cato. Miranda and I moved on. And then eventually she came to me and disclosed that she was considering filing a Title IX report with UCO. and asked if I would be willing to be a witness. And of course I agreed. I did a Zoom interview with them, told them all the same information

that I gave them the first time. I don't think I had the text to provide them at that point that I had given in the first Title IX case. It felt like, oh my God, something could actually happen. I'm doing something for 19-year-old Rihanna and 19-year-old Miranda.

I think I was like 21 or 22 at this time. It was a few years later. I was really proud, and I think I was really naive and hopeful. I think that happens a few times in my experience, trying to protect girls at UCO. You know, the first time we filed the Title IX report, Miranda did not feel comfortable disclosing that this relationship was happening, and now she's going to. And again, the adults in my life, they're going to get it right this time. They didn't have all the information, and they're going to do the right thing. now and Cato is not going to have access to these young girls. I was really proud of Miranda.

That stays true now, but I was just naively hopeful. I've been using Merit Beauty for two months now, and my favorite product by far is The Minimalist, which works double duty as both a foundation and a concealer so you can get quick coverage without layering on a bunch of products. And let's be honest, if the routine takes longer than five, minutes for me, it's not happening. That's why I love Merritt Beauty, because they believe great makeup should be effortless. Merit makes elevated makeup and skincare designed to help you look put together in minutes. With products you can swipe on, blend with your fingers, and move on with your day. Merritt's best sellers are proof that less is more. The flush bomb, which is of close second

runner up to my favorite product, gives you a natural healthy glow without overdoing it. If your motto is less as more, then shouldn't your mornings feel the same? It's time for your makeup and your skin care to meet the reality of your daily routine with Merit Beauty. Right now, Merit Beauty is offering our listeners their signature makeup bag with your first order at Meritbeautcom. That's M-E-R-I-T-Beautcom to get your free signature makeup bag with your first order. Meritbeautcom. Thank you so much. Here's Miranda. After the initial Zoom meeting with Title IX was when she sent this email that says,

I wanted to reach out to provide you with an update on the case. The respondent, which is Cato and I, had a frank discussion where he took some initial responsibility in regards to the concerns. I'm meeting with him at length later this week to obtain a better understanding of his perspective and recounting. We have a few things to decide at this point, chiefly, whether this is a moment. moves forward as an informal or formal resolution. The words are imperfect. Both methods have the same low or high level consequences. Really, what we're talking about is the process. Informal processes are HR processes where we take undisputed facts and work with senior leadership to determine consequences. Nothing is less serious in this process, however, it can move much quicker. The formal title line

process in this case would include each complaining or responding party reviewing a document of all gathered information and testimonies with a 10-day rebuttal period. Then I, I would create a credibility analysis. Finally, a decision maker would determine whether a policy violation occurred, and if so, what sanctions or consequences would be involved. After this, I'd a phone call with her to get a better understanding of what she was talking about with this informal or formal resolution. I mean, I trusted her because it was her job for me to try to trust her.

She seemed to be really caring and conscientious of what I was going through. I trusted that she knew what was best because I'd never done this before, and she's the only person that I spoke to. She suggested to me that the informal complaint would be the better way of moving through this because it means that things would be resolved much quicker. And she said in this email that one is not less serious in the other, but it can move much quicker. So I chose to file informally, which was not, in hindsight, really the correct thing to do. Here's Olivia. Eventually, they asked her if she wanted to pursue an informal or formal Title IX investigation. No one ever told her what that meant.

And so we asked the lady, what is the difference between these two things? I will literally never forget the words that she said. She said, if it was my child, I would want swift action taken. And then she suggested the informal Title IX process. She didn't explain what that meant, really. She just implied that it would be quicker and that it wasn't any less rigorous. And that's whenever they stopped giving us the guidance that we felt like we needed. At first, we both felt like they were nailing it, handling our case.

They were super communicative, especially with Miranda, like answering all of her questions. I think she felt way safer than she did in the first Title IX experience. And that was really encouraging. I was like, I really think they're going to do something about this. And I knew that for Miranda, it was so important that something actually happened this time. And so I was just trying to do the best that I could to support her and help her in any way while also navigating being back at school in the same department as him. Here's Miranda again.

The next thing that I sent Title IX, after some time to think, I feel ready to allow you to proceed with the HR Investors. Thanks for your guidance. And she said, okay, her next step is to speak directly with the dean. She had an appointment with him at four and that she would keep me updated. Then I sent her message in December when I received the letter from the university regarding his discipline. I have the results that the university sent to me, December 17th. The purpose of this message is to follow up. with you regarding our conversation and your recent report to the university involving a possible policy violation. Specifically, this report involves an alleged policy violation from the current University of Central Oklahoma, discrimination and harassment policy. You may access the current copy of this policy at, and it gives a link. These allegations are based upon a report that the respondent has participated in grooming and manipulation resulting in a non-consensual sexual relationship, as well as and environment of favoritism. Per our discussion, the university offers two forms of resolution

for reports of prohibited contact. One, informal resolution as described in section 1.5.3, A, which involves a variety of informal options for resolving reports. And two, formal resolution, which involves an investigation in review and possible sanctions, if applicable, by the appropriate university manager as described in section 1.5.3b. The university holds discretionary authority to determine if, one, the nature of the reported conduct is appropriate for informal resolution. Two, if the type of informal resolution that may be appropriate is in a specific case. And three, if a referral to formal resolution is appropriate at any time. Based on our conversation and your desired outcome, I have pursued an informal resolution,

a combination of interventions and remedies have been utilized, the university has implemented relative sanctions against the respondent and considered this matter closed and resolved. And then there's a note about retaliation, saying that any attempt to penalize or retaliate against a person for filing a complaint or participating in the investigation of a complaint of prohibited discrimination and or sexual harassment, sexual contact with a student or employee sexual violence,

or other sexual harassment will be treated as a separate. and distinct violation of this policy. Then it says, Miranda, thank you for reporting this matter so that issues like this can be properly addressed. Please do not hesitate to report any further incidents if necessary. If you have any questions, please for free to contact me. I can be reached at her phone number or by email. And that was it.

That was all they said. So I emailed her. I said, I just received a letter of the final outcome of the university. I'm hoping that you can provide some clarity on what the relevant relative sanctions and remedies are, I understand if this is confidential, but the letter that I received seems to not offer a lot of information for me. She said, I cannot give you the specifics on the actions, but I can confirm there are a number of significant limitations as well as requirements. In term, Dean Waddell took this concern very seriously. The actions number five

in total, but some carry multiple limitations slash requirements. And that was it. That was the end of my filing of a Title IX. I was never told what the actions were. I know from people who were still in school there and our old professor, Emily, who was involved in the title line as Olivia's university advocate, because Olivia was my witness and she was still in school there. She needed to have an advocate for her who was a professor in the department. I learned from Emily that he couldn't direct something specifically or that they were barring him from travel, but they seemed very minimal, the consequences of his actions. He took some responsibility for. That was all the university did. How did you feel? I filed this in November and I started seeing my therapist in

March of 2020. It took me almost a year of going to therapy every single. week to gather the courage to be able to file this and to be able to tell people in my life what had happened. And within a month, my life was the same. His life was, as far as I know, pretty much the same. Nothing changed. That was a really difficult time for me because it took so much of my time and energy to be able to do this in the first place. It took a lot for me to even be able to begin to file this and for them to convince me to file an informal complaint, which is clearly incredibly self-serving to them because it means that no one really needs to get involved in an official capacity. It was deeply concerning and hurtful. And then I took on the responsibility of

having to reach out to individuals that were younger than me, who I loved and cared for, and I had to tell them what happened to me to me to. try to protect them because the university wouldn't do it. I was trying to avoid that by filing the title mine. I can't fathom how the university thought that it was at all appropriate to effectively do nothing. It was, in a way, even more damaging if I would have just decided to try to heal in other ways, because this was supposed to be closure for me. And it was not, it didn't even begin to come close to being closure.

I feel like I was lucky enough to go about this process in a way that gave me a lot of support. Like I was actively in therapy because of this and my therapist helped me draft my complaint. And I was able to reach out to her when I needed and I had the support system of Olivia and Riana and people who knew who were incredibly supportive. I can't imagine if that were not the case. I don't know how anyone is supposed to navigate this, not with support. Did it surprise you the way that the school responded? It did surprise me. Now I'm not surprised, though, because looking back, the way that they handled the first case was not appropriate.

And so who's to think that the second time they're going to do any better? We know that it's not appropriate to do that with a student. It's in the handbook at the university for a faculty. And also, it's just like a total ethical no-no for an educator. It's a total power imbalance. It is such a liability for the university. for that department. It was shocking that they would know about this and have evidence.

She sent in evidence, and we sent in videos of him acting insane at these events that we traveled to, like being so inappropriate, and they just didn't care. It genuinely felt like they were so unempathetic to the whole situation. In her response to Miranda, when Miranda reached out to ask what sanctions they were referring to, they were so cold and neutral in that response. They said they had imposed what they called relative sanctions on him. And when Miranda asked, they would not tell her what those meant, which was a red flag. At that time, I'm pretty sure he was still teaching in person.

And they also didn't disclose to me what they meant, even though I was a student at the time. What did they actually do to stop it from happening again? Did he get in trouble? I still don't know to this day what that. actually looked like. It just felt like no care had been taken, which was very discouraging because originally that same person that had handled our case was incredibly warm and gave us all of that personal advice about, you know, how she would advise her own child. And she just like flipped the script. The university seriously misled us through that process. And it was incredibly frustrating,

especially for Miranda, because it took a lot for her to like come to a place where she felt ready. And I think she felt very proud of the fact that she was able to come forward and share this after not being able to share what really happened with them back whenever the first case was. So it was just incredibly heartbreaking seeing that happen to her. And it just felt like there was nothing that she could do to stop it from happening to anybody else. It was a really brutal time. She was just very vulnerable and it felt like it got thrown in her face with no mercy. I know many of our friends out there have made it their New Year's resolution to cut back or quit nicotine. If you're one of these people who's looking for a routine that makes you feel good and not guilty,

Jones makes it easier to follow through. Nicotine spikes and cravings derail progress. But Jones helps you stay on top of withdrawals so you can build healthier habits and actually quit or cut back this year. With Jones's science-backed and FDA-approved nicotine, mince, there's no smoke, no pouch, no hidden vapor or chemicals. Just a discreet mint that doubles your chances of quitting and works as a healthier nicotine alternative. Plus, with a personalized step-down plan that's proven to lower your nicotine intake, Jones makes it easy to follow through on quitting. When nicotine cravings hit, log on to the Jones app and connect with their community

of over 60,000 other quitters who are sharing their own setbacks and quitting journeys. It's free and it actually gives you the support you need to get through the tough days. If your New Year's resolution is to quit or even just to use nicotine in a healthier way, check out Quit With Jones. Visit quitwithjones.com slash SWW to take the free quiz and use code SWW to get 15% off your personalized quitting journey. That's quit with Jones.com slash SWW. Taking back control starts now.

Thanks to quit with Jones for sponsoring this episode. Just a heads up, the mints contain nicotine, which is an addictive chemical. Jones is FDA approved and available for those that are 18 and older. Thank you so much. When did the conversation about the lawsuit come about? Emily Hugh Gator, who was a professor at UCO with Cato, is the one who was Olivia's professor advocate. Here's Miranda again.

Sheila took on our case. And Sheila was the lawyer? Because Emily was really frustrated and upset, and she had to continue to work with him at school. I was on board because I had no resolve from the university. I spoke to Sheila. I emailed her in May of 2021. She had been in contact with Emily.

she had told Emily to tell all of us to make a victim statement and add in all of my documentation. So I did. She said, thank you. They're reviewing it. We'll be in touch as soon as possible. And then she said some of the complainants graduated in 2019. So we're running into a statute of limitations issue. I called her and that's when we agreed to do the lawsuit. After speaking to Sheila, she suggested that adding on the rest of the complainants would help our suit. So all of my witnesses who I had cited in my Title IX case, Morgan and all of Morgan's witnesses were now involved.

We had a few Zoom meetings with Sheila about the process of Title IX and the implications of our suit. We all provided them documentation, and they submitted the complaint in May of 2021. She had told us that the media might pick us. up because the media picks up things like this. But I was not in any way prepared for it to be picked up so quickly. I mean, I think it was the next day after she had submitted the complaint that it was picked up by news agencies.

UCO students now upset with what they claim is the university's lack of response to allegations against a theater professor, a group of women now suing the school after they say Cato Bus harassed them and even with what? one student maintained a sexual relationship. News 9's Ashley Holden talked with former and current students now sharing their experiences. The lawsuit claims Buss admitted to some of the allegations, and this had been knowingly going on for years. It says Buss would choose a select freshman or two that he considered favorites. He would give the women's special one-on-one coaching, invite them to trips where sometimes underage drinking was involved, and go out of his way to find them financial help.

The media component, it was probably like one of the worst days of my life. It was equally as traumatizing as everything that I had experienced up to this point. I was at work and I was interviewing for like a lateral move to a location in New York. And I had had an excellent interview with the store leader. We talked about the timeline of my move and I was so excited. And I looked at my phone and had hundreds of messages from everyone who was on the suit. and people that I went to school with and my friends. I had a panic attack at work.

It was really terrible because it was no longer just something that had happened to me. It was now people that I went to school with. Everyone had an opinion and people were posting about it on Facebook, talking about how creepy he was, and they always knew something was weird about him. someone started a fucking change.org petition to have him fired and everyone is posting online with all these opinions and they're my peers like people who I saw every day for four years straight. Maybe two people reached out to me directly. It was like a really bizarre thing because it was something that I had protected for so long.

By the time that this came out, it was in 2021. and a lot of this stuff happened to me in 2017 to 2019. It was such a private part of me for a really long time, and I intended to keep it that way. And then it was circulated against my will. That was awful. Firstly, experiencing it, and then processing what happened to me,

and then deciding that I wanted to do something about it, so then filing the title line and being re-traumatized by being failed by the Title IX system, and now I'm being traumatized. again in a different way by all of my information being out there when I didn't want it to be. I couldn't talk about it. I couldn't make my own Instagram post because I was in the middle of a lawsuit. I had no voice. I drove to Olivia's and we just commiserated. We were afraid to talk about it over text because we didn't know if they were going to subpoena our text records. So much was taken away from me and all I was ever trying to do was find closure.

It was really confusing to see people talk about how believing women is important and how brave we are and how brave I am and fuck Kato while also not reaching out to us. No one actually cared to check in on us on how we were doing. People would text me and be like, I'm so sorry I knew that he was such a cool. creep. I can't believe we all let that happen. It was so unhelpful. It's just a very weird feeling to watch everyone talk about you online. People were supportive, but they didn't quite nail what it means to be actually supportive and to really actually advocate for the victims of abuse. It was also

weird to see people talk about how brave we were and how brave I was, but I never once really felt brave at all. I was very scared for a number of reasons. I was terrified of my family seeing this online. I didn't have any control over who knew what happened to me. It was just a really, really weird time because I also was excited about the possibility of trying to enact some change. If listeners should find themselves in that position, how could they be more supportive towards survivors that's impact in a positive way. There's such a fine line between like advocating for someone because they need to be advocated for online and self-servingly sharing stuff because you want your experience to be shared, which is how I felt a lot of time. People just wanted to have their moment of talking about

how creepy he was so that they could garter some attention. But mostly I would say like just text to your friends. If your friend is experiencing something like this, tell them that you're thinking of them. Tell them that you're there to listen to them. If you want them to listen or ask them what they need. I was so vulnerable because I couldn't speak on my own behalf. And I think if people had, instead of posting about it on Facebook, had asked me how I was doing it, would have just made it so much easier. Next time on something was wrong. I think it was the lawsuit that made me realize more that it wasn't just Cato that had failed us. It was a lot of people that let us down,

and I thought that that was going to change. Thank you so much to each and every survivor and guest for sharing their experiences with us. And thank you for listening. Something Was Wrong is a Broken Cycle Media production created and executively produced by Tiffany Reese. Thank you endlessly to our team. Associate producer, Amy B. Chessler, social media marketing manager Lauren Barkman,

graphic artist Sarah Stewart, and audio engineers Becca High and Stephen Wack. Marissa and Travis at WME, Audio Boom, and our legal and security partners. Thank you so much to the incredibly talented Abiyomi Lewis for this season's gorgeous cover of Gladrag's original song, You Think You, from their album, One. under under. Thank you to music producer Janice J.P. Pacheco for their work on this cover recorded at the Grill Studios in Emoryville, California. Find all artist's socials linked in the episode notes to support and hear more. If you'd like to share your story with us, please head to something was wrong.com. If you would like to help support the show, you can subscribe and

listen ad free on Apple Podcasts, purchase a sticker from our sticker shop at Broken Cycle media.com, share the podcast with a loved one, or leave us a review. Want to stay up to date with us? Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at Something Was Wrong podcast. As always, thank you so much for listening. Until next time, stay safe, friends.