S25 Ep8: Fifty and a Feather

Summary

Something Was Wrong — S25 Ep8: "Fifty and a Feather" (Feb 13, 2026)

Podcast: Something Was Wrong
Host: Broken Cycle Media
Episode Theme:
This episode delves deep into the aftermath of sexual misconduct allegations in a university theater department—specifically, a Title IX investigation against a faculty member, Cato Buss. Through first-person accounts, the episode explores survivor experiences, the failures and limitations of institutional processes, the insidious dynamics of abuse, the loss of community, and the long-lasting impact on those involved.

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Main Theme & Purpose

The episode focuses on the journey of several young women—primarily Morgan, Miranda, Olivia, and Rihanna—as they navigate the emotional and practical consequences of reporting sexual harassment and abuse by a college professor, Cato Buss. The story examines the barriers to justice within university Title IX systems and the personal aftermath of coming forward.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Realization and Reporting (04:10–09:03)

• Morgan's Growing Awareness
  Morgan discusses her slow realization of Cato’s pattern of inappropriate conduct toward students. Initially, red flags were easy to dismiss due to Cato's popularity and apparent generosity in the department. However, stories from peers and the broader societal context of #MeToo made her reconsider.

  • “That little voice just kept growing louder and louder.” — Morgan (06:04)

• The Scotland Trip Revelation
  After hearing negative stories about a departmental trip, Morgan quietly discloses her own experiences with Cato to Rihanna, which triggers a chain of revelations.

• Reporting to Title IX
  Morgan describes her initial meeting with Title IX officer Adrienne Martinez:

  • Felt believed and reassured.

  • Described incidents of groping/assault and underage alcohol use.

  • Given the choice of “formal” vs “informal” resolution; chose formal for perceived fairness.

  • “She told me the standard of evidence was a preponderance, which she described as fifty and a feather, meaning that if I proved any more than 50% that the incident happened, that Cato would be found responsible.” — Morgan (09:40)

2. Chaos, Secrets, and Sides (21:47–27:19)

• Miranda’s Reaction
  Miranda learns she is named in the complaint, panics, and, with Cato, deletes digital evidence and rehearses their "official story".

  • Lying is partly self-preservation and partly “because I thought I loved him.” (23:41)

• Olivia’s Experience
  Olivia is approached by Cato to act as a character witness. She complies and supports him in her Title IX meeting:

  • “And so right after that conversation, the Title IX office was right by where we were talking, and I walked there and met with the Title 9 lady. I told her immediately that he had told me everything and that none of it was true and that I was really pissed off about it.” — Olivia (25:22)

• Friendship Strains
  The department shuns Morgan; Miranda and Olivia turn against her, believing she lied.

• Rihanna’s Reluctant Participation
  Rihanna is pressured into testifying, fearing betrayal but ultimately supports the case with text evidence. She later reflects on the complexity:

  • “I get two things can be true at once. Cato should not have been engaging in that behavior. And Miranda can still have been hurt by me sharing private information.” — Rihanna (29:30)

3. Title IX Investigation - The Process and Flaws (30:05–47:30)

• Cato’s Defense and Institutional Favoritism
  Morgan learns Cato brings character witnesses (Olivia among them) to support his defense.

• Investigative Shortcomings

  • Confusing communication and unclear processes.
  • Witness interviews are tangential or not properly focused.
  • Cato’s denials are subtle; "I can't say she's lying" but later "No, that's not true." (32:08)

• Morgan’s Isolation
  Morgan is ostracized by peers, feels like the outcast, and is left unsupported.

  • "I was just ready to get my semester over with. But that just goes to show you how much of a cult of personality Cato had on that department … he was able to quickly turn this incident into how I was ruining his life.” — Morgan (39:41)

4. The Outcomes and Aftermath (41:52–49:20)

• The Ruling
  The investigator finds Morgan credible but, citing lack of witnesses and confusion over wording (“slap” vs. “grab”), the Dean rules Cato “not responsible”.

  • “I don’t even think anger is the right word for it. I just felt deflated. … He had won and I had lost.” — Morgan (41:45)

• Reflection on Responsibility
  Morgan is clear that departmental adults “had a responsibility to follow up and call out minor things that they were seeing.” (47:45)

• Systemic Failure
  The episode highlights the limits and failures of Title IX procedures, which allowed for “blind eyes,” victim-blaming, and retaliation.

5. Lingering Trauma and Evolution (51:27–61:20)

• Departmental Fallout
  Rihanna sums up the cultural shift:

  • “The whole department kind of turned on her and said, she’s the problem. She’s making things up. She wants attention, which is insane to think about.” (51:51)

• Coping and Moving Forward
  Olivia admits guilt for treating Morgan badly. Miranda, reflecting later, acknowledges Morgan’s bravery and that her own journey toward understanding she was abused was part of her personal healing and detachment from Cato.

• Miranda's Recovery
  As Miranda’s relationship with Cato fades, she begins a healthy relationship with a peer, realizing how her college years were overshadowed by Cato’s abuse.

  • “A lot of my first sexual experiences were with him and a lot of my firsts in any relationship were with him. And so when I met my boyfriend, I felt like I could have another life that was not surrounded by Cato.” — Miranda (60:34)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-------------|------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 09:40 | Morgan | “The standard of evidence was a preponderance, which she described as fifty and a feather...” | | 23:41 | Miranda | “The lying was partly because I thought that I loved him ... and partly self preservation.” | | 25:22 | Olivia | “He ... essentially asked me to be a character witness for him ... I told them if he was in a relationship with a student, I would know about it.” | | 29:30 | Rihanna | “Two things can be true at once. Cato should not have been engaging in that behavior. And Miranda can still have been hurt by me sharing private information.” | | 39:41 | Morgan | “[Shows] how much of a cult of personality Cato had on that whole department that he was able to ... turn this incident into how I was ruining his life.” | | 41:45 | Morgan | “I don’t even think anger is the right word for it. I just felt deflated.” | | 47:45 | Morgan | “The adults and the staff there really should have said something because maybe calling that out earlier would have discouraged or stopped the absolute breach …” | | 51:51 | Rihanna | “The whole department kind of turned on her and said, she’s the problem. She’s making things up. She wants attention, which is insane to think about.” | | 60:34 | Miranda | “A lot of my first sexual experiences were with him … when I met my boyfriend, I felt like I could have another life ... not surrounded by Cato.” |

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Morgan’s first hints & decision to report: 04:10–09:03
• Initial fallout and group response: 21:47–29:30
• Title IX process and ruling: 30:05–47:30
• Dean’s reasoning & emotional aftermath: 41:52–46:31
• Long-term impact, survivor perspectives: 51:27–61:20

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Tone & Language

The episode is deeply personal and often raw, with survivors speaking candidly about vulnerability, betrayal, and institutional failure. The language is unflinching throughout, with reflections on shame, anger, trauma, and hope.

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Takeaways

• Systems designed for protection can easily fail survivors, becoming a source of secondary trauma.
• Community response, influenced by power dynamics and loyalty, can deeply harm those who come forward.
• Healing is complex, but solidarity between survivors, even if indirect, can help break cycles of abuse.

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Next Episode Preview:
Miranda decides to file her own Title IX complaint, leading to new revelations and continued examination of abuse of power in the university theater department. (61:20–62:20)

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Transcript

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[Miranda]

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[Narrator/Host]

Let's Texas 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 and any linked materials should not be misconstrued as a substitution for legal or medical advice. We reached out to Professor Cato Buss 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.

[Miranda]

You think you know me.

[Morgan]

You don't know me well at all. You don't know anybody till you talk.

[Rihanna]

To someone.

[Narrator/Host]

Previously on Something Was Wrong.

[Miranda]

I'd said something like I have feelings towards you. He immediately was like, I like you too. He of course reciprocated because that made him feel better about himself and made him feel like he was not inherently abusing me, which he was. It was an incredibly isolating time and I Was absolutely riddled with anxiety.

[Olivia]

He did make a very concerted effort to make her not want to be my friend anymore. There was a necessary distance and animosity that he had to create.

[Rihanna]

Miranda has this magical aura. Of course he loves Miranda and wants to be with Miranda. And then when Morgan described to me that she had been sexually harassed by Cato. This facade that I had built up shattered.

[Morgan]

I was in the back of the group and then all of a sudden I feel this hand on my ass. I look and then I see Cato is rushing up behind me on my left. There are more red flags there. Throughout my time in the department, I started to pick up on the pattern too. Each year I would see the new freshmen coming in and I would see how he would treat them. Just like how he would treat me.

[Narrator/Host]

Here's Morgan.

[Morgan]

I maybe started to realize that he was playing a game. That he was maybe acting beyond just on the stage. But I wasn't sure because so many people in the department absolutely loved him and talked about all the opportunities that he gave them and how incredible it was to be a part of his work and the improvements in the department. I was privy to some of that too. I was getting scholarship money. I got to be a part of a main stage production as a freshman. And so I felt very torn because these red flags that I was experiencing, for the most part, I was able to dismiss them or to say that they weren't certain. But that little voice just kept growing louder and louder. And as I went on in the department and that leads to fall of 2017. Had went on a Scotland trip. I believe that this was in fall of 2017. They came back and they didn't have all good things to say about the trip. I remember we were at some restaurant between classes just talking about the experience and how some weird things happened. Cato made them uncomfortable. And that reminded me of what had happened way back at kcactf. And that was the first time I had told anybody about what had happened to me. I had not told a soul before then. But even at that time, I think we both had an understanding of Cato's a little too familiar. With some of us. He crosses the boundaries sometimes between being a professor and being our mentor and friend. We also just kind of assumed that that was the price that was paid for being able to work so closely and intimately with actors. But also right around that time is when MeToo first started to gain prevalence in the news. I was reading the stories about Harvey Weinstein and all of the actresses I was feeling more and more at odds about the whole situation. I didn't even think about going and telling anybody until one evening. Rihanna, who I've been very close with for a long time. Her and I went to high school together. She was so upset, and I could tell that something was on her mind. And she said she had something to tell me and that it was really bad. I just had a feeling that it was about Cato and Miranda. I didn't know Miranda very well at all. She was friends with a couple of people that I was close with, but that was the extent of it. That semester, Cato was putting on a production of Eurydice, and they were working so closely together, so many hours that they were spending the amount of work and the role that she played in that production. I went and saw the production, and I remember seeing Lindsey in some of the scenes, and I just had a bad taste in my mouth from all of it, but all I had was a hunch. But Rihanna told me that she had really, really bad news and that she didn't know how to say it. I asked her if it had to do with Cato, and I don't remember if she said yes or if she didn't say anything. But I knew after I asked that the answer was yes. I told her about what happened to me in 2015. And then she looked at me and she was like, he and Miranda are in a relationship. She told me that Miranda told her that and that it was ongoing. After I found out about the relationship, I felt sad for her because I knew what had happened with Lindsay and how that story ended. That's what was gonna happen to her too. I told Rihanna, we have to report this. So the next day, I call my theater ed advisor because I didn't know call who I was supposed to bring this information to. She gets back to me and she tells me that this is something I need to bring to Title IX. And she let Title 9 know about it. And that's when I got introduced to UCO's Title IX office. I remember my first meeting was December 5, 2017, and I was speaking with Adrienne Martinez.

[Narrator/Host]

And how did that conversation go?

[Morgan]

It lasted a while. She was very nice. I felt very believed by her. I felt like she was very professional. She was very comforting. And she made it a point to make sure that I felt safe in telling my story. I know now that that is not what Title IX coordinators jobs are, but she very much made it seem like it was her job to hear my story. And to help me go through that process of reporting and getting a safe resolution. Anything that I thought was relevant, I told her. But at the time, I still didn't really connect what all this situation was. I'm not even sure if I knew what grooming was at the time. I didn't talk about all the closed door office visits. I didn't tell her about the weird whipping, blocking that he had me do. I talked about what happened in Casey ACTF in 2015, about him groping me, assaulting me, grabbing me, whatever you wanna call it, and then about him inviting me to his room. And I talked a lot about Miranda, and I talked a lot about Lindsay. And she let me talk as long as I wanted. She didn't ask me a whole lot of questions guiding back to the incident in 2015. She asked me if alcohol was involved. I told her I wasn't trying to get anyone in trouble, but that, yes, he supplied alcohol to us, that he knew some of us were underage, that he drank with us. But I told her that I don't think that that had an impact or an effect on what happened. Now I'm not sure if I still believe that, but at the time, that's what I thought. So that's what I said. She thanked me for bringing this information to her. And then she told me that there were two different avenues that we could go down. We could either do an informal or formal resolution. And she talked a little bit about what both of those things meant. She gave me a piece of paper that had a bunch of graphics and arrows that pointed to different places. That was confusing and I don't really remember much about it, but she told me that we could do an informal process which would be talking to both parties and coming up with some sort of collaborative resolution, or that we could do a formal investigation, which would probably take longer and would involve getting more official statements and documents, and that I need to decide which path I thought we should go down. I didn't want Cato to even get in trouble. I just wanted it to stop. I wanted everything to be on the up and up and fair. And I remember even saying I want Cato to have a fair shake in representation at this, so I want to go through the formal investigation. I remember Adrian asking me if I was sure and kind of what that meant. And I was very adamant for the wrong reasons at the time, I think because I was still trying to protect Cato for some reason. But I was very clear that I wanted a formal investigation. She told me the Standard of evidence was a preponderance, which she described as 50 and a feather, meaning that if I proved any more than 50% that the incident happened, that Cada would be found responsible. She explained to me the process of how I could review statements that he had said. And she told me that I was gonna be able to see the final draft of the report before she submitted it to the dean. She had me draw a sketch of the room where he slapped my ass, asked me to provide names of possible witnesses. She told me that I would need to come in and tell my story again, that I would need to write up a statement. I remember going back and meeting with her a couple of more times over that next week. She told me that there was going to be a period of time where she would be gathering initial facts before she notified Cato that the complaint had come in. She didn't give me a specific timeline, but she very much made it seem like this case would be pretty simple and so that it wouldn't take very long. Now, what very long meant, I had no idea. She also made it a point to let me know that she really wanted to get things submitted and the initial report or the complaint sent to Cato before we had left for winter break. Since I had initially reported December 5, there was not a lot of time to make that happen. But I trusted her in that process. Anytime she wanted me to come in, I did. Anytime she called me, I answered, or I immediately called her back, and I had all of the things that she had asked for. I remember at one point, I told her that I thought that Kaedo was maybe onto something, and she asked me why I thought that. I told her that it was because he had reached out to me about solving some problem or a minor dispute I had with an instructor way back in April of that year. And it had never been addressed. But now, all of a sudden, he was emailing me, asking me about this situation and seeing what he could do to help, and that just kind of flagged for me. But she said that there wouldn't be a reason that he knew anything. There was really nothing to be done. She told me that I would be notified when he was notified of the complaint right around that time. I was vice president of Central Improv at the time, and we were about to travel again with Cato to Kansas City for some competition, and I expressed to Adrian that I was concerned about going on this trip with him. She told me that she understood my concern, however, because the trip was coming up so soon, and she Wasn't even sure she was going to be able to notify him yet about the investigation because of how that process went. She didn't know if there was anything she could do for me regarding traveling. And I understood that. So I made the decision to tell my troop that I was not going to go on that trip. I couldn't really give him a reason why, because she did tell me that I shouldn't be talking about the investigation or this process really with anybody, that it could jeopardize the investigation. And so I kind of just left them hanging. Then a couple days later, another one of the Improv members tells me that Kato advised them to invite Miranda to come on the trip, despite the fact that Miranda was not at all in Central Improv. And that's when I lost my shit. Something just kind of flipped in me. And I knew at that point, oh, no, this man knows what he's doing and he doesn't care. I was so angry that day, and I had to go to work. And I worked at the mall. I'm in the mall at some department store, walking around, and I run into another person in the department. He asked me how I was doing, or maybe I looked upset. And he asked me what was wrong, and I just let it all out. I told him how I was upset because I couldn't go on this trip because I was filing this case against Kato for Title nine. That I wasn't sure if anything was going to happen about it, and that he was just going to keep getting away with doing these things to us. And that he was sleeping with Miranda. He was like, wow, yeah, that's a lot. And then I left, and I went to work letting it out. Immediately, I felt a little bit better. But then the guilt started to set in. I realized that I had put Miranda's story out there, and that was not my place to do that. That was not my business to be telling to some random theater student in the middle of Dillard's. And I still feel bad about that because that was fucked up of me. Foreign.

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[Miranda]

Here'S Miranda December Right before winter break, Cato and I were still seeing each other often, whenever we could find time to see one another. We were still texting all the time. We were still in an active relationship. I received a call from a friend in the department who was really good friends with Morgan and he told me that Morgan was filing a Title IX against Cato and that I was named in some capacity. I denied everything, of course, and said that we have no involvement. He was like, okay, well this thing is going to come out soon. Just a heads up. I of course the next day go into work with all of this on my mind and text Cato in the morning and say I need to talk to you as soon as possible. I have a huge panic attack at work, have to leave and Kaedo and I meet in his office. It's on like a Sunday afternoon and I tell him that she's filing a Title IX against him. I at the time had no idea what she was filing for. All I knew is that she was filing and that my name was mentioned. It's at that time that we collectively delete all of our text message threads together, all of our saved contact on Snapchat. We delete all of our school emails and we get our story straight. Like why we spend so much time together. For anyone that would ask what he was doing at my apartment, we made up this story that he was dropping off fucking books at my apartment and that's why he was there. The lying was partly because I thought that I loved him and I wanted to be with him and it was partly self preservation of the sheer embarrassment of suddenly finding out that my peers thought or knew really that I was in a relationship with him, all of a sudden, all of my merit at school, which was that I was a pretty good actor and was cast in a lot of important things by him, was now, in my head, dismantled because I was in a relationship with him. My motivation was to preserve my image in a lot of ways. Sure enough, within, like, two days of my friend calling me to tell me that Morgan had submitted her Title ix, I was emailed by the Title IX office to come in at the very beginning of winter break.

[Narrator/Host]

Here's Olivia.

[Olivia]

I had gotten the email from the school, and it was password protected. Like, I had to enter my university credentials. And it doesn't say in the subject line, title IX wants to talk to you. It's all very, like, hush, hush. And I didn't open it because they had always told us, don't just put your credentials into anything. And so I just left it. I got the text from Kato saying, like, I need to talk to you. When can you get here? And I got in my car immediately. It was clear that, like, something was very wrong. I met him at the theater that was on campus. He asked, did you get an email from Title ix? And he named the lady that was in charge of it at the time. And I was like, is that what that email was? And he was like, yes, you were named as a witness. And then he named the student that had started the case. Morgan had alleged that he had tapped her on the butt. He asserted that Morgan was trying to destroy his life. He commented on his marriage. He said he wasn't eating. He talked about his daughter, who was around our age, and how he was worried about her finding all this out. And he, in one way or another, essentially asked me to be a character witness for him. Since they had called me in, I think he was hoping that I would go and tell them it wasn't true. And so right after that conversation, the Title IX office was right by where we were talking, and I walked there and met with the Title nine lady. I told her immediately that he had told me everything and that none of it was true and that I was really pissed off about it. And I told them if he was in a relationship with a student, I would know about it. I was, like, very keenly aware of how he treated his students and that he was just like a dad to us. They did ask about him providing alcohol, and I was honest and told them, yes, he did do that, but that it wasn't out of the ordinary at those things for professors to be drinking with their students. That was really, like, the only thing that they seemed to care about. So I left and Miranda texted me. I'm guessing Kato had let her know that I had spoken with him. And she apologized. She was basically like, I'm really sorry that you had to be involved in this. It's been really awful.

[Morgan]

None of it's true.

[Olivia]

She told me about how over the break they had to go and talk to Title 9. And I didn't know that at that time they had also destroyed evidence that they had been together. As far as I knew, she was just as surprised as I was after that. We, like, hated Morgan because we were convinced that she had lied. And I was frustrated that she had thrown my name out there without consulting me first and done that also to Miranda. I knew her in passing. We weren't friends. So I think because of that, it was really easy to, like, depersonalize her and decide that she was the problem.

[Narrator/Host]

Here's Rihanna.

[Rihanna]

Morgan went in and filed their report and gave them some of the information that I had given her. And then I had a call with the Title IX office, the person who investigated the Title ix, who Miranda and Morgan both talked with. They asked if I would come in for an in person interview. I think I scheduled one and then I ghosted them because I was fucking terrified. A, because I would be tattling on this man who kind of directly holds my future in his hands. And then B, because it felt like the world's biggest betrayal to one of my best friends. I think the only reason I actually ended up going in is because I was walking on campus and I ran into Morgan and she goes, oh, hey, what are you doing right now? And I was like, oh, nothing. And she said, great, let's go to the Title 9 office. We went and I did it. And I think Morgan actually even, like, apologized to me a few years ago for doing that. And I was like, please don't. I'm so glad I went and did it, even though it was terrifying at the time. I went in and did the in person interview and I had some texts. I had the text where she told me, cato is coming over to my house. And I provided that, and I provided my witness statement that Miranda had disclosed to me that she was engaging in a sexual relationship with Cato. I didn't hear anything for a few weeks. And I, of course, did not say anything to Miranda because I was terrified too. And then one night, I think she texted me, like, hey, I really need to talk to you. And I avoided her for a few more days and Then eventually we talked about it. She did not try to, like, deny that it happened. It was more like, how could you? And why did you give them this information? I think the 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 into the fact that it was me who said this. It was really fucking uncomfortable. I get two things can be true at once. Cato should not have been engaging in that behavior. And Miranda can still have been hurt by me sharing private information. And I know that I was doing it to protect her, but I completely understand why 19 year old Miranda felt the way she did in that moment. I don't know how our friendship survived that. I still am in awe that our friendship survived that. I think it attests to the fact, like, how much we both care about each other and love each other. I tell my partner all the time, like, I can't imagine going through that with anyone else and coming out the other end, still friends.

[Narrator/Host]

Here's Morgan.

[Morgan]

I didn't know that during Title 9 investigations that we can bring people to talk about how awesome we are or how honest we are. But Kado got to do that, and of course Olivia did. But I had no idea that that had happened. After she, the Title 9 investigator, had the initial meeting with Cato, I go into her office and she hands me a typed version in general of their notes. But I remember not reading that much of it and kind of just going through what she was verbally telling me. And she told me that she sent the email. The email did not say the specifics. It just said that a Title IX complaint had been lodged against him. He called, had the appointment with her that same afternoon. We know now that he had been told previously that the report was happening, but officially from the university, he found out in her office what the complaint was. I know that other reports that I had made regarding other students like Lindsay and Miranda were addressed, but I wasn't privy to that information because it didn't directly pertain to me. And I knew that she told me that regarding my allegations, that his initial response, and this is in the final report, was that, quote, I can't say she's lying. So you'd think, oh, closed case, right? No, she clarifies, does that mean that you are admitting to the accusation? And then he pauses. This is according to the report and to what Adrian told me. And he says, I don't really remember that that was a long time ago. At this point, it would have been almost three years since that had happened. I don't know about you, but I don't need a long pause when someone asks me if I've groped anyone. But I digress. Finally, he ends up saying, no, that's not true. He also did say that it was impossible for him to have invited me to stay at his hotel room because his hotel was in a different place from where we were staying, despite the fact that he brought me and a group of people to his hotel room the next year. And he and I both cooperated that at times we did talk backs in faculty rooms. And at that point she tells him what his next steps are. He has a chance to respond and gather exhibits or evidence corroborating his story. I had one witness that I named who possibly had seen the assault. She had had trouble getting in contact with him. He had missed an appointment with her. But then she got a hold of him on the phone. She didn't ask him pointedly if he saw Cato slap my ass. She asked him broad questions about the trip, about faculty and student interactions. She asked him about drinking on the trip, and he did say that there was underage drinking and that we were drinking with faculty. She asked if he'd saw anything of note during the trip, and he had said no. She asked me if she had permission to ask him explicitly if he saw me get slapped on the ass by Kato. And I told her that yes, she could. She tries to get a hold of him. She can't. He calls her back. She doesn't answer. And at this point, this is late January, early February, Kaedo came back to Adrian's office with his cooperating evidence, which was a few email exchanges that he and I had had throughout the years. And he used that to show that we had a positive relationship. He also talked about how he had done some research and soul searching regarding Title 9. And he had realized that throughout his time at U. C. O. That he possibly could have engaged in microaggressions and that he was going to be better in the future. I was able to respond to that. When she asks me if I have any more evidence to bring her, I tell her no, that I had submitted everything that I had at the beginning. And throughout the whole process. I knew that I probably wasn't going to get justice or that he wasn't going to be found responsible for groping me. There were no witnesses. And it was really boiled down to a he said, she said thing. She asked if she could submit the draft of information and the report and I told her that she could. My main concern was maybe this whole process will get him to stop fucking with all of us. Maybe it'll get him to stop this relationship with Miranda. Maybe he will start acting right.

[Narrator/Host]

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[Narrator/Host]

Here's Morgan again.

[Morgan]

During that time I was a part of this Irene Ryan studio class. Because I was getting ready to go again to kcactf. I was selected again to be an Irene Ryan partner. Throughout the whole time I was in contact with Adrian because I really did not want to be around Cato. I didn't want to have to go on this trip with him. I was assured in writing that Cato would not be a part of this class that I had to take to go on this trip and that Cato would not be going to Casey ACTF with us that year. So I'm going through the class and what do you know? Cato is a part of it. While he wasn't the instructor on record, he was involved with coaching us. I had to do showcase in front of him, which was mortifying. But there was nothing really Adrian could do because he wasn't the instructor of record. She did ensure to me though that he would not be going on the trip. At this point I'm withdrawing very much from the university. I am doing what I need to to graduate. I'm student teaching that next semester so I'm really finishing up classes. It really wasn't comfortable for me to be around the department much anyway because no one was talking to me anymore. The lunch trips between classes and the hangouts and all that stuff I was no longer included in. People were not talking to me during class at shows. It was made very clear to me that I was blacklisted and I knew why. I was just ready to get my semester over with. But I had made a commitment to my Irene Ryan partner so I was going on the trip. I remember we are all in the green room with our luggage waiting to go. Cato walks in with the other drivers to the green room and I can feel my stomach in my throat. Cato notifies all of us that he will not be going on the trip. He waited until that moment right before we're all leaving to tell us all that he wasn't going and made it so dramatic and made this whole little speech about how he was devastated that he couldn't go but he just was not able to and that he loved us and that he was so proud of us and that we were going to do amazing. And people fucking cried like they were so disappointed that he wasn't going to be there with us. And so then I get to sit on this hours long car ride and listen to people lament about how sad they are and about how this trip isn't going to be the same. And he knew exactly what he was doing by setting it up. That way. It's so funny, the dichotomy of it, because that December, before everything dropped to the department, they had thrown me a surprise birthday party. And I remember being at that party and seeing all these people. I walk into the door and they yell, surprise. And this is after I had reported, but before anyone else really knew anything. And I remember thinking, these are my people. This is going to be okay. But that just goes to show you how much of a cult of personality Cato had on that whole department that he was able to so quickly turn this incident into how I was ruining his life and how I was so spiteful. He really made himself the victim out of all of it. I don't even think anger is the right word for it. I just felt deflated. I was just resigned to the fact that he had won and that I had lost. And at least all of this was almost over at that point. I really had no faith that anything was gonna happen.

[Narrator/Host]

When did you learn of the outcome of the Title IX decision?

[Morgan]

Funnily enough, I received the email of her final draft and then the dean's decision on the same day, which was the Friday that we were still at KCACTF in San Angelo, Texas, at the festival. I got the first email of her final draft, and I read through all of that information in my hotel room and scroll to the bottom. She went through all of the statements. She mentioned how I had shown veracity in my reporting because I was consistent in the story that I had told, that I showed an effort of wanting the report and the investigation to be done fairly, that I made efforts to not tamper with the investigation. I didn't tell the witness specifically what he was going to be answering questions about. I just told him that he was going to be contacted about the festival we went to in 2015. She talked about how it was common for victims to not come forward until years later and that she had nothing in the statement at all about me being inconsistent. She goes on to Cato's information. She mentions the thing about him saying, if she said that, I can't say that she's lying. She mentions everything about him bringing up the emails, but that ultimately she found him not responsible. I wasn't that surprised, but I was still disappointed. Not that long later, maybe a few hours, I get another email of the dean's decision and he agreed with her ruling that Cato was not responsible. However, he made a point to add his own ruling. And I'll just read directly from his writing. The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the outcome of the university investigation at the University of Central Oklahoma. Specifically, this investigation concerned alleged policy violations from the current UCO harassment and discrimination policies. I have considered the allegations, your responses, the statements of any available witnesses, as well as the findings and recommendations of the university investigator. Based upon all of the information available and based on a more likely than not standard of proof, I have determined that the respondent is not responsible for violating the aforementioned policies. I concur with the Martinez report in regard to the complaint of non consensual sexual contact. In addition to the questions of veracity, Martinez reports, I also find there to be a difference between reporting a quote slap and a quote grab. While I hesitate to characterize report as untrue, the span of time between the original act, the differences between a slap and a grab, the lack of evidence that this is a continuing behavior, and the lack of immediately corroborating evidence do not not present a case where I feel there is greater than 50% of evidence in the complainant's favor.

[Narrator/Host]

Whether it was a slap or a grab, it would be inappropriate, right?

[Morgan]

But what he's saying is because sometimes in my report I said Cato slapped my ass and other times in the report I say Cato grabbed my ass. And so that's inconsistency in my story. I was so upset I felt like I was slapped in the face. I don't understand how the Dean was able to justify his decision by quoting instances in my reporting process that Adrian even explains is not a reason that I am untrustworthy or an unreliable reporter. He says in addition to the questions of veracity, if you go into the report, she says multiple times that there is not a question of my veracity.

[Narrator/Host]

What do you take out of that?

[Morgan]

That there was no way that they were going to find him responsible. There's not actually a process in place or a standard of ruling on these investigations. If the Dean is allowed to directly contradict the Expert, their Title 9 coordinator, as far as her reasonings and her conclusions, then all that says is that the whole Title IX process is a fucking joke.

[Narrator/Host]

How did that impact your sense of safety in terms of continuing your education there and being in that program?

[Morgan]

I knew that I wasn't going to be a part of the theater department in anything but name the Theater Honored Society that I was a part of. I stopped showing up to those meetings. I was no longer involved in central improv. I didn't go see any more of the productions at uco. I finished that semester. My student taught. I graduated in December of that year and I was out of there. Not only did I not feel safe being there, but I felt like any sort of involvement that I had was co signing that behavior. I had to get my degree, otherwise I couldn't be a teacher. And so I knew that I had to put my nose down and finish to get that piece of paper, but I didn't want to be a part of it at all.

[Narrator/Host]

What responsibility do you think now that the department had to protect students? What do you feel like they should have done?

[Morgan]

I think that before, during and after my report, a lot of people turned a blind eye to some very questionable behavior. And I think that they had a responsibility to follow up and call out minor things that they were seeing. Everybody saw the way that Cato treated Lindsay. Everybody saw his wild mood swings. Everybody saw how much he played favorites. Everybody knew he was showing up to events and sometimes even classes intoxicated. Everybody knew he was providing alcohol to students who were underaged. We all knew these things but didn't say anything. And while I take some responsibility in not reporting or saying anything during my time there, the adults and the staff there really should have said something because maybe calling that out earlier would have discouraged or stopped the absolute breach of I don't even know how to describe what all he did to Miranda and other students. This wasn't just an instance of him crossing boundaries with multiple young women. This was an instance of him manipulating all of us so that he always had someone that he could feed off of. This was a system for him, a game. He was always going to have new people coming into the folds.

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[Rihanna]

Here's Rihanna Because Miranda and Kato both denied that the relationship was happening, the Title nine report ended up really focusing on Morgan's complaint. Of course, Miranda does not want to disclose to the school that this is happening. That's her private life. She doesn't want people to know about it. So the public story was, this never happened. There are some people who are really mad because Cato picks favorites and they're not those favorites, so they're making up lies about Cato. I think Morgan was really trying to get people to band together, really trying to highlight like, hey, something is wrong here and something is happening that shouldn't be. And because of that, it made her a target. The whole department kind of turned on her and said, she's the problem. She's making things up. She wants attention, which is insane to think about. Morgan was shunned and shamed, and I saw directly my classmate's opinion of Morgan switch very drastically.

[Narrator/Host]

Did Cado ever speak to you about the Title IX that Morgan filed?

[Rihanna]

No, not that I remember. Miranda was I don't mean this in a mean way, but kind of like the mouthpiece for Cado. I think Cato was kind of instructing her on what to say to me about it, and that's where it was left. It got all shoved under the rug. Miranda and I stayed friends. We hung out pretty frequently. I think eventually she even started mentioning Cato again to me, which was very confusing and upsetting because I in My heart knew that that was not an appropriate relationship. But in my 19 year old mind, I'm like, well, I reported it. I did what I needed to school, determined that nothing was happening or that it wasn't inappropriate or whatever they determined.

[Narrator/Host]

Here's Olivia.

[Olivia]

I feel like for a while he was really on the straight and narrow because he knew that he was being investigated and I think he didn't want to get caught. Because of that, our relationship went back to normal the way that it always had been. And that animosity that I had felt from him during Eurydice kind of disappeared. He started treating me well again. I was like, he's the old Cato. He's back to normal. I felt really bad for him because I felt like it had really ruined a lot of stuff in his life. I think that empathy clouded my judgment in a lot of ways. It's difficult to understand that it's warped while you're in it. But when you have somebody just constantly in your ear talking about how traumatized they were, how much they need you to like be there for them and to speak on their behalf, really changes the relationship and adds this new layer of intimacy. Our big trip that we would always go in in the spring, our like big competition that was like the trip everybody wanted to go on. He was not allowed to go that year. Morgan was going on that trip. And so to be honest, Miranda and I were kind of horrible to Morgan at that trip. We were very discreetly horrible. Like a lot of talking crap about her and not wanting to be around her. It was uncomfortable. And I feel really guilty about it now because I wish that we all would have handled it a lot differently than we did. But I was going off of the information that I had at the time. And honestly that resulted in a lot that I feel really bad about today.

[Narrator/Host]

Did you notice a change in Miranda after the initial Title nine happened?

[Olivia]

Yeah, definitely. They were not seen together often at.

[Morgan]

All at that point.

[Olivia]

And she talked about him a lot less whenever the allegations first came out. I could tell their relationship wasn't as close, but I would ask her, have you spoken with Cato lately? And she didn't really want to talk about it. I just assumed that after everything happened she wanted to put some distance there.

[Narrator/Host]

Here's Miranda.

[Miranda]

Word got out that Morgan had filed her Title nine against him and she was incredibly ostracized from the department. People chose him, they chose his side of things. She was brave enough to file her Title IX against him, which went nowhere because they couldn't prove that he had inappropriately touched her. The results of the Title IX were that he could only speak to her if there was another professor in the room, and he was barred from school travel for a semester. And that was the conclusion of the title IX.

[Narrator/Host]

Did you any point talk to Morgan about this?

[Miranda]

No. We never spoke or acknowledged one another until I had filed my Title IX complaint against him. Morgan was doing the best that she could have done and didn't think it was appropriate to contact me. But I do often think about how things could have been different for me if she would have approached me, which I don't fault her for. I like to think that I would have believed her. And it would have resulted in the two of us rallying together and filing a really big joint Title ix. But it also could have resulted in exactly what happened, which is I find out in advance and Cato and I choose to lie. It wasn't until the dust had settled of the Title IX that I realized that she might have been telling the truth because. Because I really believed that she wasn't. And I believed him. It wasn't until winter break, when I didn't see him for three weeks because I was home and he was spending time with his family and whatnot, that I was really, for the first time that whole semester, given the time to have a break from my life in general and to not be in classes at the same time, to really reflect on the implications of her Title IX against him and what that meant for me. I, in hindsight, think that his constant communication and wanting to see me was not necessarily because he loved me, but also partly because he needed to keep me close so that I didn't realize that he was abusing me. The next semester, we were still seeing one another. We would meet at a gas station 15 minutes away from the college, and I would get in his car and we would drive in to, like, the middle of nowhere and hang out for an hour or so. And then he would drop me back off at the gas station. We would Snapchat and text when we could, and we were just really careful to delete all of that communication after the Title ix. But our rule for seeing one another was that we had to be really cautious about seeing each other on school grounds. We only saw each other in secret off campus by kcctf, which was in February. I had began to, like, distance myself from him that year. I had my own set of the monologue and some scenes to perform with a partner, and Cato did a lot of training for me because I had my own nomination. I had made it to the semifinals round and I remember feeling proud of myself for making it to semifinals and he could not be there because he was barred from school trips that semester. So I was texting him when I told him that I went to semifinals. I remember feeling really annoyed because he was very excited for me and the fact that I made it to semifinals, but he made it about himself. I distinctly remember feeling like maybe I don't like him anymore and that feeling would just progress. We were going to Scotland that summer and so I would see him a few times a week for rehearsals for our show in Scotland. Towards the end of my second semester of junior year and between Scotland, I eventually would only email him if I needed something that was related to school. Our contact slowly dwindled. I wouldn't really respond to his text or his Snapchats. It was largely because of Morgan and her Title ix. I had a really hard time believing after that that he was truly just in love with me and had never done this before with another student. Once I saw that he had abused someone else, I could not shake the feeling that I was then being abused. The summer of my junior year, going into my senior year, we still went to Scotland and he was allowed to go to Scotland. By the time that we went to Scotland, it was completely platonic again. When we were in Scotland, I didn't really see him more than I had to. There was no sneaking off to plays with one another. I spent time with my friends and very actively didn't want to be around him in that way. As much as I was not responding, he was still reaching out to me and trying to text me about random stuff. He would say, I miss you and I love you a lot. But he would never address the actual elephant in the room. The summer before my senior year, I started to get to know who is currently my boyfriend. We that summer would start casually dating one another. It was my relationship with him that kind of made me feel incredibly normal. I can date people my age and I can have a normal experience because the majority of my college experience, which is the majority of my year young adult life was shrouded by Cato. A lot of my first sexual experiences were with him and a lot of my firsts in any relationship were with him. And so when I met my boyfriend, I felt like I could have another life that was not surrounded by ko.

[Narrator/Host]

Next time on Something was Wrong.

[Rihanna]

It was a show about sexual assault, about women in a war torn time and the terror that they face. 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.

[Miranda]

I decided that I wanted to file a Title IX complaint against him. 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.

[Olivia]

She asked, do you remember a few years ago when all that Title IX shit happened while all of it was true? I am filing a new report with the university.

[Narrator/Host]

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. Chesler, Social Media Marketing Manager Lauren Barkman, Graphic artist Sarah Stewart, and audio engineers Becca High and Steven Wack, Marissa and Travis@WME AudioBoom, and our legal and security partners. Thank you so much to the incredibly talented Abiomi Lewis for this season's gorgeous cover of Glad Rag's original song you Think youk from their album Wonder Under. Thank you to music producer Janice JP Pacheco for their work on this cover recorded at the Grill Studios in Emeryville, California. Find all artists socials linked in the episode notes to support and hear more. If you'd like to share your story with us, please head to SomethingWasWrong.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 [e-mail], 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 something was wrong podcast. As always, thank you so much for listening. Until next time, stay safe. Friends.

[Morgan]

Someone.