After publishing Remus College, I received a lot of feedback from people asking if the stories were factual or fabricated, like those “based on a true story” type productions. As I told them then, I can confirm to you, dear readers, that those stories are indeed true. Now, I have enough decency to change names and locations to protect the identities of the people in the book. Still, the account that I give in that book reflects the toxic work environment that the school had.

Since I left Remus and came to Romulus, I have shared stories with my fellow faculty members about some of the bizarre things Townsend and I encountered during our tour of duty. Many can’t believe that such a work culture could exist, but it did, and most certainly still thrives there.

That is why I find a lot of humor in the misadventures happening here at Romulus. Whenever things go a little haywire, I marvel at the level of panic the faculty erupts into. Many of their grievances revolve around trivial matters, such as parking spaces and coffee refills, which are the epitome of First World problems. My colleagues here don’t understand struggle or strife to the level that I do.

I don’t wear that statement as a badge of honor, but I feel it is true, given the circumstances I survived while working at one of the worst institutions of higher learning that still holds accreditation. If the people at Romulus dealt with ten percent of the nonsense Remus gave me, they would buckle like the walls of Jericho. I know it sounds like bragging, but there is no other way to explain the absurdity I experienced at Remus. None of the faculty members here needed to break up a parking lot fistfight between two professors, have another professor lie about a heart attack to take a semester off, or contend with two professors from the same department who worked in the same building under a “no contact” order because of a popularity contest.

I can’t help but laugh at just about everything at this point in my career, even with my pending release from Romulus. I should be enraged that I did not earn tenure at Romulus, but I can only laugh at the rationale for my release. My failure to obtain tenure was not due to what I did, but to what others failed to do. Even after the grievance committee returned with a verdict two hours after our meeting, I knew destiny did not want me to remain here. When I finish books two and three of Remus College, Romulus University will have its tome as well. I am learning that higher education is no less petty than any other profession. I find it more embarrassing because we are supposedly well-educated people who are carrying on like morons.