Maybe she erased them herself. I never tell students to destroy their work, although sometimes that’s exactly the remedy they need. But I don’t coddle them, either. I was devastated when I heard she ended her life. I believed in her talent and vision. But I wouldn’t have been doing her any favors paying her another year to burn bridges at LAAC. You have to launch from this place with success and momentum, or you can’t make the leaps you need to.

The videos were erased after her death. How is that possible, in your mind?

It’s not. I asked our staff to do a welfare check and they found her, and I promptly called the police. The studio was under lock and key that whole time. No one could have tampered with her laptop.

What if someone entered the studio after her death, erased the files, and then locked the door again and walked away?

That’s an insidious claim. Wouldn’t there be evidence? Fingerprints?

Who has keys to the studio?

The student. And custodial has a set. That’s it.

Where do the custodians keep them?

I don’t know actually. Their office somewhere, I suppose. You can ask.

So it’s technically possible that someone lifted the key, unlocked the studio, erased the files, and replaced the key.

Sure. It sounds like an awful lot of trouble for a couple of student films, though. Isn’t it more likely that you have the dates and times wrong and that Brenae erased them herself?

Let’s go back to your last meeting with Brenae. You didn’t think the subject of the second video merited further investigation on your part.

As I’ve said twice now, I asked Brenae if she wanted to initiate formal sexual harassment proceedings with the college. She said only after she projected the video on a wall on campus. I said no deal. Students rarely consider the legal implications of what they do, but I have to. Our program can’t survive expensive public lawsuits.

What measures did the school take to make sure that students don’t carry firearms to campus?

We don’t allow firearms. I heard of Brenae’s Packing project about halfway through the week she was making it. I contacted her immediately and told her that she could never bring the weapon to campus or it would be confiscated and she would be suspended. She agreed, in writing. I can have my assistant show you the contract. I asked her once what she did with the gun after she completed the project, and she told me she’d sold it back to the gun dealer. I had no idea she stored it in her studio until she shot herself.

When did you learn of her death?

The day my staff discovered her. I won’t forget that day for a long time. The school has been very impacted by her loss. Very impacted.

She may have been in her studio for an entire day and night before she shot herself. Do you find it unusual that no one would notice this?