Chris Dussold His Dream Job Analysis

Courtney Fox
Professor G.
English 1020
29 March 29, 2014
Rumors Destroy In my Chapter eleven readings, I chose to synthesize “What Cost Chris Dussold His Dream Job?” The story is centered on Chris Dussold who was an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University. Throughout his college years, Chris made it a point that he wouldn’t work anywhere else except Southern Illinois University. His first couple of years at the university were among the best of anywhere he had been employed. However, in the fall of 2003 a terrible thing had started. He heard a rumor going around that he was sleeping with an undergraduate in financial-management club. The woman mentioned was Jennifer Peyla. According to Dussold, he barely knew Jennifer Peyla. The only contact Dussold
stated he previously had, according to him, was once, “giving her a ride to her car in the parking lot” (350). With most rumors, Dussold remembers just shrugging it off. Later that fall, another colleague approached him saying this nonsense needed to stop.
That October, he set up a meeting with Jennifer Peyla along with an associate professor of economics. Ms. Peyla stated that “I did not start the rumor and have not had any sort of inappropriate relationship,” (350). A few months passed and then in January Ms. Peyla showed up and stated that many other professors were urging her to file a complaint against him. The morning of January a bad omen occurred according to Mr. Dussold. Twenty-two of his cows had fallen into a partially frozen pond overnight and died. Later that day, he was called to the provost’s office. An investigation had been opened by the university and they had found no evidence to support these claims. However, that sigh of relief would not last long. He was later called to the deans office and probed about things such as his sex life. The dean made it clear that even though the investigation proved nothing, he was going to decide on his own questions. In the month of March during spring break, Mr. Dussold decided to resign from his job but to surprise after turning in his resignation; he was fired on the spot. After the incidents, he filed a
lawsuit against several officials saying these statements were purposely falsely made. Today, Mr. Dussold works at McKendree College keeping his chairs closer to his door and takes any chance of not having a rumor start to the extreme. This rumor is classified as The Wedge-driving Aggression Rumor (Knapp 360). These rumors often divide groups and destroy loyalties. Many of people betrayed Mr. Dusold such as his dean. Even though this only started as a rumor, it began to spread more with lies. Many colleagues began to believe it which than led other students and staff to believe it as well. With Ms. Peyla not standing up to everyone and saying it was a lie, many people believed it to be. This rumor also started something that would peak public interest. As stated by Knapp, a rumor that adapts itself to the immediate circumstances of the group are more likely to be remembered (362).

Works Cited
Bartlett, Thomas. “What Cost Chris Dussold His Dream Job?” Behrens and Rosen. 349-355
Behrens,Laurence, and Leonard Rosen,eds. Writing And Reading Across The Curriculum. Upper Saddle River: Longman, 2012. Print.
Knapp,Robert. “A Psychology Of Rumor.” 360-363