I was stunned – Tim was mild mannered – his solution was not.

“Tim, I will be arrested – there was a cop there earlier and the administrator is powerful,” I said.

“Take the furniture. It’s yours. Legally you have to be given notice which you weren’t, he had to give you a grace period to collect your stuff, he didn’t, and he broke the law by engaging a cop to keep you out of your house.”

Tim was young but he wasn’t stupid.

That night we broke a window, went in, unlocked the front door and carried the furniture to freedom.

Then we got the call from the cops.

They asked if I stole the administrator’s furniture.

I said it was my furniture and he could go to hell.

If he wanted an ugly story, I worked for the student paper and could tell our story there. We didn’t fear him.

We never heard another word.