Prank amuses, shocks class

Just how many questions can a “student” ask a college professor before
getting kicked out of class? That was the premise the Kidd “Kraddick in the Morning” radio show came up with before sending its producer to a North Lake College classroom on Sept. 8.

“They may think it was a prank, but my students and I didn't think it was funny,” said Dr. Linda Long, the speech professor whose 8 a.m. speech class was interrupted by a man calling himself Richard Johnson.

Long said she turned her back on the class for a moment to look at a monitor when Johnson, whose real name is Richard Shertenlieb, a producer from Kidd “Kraddick in the Morning,” a nationally syndicated radio show, slipped into the room and took a seat.

Erica Shears, a student in the class, said in a letter, “It's disturbing, the way he was able to sneak into the college, then a classroom, and pull a prank of this level.”

In an audio recording of the incident provided by a student from the class, Felecia Davis, Long immediately questioned the man, who replied with his assumed name and said that he had just signed up for the class.

She was skeptical about the man's story and asked him repeatedly
for a class receipt, which caused him to become defensive. She then gave him a copy of the class syllabus and continued with her lecture.

Students reported the man said, “ OK, I'm in the classroom now.”

As the class progressed, Shertenlieb became disruptive, rude, and harassing towards the class and to Long. The taped recording of the incident revealed that the intruder's antics caused some students to laugh during the incident.

Long said that as Shertenlieb's disruption became louder and ruder, a student in the class, Milton Rohas, mouthed a question to her: “ Should he get the campus police?” Long gave him the go-ahead and Rohas left the room.

The recording revealed that around three minutes into the incident,the intruder made a loud cellular telephone call that lasted about two minutes.

She attempted to continue her class through the man's disruption and even told him to be quiet a number of times.

Long said Shertenlieb did not quiet down, and even went so far as to harass her by saying, “Oh, she's really hot.”

After about six minutes of the intruder's disruption, Long ordered the man out of the room. The man then pulled out a black bullhorn and yelled something that was amplified to such a loud volume that the recording was too garbled to distinguish the words.

The man then left the classroom without giving any reason for his intrusion. Police arrived a few moments later, listened to Davis' recording, and took statements from the class members. Long said the police were not able to speak to the intruder.

Long said she learned from a student the following morning that the disruption had been a radio prank for the Kidd “Kraddick in the Morning” radio show and it was broadcast to listeners across the country. She requested that her students write letters detailing their experience in the classroom that morning.

Jon Smiley, a student in the class, said in a letter that, “This act was very inconsiderate and startling.”

Marvin DeWolfe, a North Lake College student, heard the Kidd Kraddick broadcast on Sept. 8. He said, “ I thought it was funny at the time, but then I realized that the closest college to their studio in Las Colinas is North Lake. Then I was caught in that weird place where you want to laugh but it's just too uncomfortable to enjoy. I kept thinking, 'Oh, that poor teacher.'”

A representative from the local radio station on which Kidd Kraddick in the Morning is broadcast, 106.1 KHKS KISS-FM, or from the Kidd Kraddick in the Morning staff, could not be reached for comment.

Danny Morris, North Lake College's chief of police, refused to comment because of the ongoing investigation.

In a written statement, North Lake College President Herlinda Glasscock said, “First and foremost, I want the radio station to understand the turmoil that was caused in the classroom. I want them to realize that they intruded on our teaching and learning process.”

Glasscock has sent a letter to KISS-FM's station manager, Brenda Adriance, and is in the process of arranging for a meeting between her and Adriance. Glasscock has also contacted a Dallas County Community College District legal representative to inquire as to what, if any, legal actions can be taken.

Janis Browning, North Lake College's director of marketing and public information said in an interview, “ It was inappropriate. It was scary. It was… well, dumb.”

Long believes others could learn from the incident. “I think the whole faculty needs to know this happened,” she said. “People need to know this could happen to other professors.”