Artificial intelligence has been said to be the worst enemy of modern educational institutions in recent years. Typically, this is due to fears of academic dishonesty among students; however, the reasoning has grown beyond that.

When former Director of Student Life, Dazhon Darien, was abruptly removed from his position in early 2019, the student body had questions. Now, nearly five years later, new information has been released about what Darien has been up to. The Baltimore Banner reported that Darien set off red flags for coworkers even before he committed the crime. Most media coverage seems to agree that “red flag” is the best term to describe his actions. After receiving criticism for lying on his resume, things worsened for Darien when he was charged with theft, stalking, and retaliating against a witness in April of this year. It all started when he was hired as the Pikesville High School athletics director in July 2023 at a staggering six-figure salary. After his three-month stint at Colorado Mesa University (CMU), Darien moved on to greener pastures with a falsified resume to his name.

Sixteen false claims have been confirmed on his resume, including a bachelor’s degree from Langston University in Oklahoma and a master’s degree from the same university in 2011 and 2012, respectively. One wasn’t enough for Darien; he supposedly earned another master’s degree in 2013 from Southern New Hampshire University. “It appears he did not meet the minimum requirements to be an athletic director in Pikesville,” said Fox Baltimore News reporter Chris Papst. Darien reportedly hadn’t even acquired a teaching certificate. Darien clearly lacked the qualifications to be hired as an athletic director; one might question whether he was ever qualified to work at CMU at all. The answer is unclear, but what is clear is that he wasn’t a good fit for CMU. Students have said they felt belittled by Darien’s words and actions.

In the past, Darien himself told The Criterion that CMU was afraid of his vision. When he was first removed from CMU, there was some protest: a few students felt that CMU was unwelcoming to staff members who were from out of state. John Marshall refuted those claims. What has since come to light about working with Darien puts those ideas to rest. Darien allegedly fabricating slander is something that might not have been possible on this level even five years ago. In a recent interview with President John Marshall, there was no mincing of words. Though CMU never discusses personnel files out of respect for their staff, it has become clear that Darien was fired for a good reason. “I would just say that we parted ways, and we don’t make those decisions lightly,” Marshall said. “His behavior was sufficiently problematic that we had to part ways quickly.”

Darien’s work history tells the story of short-term jobs after short-term jobs, sometimes with high salaries as well. However, this lifestyle apparently wasn’t suited for Darien. After Pikesville High School called him out on his falsified resume, he allegedly used AI to create a fake recording of the principal of Pikesville High School, Eric Eiswert, making foul statements that most news organizations won’t even address. “I seriously don’t understand why I have to constantly put up with these [racial slurs],” said the AI-generated recording in Eiswert’s voice. “If I have to get one more complaint from one more Jew in this community, I’m gonna join the other side.” It’s obvious why Darien was charged with retaliation against a witness after this recording was found to be yet another fabrication. Darien had sufficient motivation to create such a preposterous recording, and it seems he made no attempt to hide his involvement. A warrant was soon issued for his arrest, and he was apprehended while trying to board a flight with a firearm. A verdict and sentencing have yet to be delivered.

Marshall commented, “Well, goodness, I’m on hours of podcasts and YouTube and Instagram reels, and it would not be hard to put my voice in an AI.” Darien’s story may be more on the silly side, but it has real-life ramifications. That’s why it’s important to double- and triple-check whatever information you come across on the internet.