Whitmore Academy in Utah?

[Anonymous]

My son was not at the whitmore during the "movie incident" or for the incident that involved the boy who was beaten and went to the police.  Thank God.  He was at Lake Powell, but not this past fall.  

I think the reason he choses to not talk about much is his desire to move on.  He is putting all his effort into his future and not dwelling on the past.  Ironically, the kids involved in the "toughen him up" session became his best friends.  He holds no grudges and loves them unconditionally.  This is where it all becomes complicated and twisted.  So in a way they probably are protecting each other.

I am only interested in taking things further if he is.  At one point I asked him specifally if he wanted to report what he knew.  His response was "What good would it do?"  We talked about that further and I think he feels he might not be believed.  On a rare occasion he will start to open up, but will stop when things become too much to remember.  

I am taking a risk with him by even being on this site.  He doesn't know I have posted, only discoverd the site.  If he still makes visits here he will surely know it is me.  My only motive is to understand him better since he has been home.  Let's just say my understanding of his behavior has increased since finding this site.  This whole experience is a very delicate subject and I am treading lightly.  Let's just say I am collecting data and deciding what to do with it.

Thanks again for all the responses.  It has helped more than you can know.

Whitmore Alumni Mom(used as reference only)-and a very loving Mom!

[Anonymous]

Alumni Mom:  I thought I knew your son, but I was talking about a boy I knew who just left in Jan.  BUT isn't it amazing how similar all the stories are?  I am glad your son was not there to witness even more horrid stuff.  But if your son was at Lake Powell, HE DID WITNESS THE ABUSE of Joey, the boy who went to the police, because his abuse began at Lake Powell. Cheryl Sudweeks singled this boy out for abuse the day Mark delivered him to Lake Powell. It began that day and it never stopped! What happened to this boy at Lake Powell is abuse your son could not forget even if he wanted to.

[Anonymous]

Chris: when you come back on line I have a question.

Where did you received your training to be a School Registrar at Whitmore.

I understand that the kept up with the students'credits, and advised them which classes they needed to take to graduate etc.

This seems like a very important job.

Were you trained at home prior to placement, or were you trained at Ivy Ridge, or did your merely received on-the-job-training from Cheryl Sudweeks?

[Anonymous]

On 2005-01-23 11:32:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Alumni Mom:  I thought I knew your son, but I was talking about a boy I knew who just left in Jan.  BUT isn't it amazing how similar all the stories are?  I am glad your son was not there to witness even more horrid stuff.  But if your son was at Lake Powell, HE DID WITNESS THE ABUSE of Joey, the boy who went to the police, because his abuse began at Lake Powell. Cheryl Sudweeks singled this boy out for abuse the day Mark delivered him to Lake Powell. It began that day and it never stopped! What happened to this boy at Lake Powell is abuse your son could not forget even if he wanted to."

My son was at Powell in the fall of 2003 the first week he arrived.  He left before the Powell trip in 2004.  He wouldn't be able to help Joey in regards to Powell last fall. I am fairly certain my son did not meet Joey.  When my son learned of what happened to Joey he said he hadn't met him. I know giving my son's name would be helpful for anyone wishing to help me, but I wish to protect his identity for many reasons.

[Anonymous]

i know who your son is anon mom. the whole time he spent there i pretty much did 2. Dont believe everything being said on this website because it truly is lies for the most part. just kids trying to cause trouble. i got in trouble with your son on more than one occasion back when we were new but we never really got abused. here and there some kids would get out of control a bit when emotions ran high but thats about it. i was good friends with your son and im glad he's doing well. As far as the things being said on this website it's just a bunch of teen kids looking for trouble by blowing stuff out of proportion.

[Anonymous]

Chris, what about you keeping up with the credits for the kids at Whitmore?  How did you get to do that job? I'd like to know that too.

And, why were there so many groups on you about you downloading music on your computer. Man, you'd really get mad at Cheryl about that. Why didn't she want you to listen to anything but Country-Western?  Why couldn't you kids just listen to your own music? Nothing's more depression than a bunch of CW shit.

[Anonymous]

To Alumni MOM:  What is the deal?  You started out your letter stating your son "recently returned home...and talking about the past year's events."

  Then when the other parents started asking you questions, all of a sudden your kid was at Whitmore way back in the Summer of 2003.

  LOOK, no one is going to make your kid talk to the cops.  No one is going to make you say anything you don't want to say.  You can stay committed to the Whitmore and the "program" all you want to.  BUT, let's stay honest here, ok?

 I know exactly who your son is, and I know exactly what he knows, and exactly what happened to him, and exactly who beat the shit out of him, and exactly why he got shit for an education at Whitmore.  And that's why he will have a GED attached to him  the rest of his life, and not a high school dipolma, and that's ok!  He's a smart guy, and he passed the GED test. He begged to be given the right courses at Whitmore so he COULD graduate, but Lady, there is nothing to graduate FROM at Whitmore. Because there are no classes, there are no real teachers, there is no academic program. It is a bunch of "kids teaching kids" or "kids teaching themselvs."   You were fed a bunch of lies, and that is what you paid for---NOTHING!

But, don't give a bunch of false dates, just so you feel like your identity can't be disclosed. No one is interested in pointing out who you are or who your son is. All we are trying to do here is find our what happened at that place and why.

No one wants your son, or mine, or anyone eles's to be hurt or humiliated or to be forced to do anything ever again against their will.  They had enough of that at Whitmore and from the Sudweeks. But don't be a bullshiter either.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-01-24 10:49:00, Anonymous wrote:

"To Alumni MOM:  What is the deal?  You started out your letter stating your son "recently returned home...and talking about the past year's events."



  Then when the other parents started asking you questions, all of a sudden your kid was at Whitmore way back in the Summer of 2003.

Actually, she said he WENT there in 2003 and returned home in the fall of 2004....fairly recent to me.

But don't be a bullshiter either.

There's no need for that.

Mom....don't worry about this.  You don't have to give your name.  The majority of us understand how difficult of a situation this is.  It's going to take your son some time to process all of this.  It's definitely a lot to deal with.  Do it at your own, and his pace.  We'll be here if and when you're ready.  Best of luck!!!!

[Anonymous]

hey erica,
i helped out with files... no license or credentials of any kind were needed i also told other kids what courses i'd be taking if i were them.. but wait? i thought there was no education at whitmore. As far as music goes, she never gave me trouble about that. We had group on other people having rap and stuff like that. I kept my music till the day I left. After redownloading everything she never asked me to delete it again. Honestly, why does this matter to you anyway. What point are you trying to make?

[Anonymous]

Also, the real reason erica is so bitter to cheryl is because she was caught masturbating in the kitchen while preparing our food her last week. Thanks for that doll.

[Anonymous]

Hey Chris---so now you're a school counselor too. MY, my you sure had some important jobs there at Whitmore didn't you, young man.  And BTW, I am not Erica, whoever that is.

[Anonymous]

Chris---don't get so angry.  Just asked a question about the country western music. Everybody knows that teenagers have their OWN MUSIC.  Why the control over what kind of music you kids want to listen to?  I think the operative word is CONTROL.  I listen to CW, and it is depressive, has some really down-beat story lines etc. Why not let kids be kids and listen to their own stuff? Granted a lot of rapp has some bad language, but Cherly Sudweeks cusses like a sailor herself, so she certainly couldn't be offended by a few "fucks"  "bitches" and so forth.  Why all the control?  And, be honest, she had group on you about your music. She couldn't stand your defiance about that.

[Anonymous]

Erica: please disregard that crude remark about the kitchen.

Anon who made that irresponsible, and probably untrue remark.  This is one of your former fellow-classmates-- how can you show such disrepect and lack of feelings as to attack someone like that? You need to learn now early in life to not refer to females as "doll."  That type of verbage will not get you far in life.

We hear students remarking about: unconditional love, and the sense of FAMILY at Whitmore.  What type of a loving family attacks one of its family members like this?

The important issue here, as always....where was a reponsible adult?  Do kids just cook meals alone at Whitmore? Is there no dietian there? Is there no adult in charge anywhere at this place? Is there never any adult supervision ever? That is the important issue.  Where was Mark?  Where was Cheryl?

[Anonymous]

this is chris again i want to make sure everyone here knows that i in no way support programs. some of my other posts made me think iwas coming off that way. to be entirely honest, i think its unhealthy to pay someone else to raise your kid. if you cant deal with it then so be it. the only reason i post here is because i hate it when people lie, complain,  and exagerrate. it started off with exageration and now its just out right lies. You make it sound like everyone at the whitmore is cheryl's mercenary waiting for her next order. she's not like that at all. i personally think shes very understanding. its funny you bring the music up, toward the last part of my stay she outright let me have it because i talked to her one on one about it and i was pretty much allowed to use aim and email for what i needed.  the bottom line is is that the cheryl sudweeks i know is nothing like the cheryl sudweeks thats being protrayed here on these msg boards. theres really nothing more i can do anyways, im no longer there and i've started my life. and to be entirely honest, at the end it all comes down to you and what you to choose to do. for instance, i still do a lot of the things i used to do. thats not because of how the program is, but its down to me. i think im doing fine for myself, so i really dont think theres anything wrong with having fun. also i would never send my kid to any program, not even whitmore because i think not dealing with it yourself only makes it worse. thats all ive really got to say about that

[Anonymous]

yeah...uuh. Chris, i haven't been on this fora for a while , maybe like two weeks. This is erica by the way and it's good to here that you're doing well. I don't see why u had to make that nasty remark about me in the kitchen though, when that's not even true. Or maybe someone else posted it. Who knows.

  By the way, I have nothing against you. Holding grudges has never got me n e where in my life, so why start now?  I considered you one of my friends at the Whitmore and enjoyed your company. And i accept the fact that obviously our opinions greatly differ on the issue of the Whitmore.  I won't argue or throw insults, however i will discuss things with u if you'd like.

I also have not been the one mentioning to you about ur music or school files or whutever at the Whitmore, i don't have any reason too. I haven't posted anything to you yet, except for this message.

I'm hoping for a friendly reply.  ::