Differences Between Idaho Schools

[Anonymous]

So far, it seems to me the CEDU schools all follow the same manual. Are there in fact differences? Do they tend to put certain kids in NWA, BCA, or RMA, or Running Springs?  How is it decided?  

I thought one of the schools closed--NWA? Please say yes!

[blownawaytheidahoway]

I remember that NWA was being built at the same time I was at RMA. I think it had opened while I was in Bonners. I remember thinking why would any 17 year olds want to live in Sandpoint. We were under the impression that it was a place that was voluntary...But I do also want a clearer understanding of what the different schools are and how the publicity is different. Any comments from knoweldgeable sources?

[mudbone357]

When I was at RMA, BCA was where they stuck the kids who were "different," than other kids.  Mainly kids who didn't have drug problems and stuff.  
NWA was a kind of permanant Ascent at that time.  It was for the people who were unable to be at RMA or BCA, but who were too long at Ascent.  NWA was vicious in the beginning, I had a friend who finally escaped from there during a mini riot (not the big one), which was a pretty common event back then.  
Bottom line, in the 90's RMA was where the "cool kids" were, BCA the "weird kids", and NWA the long dark summer school of the soul.

[blownawaytheidahoway]

Thank you for that explanation. When you have more in depth time please elaborate.
And to all: I am so curious to hear about the "riots"? No way! How did it occur? What were the circumstances and what actually happened.
Any ex-staffers to give us the skivvy from the CEDU/staff perspective on revolt? Please, I gotta understand how it could be possible at one time to do what you guys did and so impossible to even conceive of it when I was interred?

[mudbone357]

I definately don't want to give the impression that things at RMA were at all easier then, and that there were riots there or at BCA.  NWA at the time was, however, much more out of control.  A friend who was eventually sent back to RMA from NWA and ended up in my peer group was the one who escaped during a mini-riot.  
From what I remember, he and some friends staged a fight at dinner during which actual fighting broke out, and he slipped under a teepee and ran like hell.  He then managed to hop a freight train and got back to Cali where he was from.  He was out for about 8 months I think, but after going through some truely awful shit on the outside, he turned himself back in and ended up graduating.
As far as doing things then that wouldn't have happened when you were there, I can tell you that it was a miserable living hell when I was there, where we only scraped by by silently cheering on the kids at NWA who were giving them hell.  As for us, it was impossible to get away with anything.
If you don't mind, when were you there?  I was there from 94-96 and was wondering if you were before or after me.

[van_islander_hedican]

Hello,

My names Justin Hedican,im from Vancouver Island B.C Canada, I just registerd today. I was reading what you  wrote, "You hit the nail on the fucking head" thats exactly what it was like when I was there, I went to RMA  Ascent and BCA, from 95-97. I took off 1/2 way through the program and never went back. (Best decision ive ever made.) I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions? Since im from Canada the laws differ hugely from the states,Your not allowed to hold children against there will. it doesnt matter how old they are. For the past 3 years Ive been fighting to sue CEDU. Ive compiled a considerable ammount of evidence sugesting abuse both physicaly, mentaly and sexually within the CEDU system.I have a lawyer working for me out of Sandpoint Idaho. My question is,,,Why isnt anyone else sueing CEDU, theres hundreds of people that were negitevely effected by this twisted place, there on this site exspressing hatered and anger, I think someone needs to compile a list of names and get you guys a lawyer. We should all SUE CEDU together in a  class action law suit. The only person ive spoken with from CEDU since I left in 97 is a guy by the name of Dave Henderson, He was a student at BCA when I was there, Its been 2 years since ive spoken to Dave, I basicaly havent spoken to anyone since I left. Im not caught up on whats going on within this site so if theres already a law suit going on please forgive me. However if theres not, Then I dont understand why?. Dont people want to see this company suffer,(besides a few less enrolments a month.)This program needs to be stopped, and the people who have been subject to abuse in the past need to be recognized.  Someone needs to compile a list of all the parents who currently have there children enrolled in CEDU, Then send them each a booklet containg storys from this site and contact information so that the parents can get in touch with previously abused CEDU students.Id really appreciate if you could inform as to whether or not other people on this site have the same feelings interests and intensions that I do?. Everyone in this site that doesnt have a lawyer, should get one.

my email adress is justinhedican@msn.com

[mudbone357]

Hey Justin,
you know, I'm actually new to this site myself, having just registered the other day.  You ask really good questions, and I'm not sure that I can answer them all, but I'll try.
I don't know why more people haven't sued CEDU, but I can say why I think I haven't, which is, even though it's happening inside my own body, still pretty complicated and unclear to me.  First and foremost, I don't think we can sue CEDU now, because they are under different ownership (the Brown School), and I'm pretty sure that they could defer liability for anything that occured before they bought the program.  Second, and actually probably really first after all, is the fact that it's taken me almost 9 years to be able to start trying to sort out all the shit and damage that got piled on me there; once, driving cross country with my girlfriend, we happened to cut through northern idaho, and I started shaking and... it was really awful.  I guess I really never wanted to sue them because I just never wanted to think about them ever again.  I felt like I won that right for having put my head down and pushed my way through that place.  Third, I'm still embarassed about the shit we did there, and I don't want to talk about it to my therapist, let alone a fucking lawyer and judges, and media.  Finally, my mom didn't know what else to do, she meant well, and I don't want to torture her any more than I have to, by letting her know what they did to us.  
And, if I were really honest, I don't feel like we deserve any better, that we somehow deserved what they did to us, and I'd rather try to work that shit out in my head than try to get any legal justice.  But, if you want to do that, and my help could in any way benefit your case, you can count on it.

[Deborah]

As long as you believe that incarceration and abuse, in all it's many forms, is an acceptable response and 'treatment' of 'defiant teens' then you probably wouldn't be a good witness for yourself or anyone else.
Read the archives here at Fornits. You may come to change your mind. What happened to you was wrong and can't be justified. Even if you were a threat to yourself and others, you should not have been subjected to experimental 'therapy', physical abuse, humiliation, etc.
That is the argument.
And while it's certainly desirable to forgive those who acted ignorantly and unawarely, you are not responsible for how your mother feels or reacted. She did the best she could given the degree of ignorance in this country. Ignorance is changed by talking, acting, educating.

[mudbone357]

Deborah,
I think that you may have missed the point of what I said in my last post.  In terms of feeling like we deserved what happened to us, I'm talking about my feelings, not the reality of the situation; people can feel very strongly about things that they know intellectually are not right, and I think that this seems to have gone somewhat over your head.  Also, it looks like you have something like 1,000 posts on this board, and I have, like 7.  I haven't been working at this as long as you have, and for me to state honestly what my apprehensions were was really difficult for me.  Maybe you should consider that everyone is not in exactly the same place as you are regarding what we all went through.  And furthermore, to insinuate that either my mother or I are ignorant because we may not see things exactly in the same way that you do I think illustrates a particularly disturbing trend among victims of abuse: turning on each other as an outlet for our anger and confusion.  

So, just so that it's 100% clear for those of us who can't pick up too well on subtext, I don't think that incarceration or abuse are appropriate ways of dealing with "defiant teens," ever.  Under and circumstance.  Sometimes though, we who suffered through it can feel like we are responsible, or that we deserved it, and even though we know that's not the case, it can be hard to get past those feelings.  I hope that this clarifies my earlier post.

[shanlea]

I went to CEDU-RS for six months years ago and split. Then I buried it for a long, long, long time.  I felt absolute humiliation that I ever went to that crackpot hole, and was insidiously brainwashed even though I knew enough to get the hell out.  As Idaho pointed out, I have no idea what would have happened to me had I stayed on another 2 years like many of you were subjected to.

I don't know why more people didn't sue. I know I just buried it and had noone to talk to about it to really explore how f^&*$% up it really was. And even though I didn't give them 100% of me--because I saw how voyeuristic and exploitative these people were--CEDU broke a part of me I can never get back.

I will say the plus side of being an adult is being able to look back and assert yourself and your experiences. They can no longer be denied. Working with an attorney, we don't have the self doubt we used to have--we know exactly what happened.

By the way, call Chuck Wyatt the investigator for CEDU-RS and talk to him. Apparently, he is interested in all the schools.

[blownawaytheidahoway]

Mudbones: "The truer the friend that tells it."
You were brainwashed. Short and plain. Like me. I really held out but there is no way to "survive" emotionally and not be.
Why did you tease the kid?
Was it part of the program type teasing? If you lived with him, you probably blew him away in raps. You would've been encouraged to and punished for not complying. That was the way of it when I was there and that's why I harshed on you.
Why do you want, NEED to carry this around with you? What does it do for you?

[mudbone357]

I think you posted in the wrong thread, since this is about the differences between the CEDU schools, and not John Avila.  But, regarding John, I never teased him, I was one of his only friends, along with Dave Stites.  John died when we were there only a month, so I wasn't brainwashed yet.  If I sounded harsh before it was only because it seemed that you were trivializing John's death with your "pussyfooting" comment.  Just because it's ten years later doesn't mean I don't carry a piece of it with me, you're right, it's a little piece that makes it so he's still a little alive.

[Oppositional Defiance]

I would love to work with an attorney on a lawsuit against CEDU. I'm 19 though and I will have to fund it myself, so I don't know how I will be able to handle the lawyer fees. Could anybody give me advice on how I could possibly sue CEDU's ass off?

Thanks,
Sage

[shanlea]

Some attorneys will only charge if you win the case--and they will take the case if they think they can win it.  Initial consultations are often free--verify that up front.  Also, call the investigator and see if he has any suggestions.  Other than that, maybe an attorney hired by another student would appreciate your help and testimony.

Good Luck.

[Tinkerbell]

I know this is off the atorney subject but back to the difference between the schools. I was at BCA from 2001-2002 i left after my I want to live. The difference between the schools then was NWA was a short term school kids that went there were 17 and up. The stay was only like 1 year to 1 year and a half. It was said that BCA held the more socially retarted kids. The truth was there were more socially retarted kids that had problems picking up social cue's and stuff at BCA but it was like half & half the rest of the people were more like mellow down to earth people and there was alot of talent but who also suffered form drug problems, where court ordered, on paroll,etc. Rma was more of a school of people that were more into drugs had really messed up stuff happen to them and were street smart according to one of the staff there. It was also a bit more intense. It was also a bit harsher than BCA. They were harsher in raps and in other things and they did alot of humilating stuff to people. But right before i left i think what they were trying to do is get all the socially retarted kids into BCA and the rest at RMA cuz we started getting some pretty serious cases of kids with major social problems. So yep thats all i have if any one has anything else that more up to date please share it would be nice to hear if anyhting is closed or w/e.