Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Who Am I Discovery/Whitmore
Whitmore Academy in Utah?
Anonymous:
Do you understand the dynamics of an abuse victim? They often defend and protect their abuser. It sometimes takes years before they can say it happened and even longer for them to truly believe they did not deserve it. If this were my child I would be investigating everything I could.
Antigen:
When I was at Straight, Inc., if my own father had taken me aside privately and asked me if I wanted to leave the program, I would have thought it was a trick and told him no, that I loved it there and never wanted to leave except by graduation. I would have been convincing, too, as the stakes were pretty high.
The people's right to change what does not work is one of the greatest
principles in our system of government
--Richard M. Nixon
--- End quote ---
chrisgentile:
Hi, I?d like to throw in my two cents. My name is Chris G, and I am currently enrolled at the Whitmore Academy. Previously, I was enrolled at Academy at Ivy Ridge. In 36 days I will turn eighteen years old. Before I get my message out I?d like to make sure that everyone knows that I?m writing this on my own personal laptop, on my own personal time. The past week has been absolutely horrible on Cheryl. Luckily, she has around 40 kids that care about her, and are there to support her through the hard times we?re all experiencing. Like I said earlier, I was enrolled at Academy at Ivy Ridge (WWASP) for 3 months. While at The Academy at Ivy Ridge I was often subjected to cruel treatment and physical abuse, as were many. As far as I am concerned, Mark and Cheryl saved my life when they took me from Ivy Ridge. There were many instances where the program director Jason Finlinson himself would ?put me on my face,? or give me the ?finlinson flop.? I?ve also been ?restrained? by the director of Tranquility Bay this past summer when he was in Ogdensburg for the annual director?s meeting. This is besides the issue I?m trying to address, but I think it?s important to realize that you can not compare the two.
Simply put, I can not understand why we must go through what we?re going through. At Ivy Ridge we?d break in to the computers we used for school so we could send letters to our congressmen. As you all know there are hundreds of complaints on the internet from kids and parents alike in regards to WWASP. Meanwhile, the State of Utah is too busy to investigate them because their harassing the Sudweeks. I honestly believe that the only reason why this is happening is because our doors are open and THEIRS are closed. Mark would gladly welcome in anyone at any time with open arms. Maybe that?s the problem? I sometimes think that Mark and Cheryl?s kindness leaves them vulnerable.
This message is particularly to Anonymous and Antigen. Antigen ? This is not Straight, Inc. I feel like I understand you because I?ve seen what can happen in a program, I?ve experienced it firsthand. I?ve experienced the bitterness, but the kindness and care I receive here has outweighed those feelings. I am no longer bitter to Jason Finlinson, and George Tulip, and Lucas Smith. I can live knowing that I will forget Ivy Ridge. I will never forget what Mark and Cheryl did for me. My life is now simple, and everything has fallen into place. I am now confident about my future, and secure about where I am going, in fact, I am enrolled to start college in Chicago this February. Most importantly, my relationship with my parents is getting better every day, and I no longer need drugs to feel high.
Chris G
P.S. I am open to any comments, I just ask that you be open-minded. Not all programs are carbon copies of Straight and WWASP. If you have any questions send me an email or even give me a call here at the mansion. Just ask for Chris.
Anonymous:
--- Quote ---On 2004-11-28 10:44:00, Antigen wrote:
"When I was at Straight, Inc., if my own father had taken me aside privately and asked me if I wanted to leave the program, I would have thought it was a trick and told him no, that I loved it there and never wanted to leave except by graduation. I would have been convincing, too, as the stakes were pretty high.
The people's right to change what does not work is one of the greatest
principles in our system of government
--Richard M. Nixon
--- End quote ---
"
--- End quote ---
Also, I wanted to address this. Like I said in my last post this is not Straight, Inc. There are no levels or advancements of any kind. There are no stakes. To be completely honest, there is no "getting in trouble" here. When someone does something wrong we all get together and have a group meeting to find out what happened and why. If you want to call that punishment, then so be it.
Anonymous:
I have a family member that was recently pulled out of the Whitmore. The stories about this place are so mixed, even in our individual instance, and I'm trying to understand them, but here are simply a few things that concern me...
1. In a state of self discovery and desire to grow, the focus is on the SELF, not the leaders of these kids. When all the talk(good or bad) is about Cheryl and Mark, from the kids AND parents, and the focus from the KIDS is how MARK AND CHERYL are doing, Its a red flag to me.
2. My relative who went there suffers from a very real and possibly very dangerous psychological condition. I haven't been able to find anything regarding Mark and Cheryl's crediations/education/qualifications. They were aware of her condition going in and said they had "dealt with it before." An entire group of professional mental health workers are still in debate as to have this disorder treated, yet these people with unknown qualifications can nip it in the bud? That seems a bit iffy to me. Yes, there was a psychologist on staff that has supposedly quit who was working on his dissertation. ONE person for 40 kids???
3. The lack of communication with parents and not passing on emails is absurd. I did have that problem where my communication was not passed on. Look, that seems like it could be a heck of a job, but if you can't do it, DONT offer it.
By and large, I can see that the place is simply unprofessional if nothing else. I have no doubt that a disciplined, rural family and faith driven environment really has worked for certain kids with certain problems, but they really need to be honest about what they can and can't produce and what they can and can't do.
A phone call to the local police office in the area will tell you something. They've been out there every day this past week and arrive to a whole group of kids supposedly in bed by 10 up at 2:30 am to run out and scream at them telling them to get the f%$# off the property. Ok, thats NOT what I would want from my kid. I can appreciate that they are obviously taking some ownership in the place BUT, first, why are they not in bed and second, I would want my kid to show some respect to local law enforcement.
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