Brief Interview with a CALO survivor..

[CALO Student #17]

Haha, by reading this, I have a pretty good idea of who the student was.

Welcome to Fornits.  You might find this post by Ken Huey interesting (he posts a fair bit in that thread but is eventually more or less run off):
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=27962&p=337145

How was your experience at CALO?

Yeah... Ken and I were always the same in the fact that we don't tell lies per se... but he does avoid answering questions or having to tell the truth sometimes. He dances around the question, or shoots off in a different direction. I've read up on some testimoials from certain parents, and other anonymous writings aobut CALO, but I find that a lot of them are either bias or overly exaggerated. I've yet to see any work that tells all sides about the insitution. I'm usually someone who sees things for how they are, without distorting events or ideas in a bias manner. If anybody wants to know more about this place, feel free to ask me. I might be the only person who has ever been neutral about CALO (lol), so I don't have any reason to lie or hide anything.

[psy]

Sure thing.  Mind if we do the questions in the Facilities Questions and Answers forum dedicated to CALO so it doesn't get lost?

Here:
viewtopic.php?f=77&t=28670

[Anonymous]

Youre slick, I'll give you that.

Hey 17, they just want you to move into the moderated forum so they can edit and delete your posts they disagree with.

[Anonymous]

Youre slick, I'll give you that.

Hey 17, they just want you to move into the moderated forum so they can edit and delete your posts they disagree with.

why do you care so much about the creation of calo unmoderated forum?

[psy]

Youre slick, I'll give you that.

Hey 17, they just want you to move into the moderated forum so they can edit and delete your posts they disagree with.

That's not true, 17, but if you don't mind dealing with guests who might attack you, feel free to answer questions here. Its up to you.

[Ursus]

Yeah... Ken and I were always the same in the fact that we don't tell lies per se... but he does avoid answering questions or having to tell the truth sometimes. He dances around the question, or shoots off in a different direction. I've read up on some testimoials from certain parents, and other anonymous writings aobut CALO, but I find that a lot of them are either bias or overly exaggerated. I've yet to see any work that tells all sides about the insitution. I'm usually someone who sees things for how they are, without distorting events or ideas in a bias manner. If anybody wants to know more about this place, feel free to ask me. I might be the only person who has ever been neutral about CALO (lol), so I don't have any reason to lie or hide anything.

To be fair, individuals may experience the same events quite differently. E.g, what you might perceive as "no big deal" may, in fact, be quite traumatic for someone else given their past history and just the kind of person they are. Likewise, yet another person, maybe someone with a particularly good relationship with the adults at CALO, might see the same events as being beneficial.

[Anonymous]

CALO Student #17 wrote:

Yeah... Ken and I were always the same in the fact that we don't tell lies per se... but he does avoid answering questions or having to tell the truth sometimes. He dances around the question, or shoots off in a different direction. I've read up on some testimoials from certain parents, and other anonymous writings aobut CALO, but I find that a lot of them are either bias or overly exaggerated. I've yet to see any work that tells all sides about the insitution. I'm usually someone who sees things for how they are, without distorting events or ideas in a bias manner. If anybody wants to know more about this place, feel free to ask me. I might be the only person who has ever been neutral about CALO (lol), so I don't have any reason to lie or hide anything.

Did Che Gookin or Sum Ting Wong convince you to write this?

[CALO Student #17]

Nah, nobody convinced me to write this, but someone did introduce it to me. They just said that they would like it if a student could give their first-hand opinion and knowledge of CALO, and I agree that it's a good idea.

And I don't mind posting on the CALO forum. If things get edited too much, then I can just stop writing, because I'm only interested in spreading truth and my opinions. I'm not going to be ok with it being censored or distorted in any manner for someone else's benefit.

[psy]

Nah, nobody convinced me to write this, but someone did introduce it to me. They just said that they would like it if a student could give their first-hand opinion and knowledge of CALO, and I agree that it's a good idea.

And I don't mind posting on the CALO forum. If things get edited too much, then I can just stop writing, because I'm only interested in spreading truth and my opinions. I'm not going to be ok with it being censored or distorted in any manner for someone else's benefit.

None of that crap is going to happen, if for no other reason that what I highlighted.  You're not the only person who wouldn't like that happening to you. I am very interested in your experiences at Calo, though.  While Che has interviewed a bunch of people I've personally only read what's on this forum and what Ken Huey has told me (which I take with a grain of salt).  I get the same general impression as you that he doesn't outright lie (rather he leaves things out or avoids questions).  That being said, If 10 people say X goes on and Ken says Y, it's pretty clear to everybody what's going on.

[Anonymous]

While Che has interviewed a bunch of people I've personally only read what's on this forum and what Ken Huey has told me (which I take with a grain of salt).

Che does not have reliable sources.  He tells people what they want to hear.  Che Gookin could have written those interviews himself, which would not surprise me.  Has Che Gookin interviewed people who had a positive experience at CALO? Would he post the positive experiences on this website?  The answer is clearly no because he wants to muddy the waters.  This is common on this program attack website.

[Anonymous]

ME:
Did regroup feel like a chance to reflect on the problem or did it feel like something else?

XXXXXX:
felt like a punishment Couldn't talk
couldn't even ask for the bathroom
They would tell you when you could go
to the bathroom

ME:
What did you do if you had to use the bathroom?

XXXXXXX:
You waited until they told you that you could go

ME:
you ever experience any pain or discomfort for having to wait for permission to use the bathroom?

XXXXXXX:
umm yes

ME:
and did you ever try to ask to go even though you knew you weren't supposed to?

XXXXXXXX:
Yes and I got rrestrained

ME:
For asking to use the bathroom, you got restrained?

XXXXXXX:
yes they did not like me questioning authority

Why does expressing a need to go to the bathroom get interpreted as "questioning authority?"

[Anonymous]

you ever experience any pain or discomfort for having to wait for permission to use the bathroom?

When I worked for Eckerd Youth Alternatives, children had to ask permission to use the latrine in campsite.  I thought it was a silly rule.  The whole group was required to accompany the child and wait outside on "sitting logs."  The latrines stunk really bad and that's when problems started.

[Che Gookin]

At eckerd's it was a matter of supervising all the residents of the group, which was why they made us take the entire group back to use the shitter. As for asking permission, kids in school are required to ask to use the toilet. There is no real big deal with having to ask to use the toilet at school, at work, at a program. In the real world most people wouldn't stop you from taking a piss at school or at work or for that matter a program that isn't run by a pack of lunatics.

I can't remember a single occasion where a kid at Eckerd's, well when I was there and I'm sure when you were in group as well, were told no they couldn't go to the bathroom. Now on occasion I would remind them that if they couldn't wait five minutes for us to finish something as a group we'd have to stop what we were doing. Most kids did their best and if the group was functioning at a high level they'd kick into high gear and finish up quickly to help get thier group member to the toilet.

Though, on more than one occasion during siesta (each eckerd's camp has a 1 hour nap time after lunch where the kid can sit or lie down in their bunks, no talking allowed, to read, write, or sleep.) I let a kid go to the crapper on his own to let the rest of his group finish siesta. Same late at night.. more than once I'd just tell the kid to get someone else and me, him, and that third person would run back to the privvy so he could hit the can.

But to outright say, "NO YOU CAN'T GO TO THE BATHROOM  BECAUSE YOU ARE DEFYING AUTHORITY!"

More like, "Sure lets go use the toilet, butt be aware when we are all finished you'll be dealing with your problem afterwards."


What strikes me as down right maliscious and cruel is simply restraining a person for even asking to use the crapper.

as in;

captive: Excuse me ma'am, can I use the bathroom?

staff: Slammin' time!

captive: Aaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! *crunch*

[Pile of Dead Kids]

Needs a big ol' bump in light of recent faggotry.