22nd May 2008

Calling All Cedu Survivors

posted in Surviving Cedu |

Hello, hello, Cedu survivors, escapees and graduates… and likewise, to all from similar, sister and satellite programs (the Benchmark, NWA, Tranquility Bay nexus).

I’m working on a documentary about the subject, in an effort to tell some stories and elucidate some hidden histories from our lives - the time we spent in strange isolation from the world, in one of these very odd schools, with their very odd, and then often invasive and abusive, philosophies.

This blog up for you to say hi, drop me notes, post links, ask questions, or fill me in on what you’re reading and discovering about the schools.

I’ll be posting video clips as editing continues. The basic premise is as follows: Make this work available to a wide audience, the widest audience, but especially, to those who will want to know about these schools: that is, parents who are considering sending their child away; or, a young person, who is being sold on the idea of going.

Don’t be shy, or strangers. Do check in, do post relevant links, do be friendly, and not afraid of making your experience or opinions known about the bizarrery we call Cedu.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 12:32 pm and is filed under Surviving Cedu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 26 responses to “Calling All Cedu Survivors”

  1. 1 On May 22nd, 2008, Heather said:

    CEDU Reunion!

    Get your butt to HOUSE AROUND THE PIT! Come join in the fun…

    Activities:

    Propheet walks
    Dyads
    Pillow Pounding
    Dinner Dishes
    Chopping Wood
    Scooping Poop

    HOW FUN!!! COME ON!

  2. 2 On May 22nd, 2008, Liam said:

    terrifying. truly.

    Pay to relive it? Are they on drugs?

    (No! No drugs, just Raps!)

  3. 3 On May 23rd, 2008, La said:

    I am in the process of picking up my jaw off my keyboard. Did these people go to the same school has we did? Or did it change drastically when we were there what 4 years later? It has to be a joke. Has anyone contacted to tell them that they must be still confused and brainwashed? Somebody needs to. Please tell me they aren’t serious.

  4. 4 On May 23rd, 2008, Heather said:

    I think it’s a cool idea. I love getting together with you guys!!! Just saw Chris B. too! That was AWESOME! I think it would be fun to see us all together again. Remember how much we laughed in March?

    You all are my POW’s…. We survived! The Prison camp! I will always love you guys on such a level that it is hard to explain.

  5. 5 On May 24th, 2008, Robert said:

    It sounds like they’re all tongue-in-cheek about the reliving each experience. I’m sure they are just a bunch of survivors that made friendships despite the chaos that is Cedu, just like us. I received an invite too, through MySpace, but it looks like it’s really only for those that went there in the early to mid 80’s. Are they opening it up to everybody? I would like to see one (help organize) for those of us from the early to mid 90’s, maybe on a lower budget scale.

  6. 6 On May 24th, 2008, Liam said:

    Yeah… maybe. Maybe not. I’ve run into more than a few defenders of the faith, and it’s always a bit shocking to me.

    There are more than a few hangers-on and true believers to the ‘dyad’ cult out there…

    I mean, if it works for you, I guess, scream away. But leave me out of it. And other people’s children!

    I’ve tried to understand it, and get beneath the surface, and it’s a little of what Laura commented on - the program had its razor-sharp, iron-hard Spartan years, and then, there were periods of less-maniacal insanity.

    Cedu California seems, from the many I’ve interviewed, to be the home of the hard-as-nails cult mindset. The RMA experience, while full of oddities, including raps, propheets, 2-month fulltimes, etc, had a looser ethic for some. That is, according to some I’ve spoken with, it was possible to go through much of the program without having your psyche ripped apart by the likes of a Bentz family, Abell, Bonano, Sauders, Decker-type staff, or to have been a play-thing of a Wiens, Bonano, Laird or, again, the Bentz family. That is, it was possible to hide away from it, to a greater degree.

    But then again, it is at RMA that the most egregious, illegal examples of student-on-student abuse have been reported to me. And there too, select staff (C.Wolf, according to interview subjects), encouraged, participated in, or turned blindly from prohibited and even illegal activity, including major and profoundly traumatic events of student-upon-student abuse.

    So…

    Right, reunion.

    I suppose I’m more interested in meeting with individuals who want to talk openly about the experience, and what it meant to them, than in meeting in a group to ‘relive’ what I would not have chosen to experience, if the experience had been voluntary and transparent.

    So… no party hat for me!

  7. 7 On May 28th, 2008, Robert said:

    Different eras - different mind sets and levels of intensity…I’d agree with that.

    Maybe the staff at RMA relied more on the older students to do their dirty work for them. Hence the rules seemed more lax and unspoken, but still brutally enforced, just not by the top authority.

  8. 8 On May 28th, 2008, Liam said:

    Hi Rob,

    Some, though not all, of the RMA’ers I’ve spoken with/interviewed, said that the program was essentially a lighter xerox copy - a clone with much of the fervor lost. RMA had a few true-believers, namely C.Wolf, a favorite student of Wasserman himself - but many (or most?) in the RMA staff were, I was told, “hippies”, people living in the mountains in Idaho, going along with the program, enough to get along.

    That said, the tales of horror coming out of RMA, for some of the students… well, deeply criminal abuse.

    Anyway… got to get back to editing!

  9. 9 On June 7th, 2008, cory cox said:

    Hello. I’m a cedu graduate. My tenior was from 12/3/85-6/18/88. I had the utmost privilage being dealt with during this time by lorie saunders, william and pam abell,dean and guy bonano,andy grenier, jill and rudy bentz,jim johnson, and a vast array of other faculty whose names have seemed to have vanished from my memory, unlike their faces, which I don’t think I’ll ever escape.

    The theraputical control of each and everyone in the program was astute and demand respect more than understanding. The slave aspect of running a
    “non=profit” school was inforced through guilt and self worth. The dread cry of “Own your work, and be proud” would often make some of us chuckle in which we would be given dishes, or work detail in which aside from your weekly duties,you would be assigned to an area of the campus,dinning hall,kitchen to perform a no talking, no singing, no whistling, no humming, just work, and as fast as possible.

    Scholastically, we received 6 hours of academics a week. 3 hours on tuesday, and 3 hours on thursday.Due to my age at the time of my graduation(15), I didn’t recieve a high school diploma. I was the only one. Although I attended every single class with the other 23 graduates. I watched them all receive their diplomas along with their certificate of completion. It was the final insult. Denied onstage, what I rightfully earned.

  10. 10 On June 9th, 2008, Robert said:

    I could see how that would feel like a complete waste of that part of your life. I can’t commiserate because I did get a Cedu HS diploma, worthless as it was. I think that a lot of us feel that way about that period we were there, though, that we wasted valuable living time to get oppressed and abused at Cedu with no choice in the matter. It’s interesting that you say “I had the utmost priviledge…” I’m assuming you’re being sarcastic about that.

  11. 11 On June 10th, 2008, Heather said:

    I received my high school diploma from CEDU and as a result I started college at an 8th grade level. !3 long hards years to graduate. I was so far behind.

    I wasn’t academically prepared for college. I was prepared to be a wood chuck, work in a lumber mill, be a maid, a gardener or perhaps a farm hand.

    I just remembered a pretty funny memory a few weeks ago. When my peer group was in upper school they “put” us in a “math” class (once) where a new teacher came in and taught us this “thing” called Mortenson Math.

    We didn’t like this method of math or the teacher. So, as a group we decided to facilitate our own rap during class to tell the teacher what we thought about this interesting elusive mathematical concept.

    We blew her away. Reamed her a new asshole. Ran our thinking at her. TOTALLY INDICTED HER ONE BY ONE.

    I never attended another “math” class and I never saw that woman again.

    We were in upper school man, We had the tools to nip THAT in the bud.

  12. 12 On June 12th, 2008, Kevin said:

    I went to Amity and Elan. Both therapudic schools. I have a vast knowledge of both schools and their history and wouldnt mind giving any info I can. Both schools were based on Synanon but Elan is closer to what Synanon was. Amity is a CEDU sister and implements the lifespring ideas- this is where the propheets came from. I found Elan to be better for me personally since it was more real with students running the show opposed to staff. Also Amity always gave me the feeling people couldnt leave because you felt you could not do it on your own like you could never really leave the school behind. I learned alot about life and myself through both schools. I dont agree with all the methods used, especially Amity with you always having to have something wrong with yourself. I do feel that in order to succeede at either place you had to WANT to change. Again any info I can provide please feel free to ask. Nothing Lasts Forever.

    Kevin

  13. 13 On June 12th, 2008, Liam said:

    Hi Kevin,

    Thanks for this, and yes, I’ll be writing you an email for some follow-up.

    I’ll look up the schools on the web, too. Do you have any links to reading from students on these schools? Are they listed on Fornits?

    I’ll have a look…

  14. 14 On June 12th, 2008, Heather said:

    MESSAGE FROM FOUNDER

    Thank you for your interest in the Monarch School. My name is Patrick McKenna and I would like you to know how the Monarch School began.

    I dreamed of establishing this school long before I actually brought the dream to life. But, before I even knew I had this dream or that in the future I would realize this dream, I had to experience some of what many of you are living today.

    I was a teen in trouble. My parents and I suffered through our family struggles until my parents happened to discover a new kind of boarding school that eventually changed my life. Were it not for my parent persistence and courage, I am not sure where my self- destructive path might have led me. During my stay at school, I realized that my life had changed forever because of the gifts I was being given. I began to dream of a school and plan for the day when I could establish one of my own.

    Many years later, after varied life experiences, including marriage and children, I arrived in a place personally to begin planning how I might accomplish this dream.

    I imagined a place where children would be surrounded by positive experiences. One which could reawaken the desire for education and where they would be able to discover their true selves through creative processes including art, outdoor adventure, and vocational activities. A place where their personal lives would be well supported as they grew. I gathered several gifted and experienced educators and we spent many months planning the curriculum and contacting the key staff we knew would be needed to make the dream reality. The Monarch School property was acquired and building plans drawn. We were committed and prepared. We then contacted trusted colleagues in the educational world and announced our plans. Our first students enrolled in the summer of 2001.

    Monarch School is a living, breathing home and school. It is an active campus, full of life and love. We invite you to share in this dream and be a part of an education that can benefit everyone.

    Sincerely,

    Patrick McKenna

  15. 15 On June 22nd, 2008, Shea said:

    I was a student at the new Boulder Creek Academy after it re-opened for two years. The school is a complete SCAM, they want to get as much money out of you as they possibly can,I finally escaped on December 19. They manipulate kids into believing ridiculous things and that if they werent there they would be failures in life. It was the absolute worst time of my life. The staff are more interested in making your life miserable than helping you. I’m in full support of whatever documentary you are making. I hope that BCA gets shut down, for the good of all man kind.

  16. 16 On July 18th, 2008, jason said:

    Liam, I wanted to direct you to a book my wife and I picked up in a free box on vacation this week. It is called “Oh The Glory of It All” by Sean Wilsey. He is a CEDU survivor who also attended Cascade and finally graduated from Amity with a fairly interesting story to tell. It was published in 2005. She said to me at dinner, “Didn’t you used to work at a place called CEDU for a while?” and told me about the book she was reading. The book is largely about his CEDUesqe experiences…

  17. 17 On July 19th, 2008, Liam said:

    Thanks Jason,

    and for your great comments too. I’ll send an email your way, would love to talk more,

    Liam

  18. 18 On July 20th, 2008, john friedman said:

    I just stumbled upon this website. I am amazed that it exists. I had no idea that cedu filed bankruptcy and shut down. its almost too good to be true. i try to block that hell of a place out of my memory as much as possible. since the day i escaped through the san bernardino mountains i’ve wanted to personally see to the destruction of that place. i’m glad to see that their brainwashing didn’t grab hold of everyone who was locked up there. i am amazed at how many survivors there are out there.

  19. 19 On July 22nd, 2008, Tracy said:

    I attended RMA 92-94. Can’t wait to see your documentary. Being sent to RMA was one of the best & worst things i have ever been through. Best “new friends”, worst “everything else”. When I saw the script for the I & Me workshop it brought back a flood of memories, how in the world were you able to get your hands no that? Liam, wishing you all the best with your documentary.

  20. 20 On July 22nd, 2008, Tracy said:

    I attended RMA 92-94. Can’t wait to see your documentary. Being sent to RMA was one of the best & worst things i have ever been through. Best “new friends”, worst “everything else”. When I saw the script for the I & Me workshop it brought back a flood of memories, how in the world were you able to get your hands ON that? Liam, wishing you all the best with your documentary. RMA / CEDU is one experience that I would never recomend or ever do again.

  21. 21 On July 28th, 2008, Kay said:

    My son went to CEDU before it folded–it was a horrible place with untrained people running it.

    Do you know anything about HYDE Academy?

  22. 22 On August 8th, 2008, Stephanie said:

    I went to Northwest Academy…it was the worst year of my life. I graduated 5 years ago and I am only now beginning to live a normal life where I don’t have nightmares about that place. Sure, I wasn’t the ideal CEDU student - but thats because I wasn’t a fan of being brainwashed and turned into a dependent zombie…they treated me horribly and I don’t think a lawsuit is enough. I think some of those councilors should go to jail for what they did to us up there. I’m glad you’re making a documentary, but I can’t watch it, I’m finally not thinking about that horrid place every day.

  23. 23 On August 15th, 2008, Chris said:

    I have never felt right again after I left that place (RMA ‘98-99)
    and they deposited me in college directly after and that collapsed on me too because I could not take anything seriously that had structure. I still feel that I took something with me from there. Perhaps it was just that I lived through it. I do not identify with anyone who has not been through those schools. I am interested in seeing there dream exposed for what it is so that we all might finally get some closure and move on from it. Help us all with your documentary.

  24. 24 On August 20th, 2008, Liam said:

    A good and lucid discussion of the Cedu rap can be found ongoing here at fornits:

    http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25715

  25. 25 On August 20th, 2008, Heather said:

    Liam,

    That story of a rap is truly brilliant. A “low key” rap at that. Everyone has potential for the hot seat.

    It would make a very good scene for part of a movie. Like an introduction to how raps work.. and then later in the movie you could have one of those snot filled brutal raps with puke and popped blood vessels and cop outs and full times… EVERYONE GET REAMED and the worst of the worst disclosures are shared… WOAH.

    Those raps that when you weren’t in them and you walked out on the one you WERE in you would say to yourself, “OMG Thank GOD I wasn’t in THAT RAP!!”

    Maybe one of those days that Rudy was PMSing and took his shit out on EVERYONE.

  26. 26 On August 21st, 2008, Jess said:

    Hey, I went to Amity too in the ’90s.
    I have difficult memories of the place. I have really amazing love for the students/friends that I met there, and for that I am truly grateful, but remembering “raps” (ps i read that fornits thread…. chillingly accurate..)Maybe the fear factor is what put me off. Maybe it’s the fact that unqualified staff (that frankly had their own demons) were irresponsible with their own stuff took them out on us…. Or MAYBE, just MAYBE it’s the questionable management of funds and the staff diddling that puts a sour taste in my gullet. I did have *a few* great staff members there and for that I am eternally grateful. It just galls me that it has taken me so many years to get over and recover some of the atrocities that occured there, at a place that my folks (god bless them) sent me to with the honest hope to help me.

Leave a Reply