Interview for ex-WWASPS Students
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A 25 question interview of ex-students who attended WWASPS schools. Answers to each question can be found on the page links below.
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Question 7. Were you ever ‘reamed’ – singled out and humiliated in from of your peers– in the monthly seminars? Can you explain what happened and if you still feel strongly about that experience today?
"Yes, I recall a time when we were standing in a circle and they had the staff walk around the circle and scream at us. I remember over and over guy after guy would scream in my face what a dirty slut I was because I was raped at the age of 12, like it was my fault. It was extremely traumatic for me and I cried myself to sleep for days after that." - A.E., Casa by the Sea
"Thankfully no. It was horrifying seeing it happen to others though." - Anon, Casa by the Sea
"Yes, my first experience in seminars was as follows: I entered the room straight from OP and was told to have a seat. There was man (the facilitator, I later learned) yelling at a kid and totally physically intimidating him while the kid tried to make himself look as small as possible. I stood up and started yelling at the man "what are you doing to the poor kid? have you no respect! etc..." The man was totally shocked, he told the kid to sit down and then called me up to the front of the classroom. I went up there while the man checked me out and totally made me feel like he was undressing me with his eyes (so creepy). He then stated the obvious: "You have really big boobs" and waiting for my reaction. I stayed cool and collected and so he continued "you must be really embarrassed of your large breasts, i'm sure you got made fun of a lot at school." At that point every boy and girl was staring at my breasts. "Actually I'm quite proud of them" I said with a smirk. "Hey boys check em out" I said and puffed my chest out a little more. The boys all smiled. And the next thing I knew I was being dragged back to OP. Evidently only the facilitator was allowed to talk about my breasts." - B.B., Ivy Ridge & Tranquility Bay
"As I wrote above yes I was. Here is what i wrote above: I was verbally abused, harassed in a seminar called focus where they made me wear a sign around my neck that said Freak, and all the staff members in that seminar taunted, teased, screamed at me to break me down as much as they could for me telling them very personal situations that happened to me as a young child. These memories from that have haunted me ever since that day. I even had upper level girls that staffed that seminar how sorry they were and felt so bad for what they did to me......To this day, I have nightmares, panic attacks and flashbacks of these seminars and being trapped at Casa on a monthly basis." - J.C., Casa by the Sea
"I was one who slid by through seminars. However, when I was staffing one time, I got singled out and was told that I couldn’t get credit for staffing because I did not do a good enough job." - L.W., Cross Creek Manor
"Jan led our seminars and she was extremely combative and would often single others out. I don’t recall a specific instance involving myself, though I know there were many, but I can never forget the girl next to me standing up and telling the room how her father had molested her and she had become so depressed that she had injected bleach into her veins and lived. And Jan reamed her, going on about the non-working choices that led to it. No true therapy was offered for any rape or molestation survivors, nor were these instances reported. In this case, it was her father who had sent her, so she was treated like a liar." - C.M., Tranquility Bay
"I had to dress up like a fairy and dance like a queer to en vogue. I can't remember exactly what it was but EVERYONE WAS. The host of the seminar would tell people you know to say things like "you're worthless" and "you'll never make it out of here"... just whatever that they could think of to push your button. Like I said seminars were almost as bad as R&R." - Anon, Casa by the Sea
"Yes that’s what those seminars were about." - D.G., Casa by the Sea & Ivy Ridge
"Not that I can remember. But I know this one girl don’t remember her name but they took her name away she wasn’t aloud to talk to anyone or do anything go be with her family or anything. She just had to follow Dave (think that was his name) around." - C.L., Casa by the Sea
"Yes, I seemed to be an easy target at seminars because I was always so quiet, so anyone could put whatever "label" they wanted on me because they didn't know anything about me. It was probably the most humiliating and saddening thing for a young person to have to experience. I was a teenage girl, I had image issues, I had social issues, and on top of that undiagnosed depression. It was hard to hear people calling you a "taker", a "manipulator", and a "faker", over and over again, until each child had their turn. I remember one time, I forget which seminar, they had the "upper level" kids surround you and yell at you whatever they felt like. Then the facilitator, this big 6'4" ex-gangbanger, would eventually stop them and ask you, "And how did that make you feel?" And I remember thinking, "Like complete shit, what the fuck was the point of this." And I remember him opening up his introduction with the fact that he was an ex-gangbanger from east LA, and that we "rich kids" had no idea what it was like to have to go through real pain, or something along those lines." - C.A., Casa by the Sea
"Not that I recall in a monthly seminar... but case managers yes. Integrity’s case manager when I arrived was Violeta (she was amazing) really was there to help the kids and parents. Anette was the following case manager after her.... She is someone I can say was definitely not there to help the girls. Played favoritism with people. Singled girls out... Would put people on challenges that were unrealistic. I can keep going and I am saying this from experience." - N.R., Casa by the Sea
"There was only one time. I was singled out with a girl. A girl I had Intercourse with was there in the seminar while I was staffing. They had us both stand and explain about the situation. Not something to have to explain in front of almost 60 people. That's all I really want to say about it cause it still makes me uncomfortable to this day." - G.A., Casa by the Sea
"I always treated those group seminars like it didn’t matter. I always knew at the end of the day, I would end up in worksheet and writing some stupid essay. After a while, people just kind of left me alone." - A.T., Casa by the Sea
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Question 7. Were you ever ‘reamed’ – singled out and humiliated in from of your peers– in the monthly seminars? Can you explain what happened and if you still feel strongly about that experience today?
"Yes, I recall a time when we were standing in a circle and they had the staff walk around the circle and scream at us. I remember over and over guy after guy would scream in my face what a dirty slut I was because I was raped at the age of 12, like it was my fault. It was extremely traumatic for me and I cried myself to sleep for days after that." - A.E., Casa by the Sea
"Thankfully no. It was horrifying seeing it happen to others though." - Anon, Casa by the Sea
"Yes, my first experience in seminars was as follows: I entered the room straight from OP and was told to have a seat. There was man (the facilitator, I later learned) yelling at a kid and totally physically intimidating him while the kid tried to make himself look as small as possible. I stood up and started yelling at the man "what are you doing to the poor kid? have you no respect! etc..." The man was totally shocked, he told the kid to sit down and then called me up to the front of the classroom. I went up there while the man checked me out and totally made me feel like he was undressing me with his eyes (so creepy). He then stated the obvious: "You have really big boobs" and waiting for my reaction. I stayed cool and collected and so he continued "you must be really embarrassed of your large breasts, i'm sure you got made fun of a lot at school." At that point every boy and girl was staring at my breasts. "Actually I'm quite proud of them" I said with a smirk. "Hey boys check em out" I said and puffed my chest out a little more. The boys all smiled. And the next thing I knew I was being dragged back to OP. Evidently only the facilitator was allowed to talk about my breasts." - B.B., Ivy Ridge & Tranquility Bay
"As I wrote above yes I was. Here is what i wrote above: I was verbally abused, harassed in a seminar called focus where they made me wear a sign around my neck that said Freak, and all the staff members in that seminar taunted, teased, screamed at me to break me down as much as they could for me telling them very personal situations that happened to me as a young child. These memories from that have haunted me ever since that day. I even had upper level girls that staffed that seminar how sorry they were and felt so bad for what they did to me......To this day, I have nightmares, panic attacks and flashbacks of these seminars and being trapped at Casa on a monthly basis." - J.C., Casa by the Sea
"I was one who slid by through seminars. However, when I was staffing one time, I got singled out and was told that I couldn’t get credit for staffing because I did not do a good enough job." - L.W., Cross Creek Manor
"Jan led our seminars and she was extremely combative and would often single others out. I don’t recall a specific instance involving myself, though I know there were many, but I can never forget the girl next to me standing up and telling the room how her father had molested her and she had become so depressed that she had injected bleach into her veins and lived. And Jan reamed her, going on about the non-working choices that led to it. No true therapy was offered for any rape or molestation survivors, nor were these instances reported. In this case, it was her father who had sent her, so she was treated like a liar." - C.M., Tranquility Bay
"I had to dress up like a fairy and dance like a queer to en vogue. I can't remember exactly what it was but EVERYONE WAS. The host of the seminar would tell people you know to say things like "you're worthless" and "you'll never make it out of here"... just whatever that they could think of to push your button. Like I said seminars were almost as bad as R&R." - Anon, Casa by the Sea
"Yes that’s what those seminars were about." - D.G., Casa by the Sea & Ivy Ridge
"Not that I can remember. But I know this one girl don’t remember her name but they took her name away she wasn’t aloud to talk to anyone or do anything go be with her family or anything. She just had to follow Dave (think that was his name) around." - C.L., Casa by the Sea
"Yes, I seemed to be an easy target at seminars because I was always so quiet, so anyone could put whatever "label" they wanted on me because they didn't know anything about me. It was probably the most humiliating and saddening thing for a young person to have to experience. I was a teenage girl, I had image issues, I had social issues, and on top of that undiagnosed depression. It was hard to hear people calling you a "taker", a "manipulator", and a "faker", over and over again, until each child had their turn. I remember one time, I forget which seminar, they had the "upper level" kids surround you and yell at you whatever they felt like. Then the facilitator, this big 6'4" ex-gangbanger, would eventually stop them and ask you, "And how did that make you feel?" And I remember thinking, "Like complete shit, what the fuck was the point of this." And I remember him opening up his introduction with the fact that he was an ex-gangbanger from east LA, and that we "rich kids" had no idea what it was like to have to go through real pain, or something along those lines." - C.A., Casa by the Sea
"Not that I recall in a monthly seminar... but case managers yes. Integrity’s case manager when I arrived was Violeta (she was amazing) really was there to help the kids and parents. Anette was the following case manager after her.... She is someone I can say was definitely not there to help the girls. Played favoritism with people. Singled girls out... Would put people on challenges that were unrealistic. I can keep going and I am saying this from experience." - N.R., Casa by the Sea
"There was only one time. I was singled out with a girl. A girl I had Intercourse with was there in the seminar while I was staffing. They had us both stand and explain about the situation. Not something to have to explain in front of almost 60 people. That's all I really want to say about it cause it still makes me uncomfortable to this day." - G.A., Casa by the Sea
"I always treated those group seminars like it didn’t matter. I always knew at the end of the day, I would end up in worksheet and writing some stupid essay. After a while, people just kind of left me alone." - A.T., Casa by the Sea
