6 ms·

Elan School

157 points by orang2tang 4y ago

jszymborski 4y ago
I first learned about the Elan "School" from this video by Nexpo [0], and later watched a documentary. I honestly couldn't believe how surreal the whole story was. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eM7pb5M5DU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eM7pb5M5DU
kevinmchugh 4y ago
Elan, like much of the Troubled Teen industry, had roots tracing to the Synanon cult. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synanon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synanon
acherion 4y ago
I took a look around the site outside of the comics, and saw that there were a list of social media sites to share the content, with the Reddit entry containing a link to the author's reddit account. Curious to see what the latest updates were, I clicked on the link but saw that it was suspended – does anyone know why?
dljsjr 4y ago
I was completely unaware of the existence of Elan School and I couldn't find much on the site that talks about what's going on unless you actually read the comic. Unfortunately it's the middle of the work day so I don't have time to read the comic right now but I wanted to know what it was about to know if I should come back to it. If you're in a similar boat: Elan School was apparently a behavior modification/"therapeutic" boarding school in Maine that engaged in some extremely controversial practices: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élan_School https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élan_School The comic is an autobiographical tale of a person that was forced to attend this facility against their will at the age of 16, ostensibly via kidnapping. It's really harrowing stuff. EDIT: brevity
- mosseater 4y ago
  There is actually a compilation of evidence of what went on at the Elan School here - https://elan.school/proof/ https://elan.school/proof/
- ThatGeoGuy 4y ago
  > Elan School was apparently a behavior modification/"therapeutic" boarding school in Maine that engaged in some extremely controversial practices: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élan_School https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élan_School Not that I'm doubting any intentions here, but I think dressing this up as "extremely controversial" might be under-selling or burying the lede a bit. Had the practices (the ring, isolation, management structure) that occurred at Elan been done on adult prisoners, they would have with absolute moral certainty been seen as war crimes of the highest order. The fact that this happened to children and had the level of corruption and money behind it to persist for as long as it did should give one extreme pause, and the reprehensibility of the institution should not be "controversial," but rather condemned. Indeed I would agree that this is really harrowing stuff. Just wanted to add that if you're going to look into this without any prior knowledge be sure that you're ready to be exposed to several levels of trauma.
  - therein 4y ago
    Here is where I first heard of the Elan School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eM7pb5M5DU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eM7pb5M5DU
  - dljsjr 4y ago
    Yeah I wasn't trying to downplay how horrible what they did was, more just trying to use neutral/editorial language :shrug:
  - abstractbeliefs 4y ago
    While they are surely morally bankrupt and abhorrent, they aren't "war crimes of the highest order". Let's not dilute and devalue what war crimes are for internet punchiness when they are happening even today. War crimes are when you break the rules of war. America mistreating its own population does not amount to war crimes.
    - DeWilde 4y ago
      These would be categorized as crimes against humanity.
oh_sigh 4y ago
Here's a lovely list of notable alumni, from their wikipedia page: Notable alumni > Tiffany Sedaris, artist, and sister of Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris. Tiffany's two years at Élan is cited in her sibling's writings and interviews as deeply traumatic to her, and a direct cause of her inability to form normal relationships with her family members. After decades of struggling with mental illness, Tiffany ultimately committed suicide in May 2013.[23][24] > Michael Skakel, convicted in the murder of Martha Moxley. The case drew media attention largely because Skakel is related to the Kennedy family.[5] > Ben Weasel, of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel.[13] > Phil Williams Jr. died at age 15, after being forced to participate in the school's notorious boxing-ring punishment.[25]
cameronfraser 4y ago
I went to a similar school called CEDU, same protocol for getting students there, same abuse. Elan school was actually actively contacting current students parents of CEDU right when it closed down to get them to come to Elan. Most of the people I went to CEDU with are broken or dead. There are more schools like this, they just close down and start again. I'll plug Daniel Yuen's name here, he was at the facility with me at the same time and ran away and is still missing 18 years later
- revscat 4y ago
  What justification was used by your parents in sending you there?
  - cameronfraser 4y ago
    They lie to parents and misrepresent the school usually. When parents go to visit everyone is acting to some extent. That being said it's usually narcissistic parents with money who are looking for an easy solution. There were quite a few fairly famous children there. Most of the kids there had issues for sure, including myself, but it was still in the realm of normal teenager issues.
    - erdos4d 4y ago
      > That being said it's usually narcissistic parents with money who are looking for an easy solution. After reading this and the previous thread on these programs, I really get the impression that this is the fundamental driver behind it. Some people in comments try to paint a picture of desperate parents at their wits end taken in by the program's lies, but these kids didn't wake up one day and decide to have a lot of problems. I strongly suspect that most were simply neglected and abused by horrible parents that had them and didn't want them and did a shit job being a parent to them because they are narcissistic assholes, the sort of shit people that American society churns out with ever increasing frequency. That sort of people believe things that sound like easy fixes for their years of failure to actually be a good parent, and the child suffers even more for it.
stardenburden 4y ago
I read the entire comic two days ago, it left me disturbed and angry. It's tragic to what humans are possible, and terrifying to see the results of countless studies in real life - abused for money. I don't understand how the school could exist for so long, conditions were straight up evil - how did nobody publish that in a mainstream newspaper?
- revscat 4y ago
  Not only how it existed, but how people could find cause to send their own children there.
  - ars 4y ago
    The parents did not actually know what it was really like. They only knew the marketing "we'll help your kids". When the kids told them, they were usually not believed because these were kids with a history of bad behavior already.
zzixp 4y ago
I originally found this link 2 days ago from this HN discussion on the troubled teen industry: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30819756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30819756. I sat through and read the entire thing in one sitting. It's gripping and incredibly horrifying at the same time.
- helpfulclippy 4y ago
  Same, except it took me two (lengthy) sittings. Really strong stuff. Had to really reflect afterwards.
- ohlookabird 4y ago
  Found it also a while ago (maybe also on HN), and was captivated by it. I had to spend a whole Saturday reading through it. Absolutely horrifying.
GistNoesis 4y ago
Warning : The read is really-long (multiple-hour), and potentially PTSD trigger inducing. Interesting but disturbing. Happy that such hell-hole is now closed. There is also a documentary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Darkness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Darkness (available on Netflix) about the school.
- cptcobalt 4y ago
  I just came up for air after reading this. Holy shit. I need warm fuzzies for the rest of the night. I absolutely believe this darkness continues to exist in the world—maybe in the US, definitely elsewhere; and it should not fucking exist.
- notamy 4y ago
  > PTSD trigger inducing. I will second this -- I found it the other night and made it 8 pages in before it was too much to keep going
bentcorner 4y ago
This is horrifying. Can we be sure something like this isn't still happening? Are there people trying to help stop this kind of thing? I don't even know where to start.
- ars 4y ago
  It's almost for sure still happening, by desperate parents who don't know what else to do for their kids other than jail.
- doitLP 4y ago
  Imagine the horrors of the Uighur reeducation camps. 10000x the scale but with rape and physical torture. I made it only 20 slides into this comic. I didn’t have it this bad but it triggered memories of the high-control group (a term much better and more descriptive than “cult”) I used to be part of. There’s definitely some tried and true methods of mentally destroying and controlling human beings.
Nitrolo 4y ago
For those that are interested, Behind the Bastards did a two part episode on the Elan school last year: https://omny.fm/shows/behind-the-bastards/part-one-elan-school-the-worst-troubled-teen-facil https://omny.fm/shows/behind-the-bastards/part-one-elan-scho...
monkeybutton 4y ago
One of my earliest memories of the internet was reading about Tranquility Bay, another similar school with the added bonus of being outside the US. It was absolutely mind boggling that kids could be kidnapped and abused for profit like that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranquility_Bay https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranquility_Bay
jstgord 4y ago
WARN : deeply disturbing and utterly compelling Im 10 pages in, taking a break because its too heavy .. Random thoughts come to mind, given recent events, such as how a whole populace can be subjugated by regular abuse and misinformation .. and follow the whims of a despotic cult-leader. [ It strikes me most Russians have no idea whats going on in Ukraine, or are happy to pretend its not really happening. Why do millions have to have their lives uprooted by the decisions of one person ? ] How many of us have the wherewithal to question the cultural rules we were brought up with, or the persistence to improve or change things, fighting a life-sapping bureaucracy ? I fortunately live in a liberal democracy with excess food and security, with only first-world problems .. and yet .. it seems 85% of the citizens want action on climate change, while our elected leaders are hell bent on burning as much carbon as possible - so I have to ask, am I even living in a democracy ? As a software dev, Ive been long thinking that almost all of our systems are far too centralized, and thus too brittle .. banking/currency/payments, social media, communications, food production, energy supply, politics, military, shipping/trade/transport, workplaces, education .. yes, all of this is off-topic, but there are echoes .. we do have to keep re-remembering the Holocaust, because we are the same humans.
atdrummond 4y ago
I went to a similar programme as a kid and then was horrified to see the same techniques at a rehab I attended as an adult. There have been some improvements, especially in the previously lawless states as Utah, but I'm certain there are still countless schools abusing students in the same or similar methods. A lot of these treatment methodologies are descended from what was done at Synanon. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43uD12ooM7U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43uD12ooM7U is a good primer video on this.)
robocat 4y ago
The series is ongoing - sign up using your email and get the next episode. One interesting side effect is that the author’s art is evolving as they write the episodes. The scariest part for me is to think where else are things worse than that? I have led an extremely sheltered life by comparison.
stjohnswarts 4y ago
Lots of kids end up in places like these. Paris Hilton even ended up in a similar place where they abused the kids (as much as legally allowed). I'm not sure if it was as bad as depicted here, but it started off with what was essentially a legal (parent sanctioned) kidnapping by thugs from the school. I think her documentary mentioned she was around the same age when it happened.
aklemm 4y ago
This makes me wonder who the Mr. Cirri-types in other states. Are there fewer in the social media age? Can we out them?
aceazzameen 4y ago
I read this last fall. It completely shook me. Even if the whole thing was made up, it's an extremely compelling read. I couldn't stop. Afterwards I went down an internet rabbit hole reading all about Elan. While it's thankfully gone now, I still can't believe schools just like it are all over the US at this very moment. There's a few new entries to the comic that I should read, but I don't know if I can.
jdkee 4y ago
I hope these people were tried and sentenced for their crimes.
verisimi 4y ago
Horrifying read, kudos to the author for getting it all down there. I can't help but think that similar yet broader tactics are in play with the way we are governed. * Our reality is mediated for us by screens and education. These determine what we can conceive of. For our parents and peers too. This is under control of government+corporations. * We defer to experts, are not 'discouraged' from individual opinions or from exercising free speech. Dissenting from acceptable opinion will mean being downvoted, de-platformed, labelled anti-vax, pro-putin, etc. * Collectivised behaviour is encouraged, individuality, independent thinking is discouraged except in narrow bands - eg developing some software solution for a corporation, or art to help sell a product. * Money is God. * Personal verification of knowledge is pfff, impossible! so individuals have to accept the provided belief system, with experts mediating everything health, diet, even morality (ethics committees). Unverified and unverifiable science is our religion. * Its acceptable to have corporations and governments owning your private data. * This all perfectly normal. * Etc Anyway, I'm pretty sure we are all living in a cult - what we experience is not naturally unfolding. I also think we all know this too, but are in various stages of denial about the scope - it is far more comforting not to engage. Don't look within, don't try to know for oneself, heaven forbid.

157 points by orang2tang 4y ago

I first learned about the Elan "School" from this video by Nexpo [0], and later watched a documentary. I honestly couldn't believe how surreal the whole story was. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eM7pb5M5DU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eM7pb5M5DU

kevinmchugh 4y ago

Elan, like much of the Troubled Teen industry, had roots tracing to the Synanon cult. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synanon https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synanon

acherion 4y ago

I took a look around the site outside of the comics, and saw that there were a list of social media sites to share the content, with the Reddit entry containing a link to the author's reddit account. Curious to see what the latest updates were, I clicked on the link but saw that it was suspended – does anyone know why?

dljsjr 4y ago

I was completely unaware of the existence of Elan School and I couldn't find much on the site that talks about what's going on unless you actually read the comic. Unfortunately it's the middle of the work day so I don't have time to read the comic right now but I wanted to know what it was about to know if I should come back to it. If you're in a similar boat: Elan School was apparently a behavior modification/"therapeutic" boarding school in Maine that engaged in some extremely controversial practices: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élan_School https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élan_School The comic is an autobiographical tale of a person that was forced to attend this facility against their will at the age of 16, ostensibly via kidnapping. It's really harrowing stuff. EDIT: brevity

mosseater 4y ago
There is actually a compilation of evidence of what went on at the Elan School here - https://elan.school/proof/ https://elan.school/proof/
ThatGeoGuy 4y ago
> Elan School was apparently a behavior modification/"therapeutic" boarding school in Maine that engaged in some extremely controversial practices: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élan_School https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Élan_School Not that I'm doubting any intentions here, but I think dressing this up as "extremely controversial" might be under-selling or burying the lede a bit. Had the practices (the ring, isolation, management structure) that occurred at Elan been done on adult prisoners, they would have with absolute moral certainty been seen as war crimes of the highest order. The fact that this happened to children and had the level of corruption and money behind it to persist for as long as it did should give one extreme pause, and the reprehensibility of the institution should not be "controversial," but rather condemned. Indeed I would agree that this is really harrowing stuff. Just wanted to add that if you're going to look into this without any prior knowledge be sure that you're ready to be exposed to several levels of trauma.
- therein 4y ago
  Here is where I first heard of the Elan School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eM7pb5M5DU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eM7pb5M5DU
- dljsjr 4y ago
  Yeah I wasn't trying to downplay how horrible what they did was, more just trying to use neutral/editorial language :shrug:
- abstractbeliefs 4y ago
  While they are surely morally bankrupt and abhorrent, they aren't "war crimes of the highest order". Let's not dilute and devalue what war crimes are for internet punchiness when they are happening even today. War crimes are when you break the rules of war. America mistreating its own population does not amount to war crimes.
  - DeWilde 4y ago
    These would be categorized as crimes against humanity.

oh_sigh 4y ago

Here's a lovely list of notable alumni, from their wikipedia page: Notable alumni > Tiffany Sedaris, artist, and sister of Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris. Tiffany's two years at Élan is cited in her sibling's writings and interviews as deeply traumatic to her, and a direct cause of her inability to form normal relationships with her family members. After decades of struggling with mental illness, Tiffany ultimately committed suicide in May 2013.[23][24] > Michael Skakel, convicted in the murder of Martha Moxley. The case drew media attention largely because Skakel is related to the Kennedy family.[5] > Ben Weasel, of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel.[13] > Phil Williams Jr. died at age 15, after being forced to participate in the school's notorious boxing-ring punishment.[25]

cameronfraser 4y ago

I went to a similar school called CEDU, same protocol for getting students there, same abuse. Elan school was actually actively contacting current students parents of CEDU right when it closed down to get them to come to Elan. Most of the people I went to CEDU with are broken or dead. There are more schools like this, they just close down and start again. I'll plug Daniel Yuen's name here, he was at the facility with me at the same time and ran away and is still missing 18 years later

revscat 4y ago
What justification was used by your parents in sending you there?
- cameronfraser 4y ago
  They lie to parents and misrepresent the school usually. When parents go to visit everyone is acting to some extent. That being said it's usually narcissistic parents with money who are looking for an easy solution. There were quite a few fairly famous children there. Most of the kids there had issues for sure, including myself, but it was still in the realm of normal teenager issues.
  - erdos4d 4y ago
    > That being said it's usually narcissistic parents with money who are looking for an easy solution. After reading this and the previous thread on these programs, I really get the impression that this is the fundamental driver behind it. Some people in comments try to paint a picture of desperate parents at their wits end taken in by the program's lies, but these kids didn't wake up one day and decide to have a lot of problems. I strongly suspect that most were simply neglected and abused by horrible parents that had them and didn't want them and did a shit job being a parent to them because they are narcissistic assholes, the sort of shit people that American society churns out with ever increasing frequency. That sort of people believe things that sound like easy fixes for their years of failure to actually be a good parent, and the child suffers even more for it.

stardenburden 4y ago

I read the entire comic two days ago, it left me disturbed and angry. It's tragic to what humans are possible, and terrifying to see the results of countless studies in real life - abused for money. I don't understand how the school could exist for so long, conditions were straight up evil - how did nobody publish that in a mainstream newspaper?

revscat 4y ago
Not only how it existed, but how people could find cause to send their own children there.
- ars 4y ago
  The parents did not actually know what it was really like. They only knew the marketing "we'll help your kids". When the kids told them, they were usually not believed because these were kids with a history of bad behavior already.

zzixp 4y ago

I originally found this link 2 days ago from this HN discussion on the troubled teen industry: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30819756 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30819756. I sat through and read the entire thing in one sitting. It's gripping and incredibly horrifying at the same time.

helpfulclippy 4y ago
Same, except it took me two (lengthy) sittings. Really strong stuff. Had to really reflect afterwards.
ohlookabird 4y ago
Found it also a while ago (maybe also on HN), and was captivated by it. I had to spend a whole Saturday reading through it. Absolutely horrifying.

GistNoesis 4y ago

Warning : The read is really-long (multiple-hour), and potentially PTSD trigger inducing. Interesting but disturbing. Happy that such hell-hole is now closed. There is also a documentary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Darkness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Darkness (available on Netflix) about the school.

cptcobalt 4y ago
I just came up for air after reading this. Holy shit. I need warm fuzzies for the rest of the night. I absolutely believe this darkness continues to exist in the world—maybe in the US, definitely elsewhere; and it should not fucking exist.
notamy 4y ago
> PTSD trigger inducing. I will second this -- I found it the other night and made it 8 pages in before it was too much to keep going

bentcorner 4y ago

This is horrifying. Can we be sure something like this isn't still happening? Are there people trying to help stop this kind of thing? I don't even know where to start.

ars 4y ago
It's almost for sure still happening, by desperate parents who don't know what else to do for their kids other than jail.
doitLP 4y ago
Imagine the horrors of the Uighur reeducation camps. 10000x the scale but with rape and physical torture. I made it only 20 slides into this comic. I didn’t have it this bad but it triggered memories of the high-control group (a term much better and more descriptive than “cult”) I used to be part of. There’s definitely some tried and true methods of mentally destroying and controlling human beings.

Nitrolo 4y ago

For those that are interested, Behind the Bastards did a two part episode on the Elan school last year: https://omny.fm/shows/behind-the-bastards/part-one-elan-school-the-worst-troubled-teen-facil https://omny.fm/shows/behind-the-bastards/part-one-elan-scho...

monkeybutton 4y ago

One of my earliest memories of the internet was reading about Tranquility Bay, another similar school with the added bonus of being outside the US. It was absolutely mind boggling that kids could be kidnapped and abused for profit like that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranquility_Bay https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tranquility_Bay

jstgord 4y ago

WARN : deeply disturbing and utterly compelling Im 10 pages in, taking a break because its too heavy .. Random thoughts come to mind, given recent events, such as how a whole populace can be subjugated by regular abuse and misinformation .. and follow the whims of a despotic cult-leader. [ It strikes me most Russians have no idea whats going on in Ukraine, or are happy to pretend its not really happening. Why do millions have to have their lives uprooted by the decisions of one person ? ] How many of us have the wherewithal to question the cultural rules we were brought up with, or the persistence to improve or change things, fighting a life-sapping bureaucracy ? I fortunately live in a liberal democracy with excess food and security, with only first-world problems .. and yet .. it seems 85% of the citizens want action on climate change, while our elected leaders are hell bent on burning as much carbon as possible - so I have to ask, am I even living in a democracy ? As a software dev, Ive been long thinking that almost all of our systems are far too centralized, and thus too brittle .. banking/currency/payments, social media, communications, food production, energy supply, politics, military, shipping/trade/transport, workplaces, education .. yes, all of this is off-topic, but there are echoes .. we do have to keep re-remembering the Holocaust, because we are the same humans.

atdrummond 4y ago

I went to a similar programme as a kid and then was horrified to see the same techniques at a rehab I attended as an adult. There have been some improvements, especially in the previously lawless states as Utah, but I'm certain there are still countless schools abusing students in the same or similar methods. A lot of these treatment methodologies are descended from what was done at Synanon. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43uD12ooM7U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43uD12ooM7U is a good primer video on this.)

robocat 4y ago

The series is ongoing - sign up using your email and get the next episode. One interesting side effect is that the author’s art is evolving as they write the episodes. The scariest part for me is to think where else are things worse than that? I have led an extremely sheltered life by comparison.

stjohnswarts 4y ago

Lots of kids end up in places like these. Paris Hilton even ended up in a similar place where they abused the kids (as much as legally allowed). I'm not sure if it was as bad as depicted here, but it started off with what was essentially a legal (parent sanctioned) kidnapping by thugs from the school. I think her documentary mentioned she was around the same age when it happened.

aklemm 4y ago

This makes me wonder who the Mr. Cirri-types in other states. Are there fewer in the social media age? Can we out them?

aceazzameen 4y ago

I read this last fall. It completely shook me. Even if the whole thing was made up, it's an extremely compelling read. I couldn't stop. Afterwards I went down an internet rabbit hole reading all about Elan. While it's thankfully gone now, I still can't believe schools just like it are all over the US at this very moment. There's a few new entries to the comic that I should read, but I don't know if I can.

jdkee 4y ago

I hope these people were tried and sentenced for their crimes.

verisimi 4y ago

Horrifying read, kudos to the author for getting it all down there. I can't help but think that similar yet broader tactics are in play with the way we are governed. * Our reality is mediated for us by screens and education. These determine what we can conceive of. For our parents and peers too. This is under control of government+corporations. * We defer to experts, are not 'discouraged' from individual opinions or from exercising free speech. Dissenting from acceptable opinion will mean being downvoted, de-platformed, labelled anti-vax, pro-putin, etc. * Collectivised behaviour is encouraged, individuality, independent thinking is discouraged except in narrow bands - eg developing some software solution for a corporation, or art to help sell a product. * Money is God. * Personal verification of knowledge is pfff, impossible! so individuals have to accept the provided belief system, with experts mediating everything health, diet, even morality (ethics committees). Unverified and unverifiable science is our religion. * Its acceptable to have corporations and governments owning your private data. * This all perfectly normal. * Etc Anyway, I'm pretty sure we are all living in a cult - what we experience is not naturally unfolding. I also think we all know this too, but are in various stages of denial about the scope - it is far more comforting not to engage. Don't look within, don't try to know for oneself, heaven forbid.