UPDATE 2: The person I'm talking about in this post has held herself publicly accountable for the harm she caused while employed by Summit School for the Arts.
After my recent post about Summit School for the Arts, I did a bit of research and found one of the people responsible for the scandal that caused the school's closure. She was the daughter of the school's Visionary, and was employed by the school as a program coordinator or something like that. This was the person I was selling cannabis for as a teenager. She'd supply me and I'd sell to my friends. At the same time, I was regularly using psychedelic drugs with her father and occasionally using cocaine with her husband.
When the police investigation began, I owed her almost $600 for pot. My life was suddenly and completely upended by the scandal and we never spoke again. I was told that her and her family had left town, fleeing the investigation. Now, new information has come to light.
I found this person living in Chicago and working as a life coach. After I sent an email offering to repay the $600 I owed her decades ago, we had a long phone call. She denied having any memory of her part in the events that ravaged the school's rural community, but recalled several small details about the school and its students. Despite the inexplicable memory hole, she apologized profusely for any harm her actions may have caused.
There was no scandal or investigation in her version of events. The way she told it, her and her husband just moved fifty miles away and got on with their lives as the school was being shut down. Despite the glaring mismatch between my experience and her story, I heard her out like a sympathetic old friend. We were friends, once. At least, I felt like we were.
This person's father was my mentor. He was also a con artist and criminal until he passed away in 2006. Although he told people that he was a Sikh minister, he was never really a Sikh. He was part of the 3HO cult for many years, but had left that behind when he moved to Minnesota and became involved in the school. On our call, his daughter shared more damning information about him, which revealed more of the extent to which he had manipulated me and the school's entire enterprise.
I shared her email with a couple of other former students who I'm still in contact with, in case they have things they need to say to her. Personally, I've forgiven her for her misdeeds all those years ago. But the misuse of a public school and its students has a public dimension. I'd like to see some public accountability for that.
I experienced major consequences for my part in things. The Summit School scandal totally screwed up my life. Other students and their parents experienced harsh consequences as well. At least one member of the School Board had property seized by the government because members of the Board were legally liable for the school's unbalanced books.
Assuming this person has been honest with me, she never faced any real consequences for her actions. Neither did her father, who was a much more sinister character in the story. If Summit School for the Arts was a social engineering experiment, it was his experiment, and students like me were his guinea pigs. There's no such thing as justice for the manner of harm this caused. But there can be healing, which is far more important than justice at the end of the day.
Today, this person has a popular podcast about healing and wellness, directed toward the 3HO community. One episode features her telling her life story while omitting any mention of Summit School. She has a strong, polished voice and seems to be genuinely dedicated to helping trauma survivors.
(Feature image from Pixabay.)
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