Alan Woods, it’s a good thing you’re still in school. Journalistically, don’t quit your day job.Your piece on Scientology was about as puffy as it gets. Why, it’s almost like Mr. Woods just copied one of the myriad, self-promoting “press releases” Scientology spews on several free press release sites!
Mr. Woods, why did you restrict your interviews to cult apologists such as Gordon Melton? He is well known as a supporter of Scientology. And John Baker, spokesperson for the Columbus Scientology facility. Where was the balanced point of view from the critical side?
Scientology victims such as Keith Henson, Arnie Lerma and Tory Christman are easily contacted and willing to give their stories. One would almost think that this piece of “reporting” to be a commercial for Scientology!
Indeed, if Mr. Woods had done any research, he would have discovered many interesting things that Scientology representatives won’t mention.Like how their “educational” program, Applied Scholastics, just got kicked out of St. Louis public schools.Like how Scientology’s “drug education” program got kicked out of California, Hawaiian, and Boston public schools after a review of the program by California educators at the state level.
I find it interesting that Baker, as a Scientology representative, neglected to name all the wonderful programs Scientology seeks to infest communities with. After all, this paragraph by Mr. Woods suggests they are many and useful;
“One way the church changes conditions is through community services. Baker said the Church of Scientology runs the nations largest drug rehabilitation treatment program, which boasts an 80 percent success rate. The group also has criminal rehabilitation programs, follows human rights agendas, holds seminars and teach courses in technology and business studies.”
Could it be that Mr. Baker doesn’t want people to google these groups and find out the other side of the truth about these Scientology front groups?Narconon, Criminon, Citizens Commission for Human Rights, Applied Scholastics, and the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE)
I challenge Mr. Woods. Google the above entities coupled with the words ‘fraud’ and ‘abuse,’ and write another piece to balance out this shameless shilling for a destructive cult.
If students didn’t know what Scientology was before reading Mr. Woods’ piece, I can tell you with certainty that they still don’t after reading it.
Students interested in a more accurate account of Scientology and its front groups should look at the Cults on Campus website, a wealth of information on all the destructive groups trolling campus grounds for recruits.http://www.cultsoncampus.com/
