Newsgroups: alt.support.ex-cult,alt.religion.scientology Subject: Re: Help! How to prevent MIT student from joining cult (Scientology)? From: rnewman@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Ron Newman) Date: 20 May 1995 04:37:30 GMT A week and a half ago, I posted the following message to alt.support.ex-cult: > An undergraduate friend recently told me some very upsetting news: > One of his frat brothers has declared his intention to drop out > of MIT at the end of this term....to become a full-time staff > member of the Church of Scientology's "Sea Organization". > My friend would like to find some way to prevent his frat brother > from making this very bad decision. I'd like to help, but I'm not > sure where to begin. I am pleased to report that this story appears to have a happy ending. The members of MIT's Pi Lambda Phi fraternity, which happens to be next door to the Boston Church of Scientology, arranged to contact the parents of the member who had gone astray into the hands of the Church. The parents quickly flew into Boston to deal with the situation. At the same time, arrangements were made for that member and his parents to meet with some ex-Scientologists to get a more balanced view of the character of the organization he had wanted to join. Around thirty Pi Lams and friends demonstrated in front of the Church Friday afternoon (May 19) between noon and 3pm, protesting the Church's deceptive recruitment tactics. This got the attention of Channel 7, Channel 25, and New England Cable News. R.D. Sahl devoted an entire half-hour TV show, "NewsNight with R.D. Sahl", to this topic Friday night. The wayward brother has decided *not* to join the Scientology Sea Org, and will return home with his parents shortly to rethink his future. I am confident he will make the right decision. -- Ron Newman Email: Web: http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/rnewman/home.html (I speak only for myself, not for any part of MIT.)