Hey, I did an undercover story on the CoS in Kansas City for my college paper. Since it has my real name on it, I guess I am no longer incognito here, but what the hell-I think it's a good story and I hope you do too.

http://spectrum.kcmetro.edu/2006-03-29/features/scientology.htm

I would appreciate any comments, even if they are critical.

Good work. Critical thinking is evident, and the article is fun to read.

Hey, great little report.

Keep writing, its good for your soul!

Marlysfan, did you get any interesting response from your school
mates about the subject/article ?

Good for you, Lydia!!! Well written, and I am happy to see a young writer like yourself tackling the issue of cults. I think cults are right up there with drug abuse and binge drinking as dangers to young adult college students.

Don't worry, your cover is not blown if you decide to do further research. The cult of scientology does not publish lists of "Suppressive Persons" to their minions anymore, the lists are too long. Scientology has more self-perceived and self-created "enemies" than they have members!

What freaked Justin out so much he had to leave "right now"? What do you think about this site and this message board? How can we help get the word out to college age people?

BTW, I LOVE Bob Marley, and was pleasantly surprised to find my kids and their friends appreciate him too.

Is that what your nick was about?

Best Regards, Ladybird

Justin just thought the entire atmosphere was really creepy. So did I, but it didn't scare me as much as it amused me.

I love the site and enjoy the message boards. If anyone asks me about Scientology, I direct them here. OC is the most extensive collection on Scientology info I know of.

Getting the word out is fairly simple-most people do not know about Scientology, so I always get stares of shock or (more often) hysterical laughter when I talk about Xenu and the like. At any rate, I don't think the CoS is after college students, who are notoriously broke. Let me put it this way-I have multiple ramen recipes!


No, although I do like Bob Marley! Marlys (pronounced MAR-liss, rhymes with carless, barless, etc...) is a comic character from Ernie Pook's Comeek, which is drawn and written by Lynda Barry.



That is Marlys!

Marlys..

I think you'll find that college age students are easy prey for Scientology.

They want to achieve things, be somebody, have a little power and status and make a difference.

Ripe for SCN pickin's. Sign up for SO, you'll get all that and then some.

The Ybor storefront is 2 blocks from a local community college, directly across the street from a large video game emporium, half a block from the movie theaters and shopping complex and surrounded by drinking establishments.

AB is correct, many cults, not just $cientology specifically target college students. Yes the students are broke but odds are their parents are not.

Most college students are far away from home, out of daily contact with their friends and family. As such they are extremely vulnurable. I know Ladybird, Chris M. and his wife (From the Chicago org not posters here) and many other were recruited while in college.

Plus, Rich, if you join staff or SO, you don't need money.

Perfect for a college kid who is trying to find him/herself.

Great piece marlysfan,
Now expect every printed copy of the paper to have been stolen by morning. If you have a few friends with late classes tomorrow see if you can get them to watch the paper racks (at a distance) and see if anyone becomes interested in a large collection of that at once.

keep up the great work.

Athesit

Great article, too bad your friend got cold feet But understandably, I wish I was as smart as him and ran like hell instead of opening my wallet!

When they were trying to recruit me to work for them, they actually told me that they built a church inside a shopping mall, so that they could get more people in Scientology. They look for the best "spots" that are the most crowded, especially shopping since people are usually interested, and are there to spend money right? =)


Well, thank you for sharing! It was a good read.

StormBringer, my school paper is entirely online. It sucks because you don't have the advantage of people just picking it up at school because it's there and free. However, we don't have to sell ad space to pay for printing costs, so we're quite free in terms of what we can write (which I love!).



Ha! I worked in a deli at the local mall last December and January, and there was a Dianetics stand across the way. The guy that ran it was actually pretty nice. I never had the heart to tell him what I thought of all the Scientology BS. Besides, I'd have probably got fired if I had, and I really needed the money at the time.

Actually, the Co$ got very interested in me as a college student when they learned I had some student loan and grant money coming in!

In the early 'eighties, I took a couple of introductory classes during summer break at the urging of some friends who got into the cult. When I mentioned I would not be doing more because school was starting, and my financial aid was coming in, they pointed out that I was probably getting about enough to take the New Era Dianetic$ auditing course. I explained that I really wanted to take some of my college courses, like physics and philosophy, and the registrar exclaimed, "Who do you think you are? L. Ron Hubbard?"

I explained that I certainly did not think I was Hubbard, so I was going to live my life, not his, and to stick their e-meter where the sun doesn't shine.



I worked with a graphic artist whose clips included a free weekly newspaper established in a California college town -- I think it was Chico or Davis -- before free weeklies were all the rage. One of their first issues was about $cientology, and the racks were quickly cleaned out. There were reports that the same people were taking whole stacks of newspapers at the same time -- imagine that!

The publisher baited a trap by re-filling the racks and taking pictures of the people who grabbed the papers. Sure enough, the same people were driving around town, cleaning out the paper racks. Would you believe those same people and cars were spotted at the local church of $cientology?

The next week, there was a story about how $cientologists really were different from everybody else, due to their needs for multiple copies of newspapers. They re-printed the $cientology story as an insert and, instead of saying "FREE" on the front page, the paper now said "First copy FREE -- each additional copy $25" and directed readers to a coupon inside the front page to send in with their payment.

Young people.. College students.. Are the prime target of the cult. When you get old they kick you out on the sidewalk with no pension, no friends, no family.

Young people are easily persuaded...

How should I put this now? - Take it from an old guy who's been there. I'm so impressed and pleased by the magnificent life energy and good intentions in young people. It's a force of nature really. Wanting to make the world a better place. Full of confidence and willing to make an effort to do so... And one never get so old so as to forget how it was.

This excuberant life energy is precisely what enables $cientology to seduce young people! - That's the rub that worries us old guys.

My advice then: Become a skeptic fast! - It's way cool to be a skeptic!

It is true that $cientology always prefers people as wealthy as possible
but to them, aside from the fact that young people are easier to brainwash
and full of energies to exploit as slave labour, once they are caught in the
trap they will have to try to promote $cientology to anyone they know and
in so doing allow $cientology to potentially reach many bank a/cs,
( family, friends, etc ) so, even if they may be personally broke, they
still have a great potential value for the cult who leaves no stone unturned
in their vicious and ruthless pursuit of money, for the "greater good" of course. Beside there is always the immediate value for the " stats " of the
person and org who succeed in getting one more slave in.