Somehow my review got deleted. How odd.
It took me a little over a year after leaving to reflect on my experience at this hell-hole.
Where should I start? The SA, stalking, stealing, gaslighting, or victim-blaming?
In the second month of my first semester, I approached the dean of students about a male student who had been following me around campus. He posted photos of me on social media and even chased me down with his mother in her car. After discussing with the dean, we agreed that she would speak to him. However, his behavior continued. A week or so later, I asked her whether she had spoken to him or my professors, and she said she had not had the chance due to "unforeseen issues." She also mentioned that she had not contacted my professors because she was uncertain whether my "communications" with another student would have affected my grades and attendance.
After several meetings, which included my mother, the dean eventually spoke with the student but sided with him. She even claimed he had graduated and was "no longer allowed on campus"; I saw him on campus three times after that.
The so-called "rules" of this "school" are either ever-changing or nonexistent- I haven't decided yet.
The reason I had decided to take classes here was to take a songwriting course. I had agreed to take 2 years of pre-requisites and lessons. I was told there was only one vocal teacher available, and he could only teach at 5:00. I had to rearrange my entire work/class schedule around his schedule.
When I enrolled, my counselor agreed that I could be a part-time student and pick whatever classes I wanted, as long as I had a certain number of credits. I was ACCEPTED into a dorm for my second semester, moved in, and was suddenly told I wasn't allowed to live there because I wasn't a full-time student. I reminded her that I had declined a scholarship to go part-time, to which she responded, "We could TRY to get your money back." After back-and-forth trying to force me to go full-time, I mentioned that I had an advocate, and the money-hungry vultures eventually "let me stay," because who else would want to sleep at Alcatraz?
Right from the get-go, there were problems.
I kept a camera in my room because I have seizures. One of the men came in and angrily turned it around. My room had been inspected weekly, and one day, it suddenly wasn't okay for me to have a toaster or a microwave. The inspection sheet said that if I had "any violations," I had 24 hours to correct the issue before the items would be confiscated. The appliances were gone when I recieved the inspection sheet. I had to call the dean, and she said I could not retrieve my appliances until May. As it turns out, a security guard had stolen them. They never admitted it, even after asking us to return to the school twice so they could "search storage."
Eventually, I had made it to my third semester, and apparently, I could now take the songwriting course in my fourth. So, I enrolled in my classes and waited until the new semester began. Days before the semester started, I had recieved an email that the class would not "be run" due to "low enrollment." I tried to finish the semester. But it was absolutely unbearable. I cannot speak on behalf of my classmates, but here, despite the dean being a woman, "women believing women" is a complete joke.
Stalkers and r****** roam the halls, but God forbid you curse in a song.
Many, including me, have had issues with the dean and have filed complaints to no avail. She is someone's friend of a friend, so there's no use. We have informed the president, the provost, the proctor-everyone. Yet, the stories of our trauma-tainted experiences weren't enough to elicit a response.
So, I left. In the middle of the semester. Left to pay for the rest of the year's tuition and dorm. What an expensive act of self-care.
In conclusion, for your safety and sanity, do not go anywhere near this shithole. It's tucked away in the woods for a reason. read more
