Testimony Given Before the Task Force to Study Cult Activities
August 9, 1999
By: Hana Lyn Colvin
This is the complete testimony that I had prepared to give today. I am sorry that I was unable to proceed beyond the first two paragraphs because the points that I wanted to make turned out to be very relevant to the afternoon's discussion.
My name is Hana Lyn Colvin, and I am sixteen years old. I have previously given testimony as to my concerns about this Task Force. Today I stand before you with greatly enhanced concerns. First of all, I attended the subcommittee meeting held last Wednesday and was appalled when Mr. Wilson reported that all of the ICOC members who had testified before you had been coached in what to say, had had their testimonies written for them. He said that he "cringed at the lack of individuality" and "felt sorry for them." Felt sorry for them? Sorry that they're sincere, accomplished young adults whose grades have improved and whose ties with their families have grown stronger since joining this church? It is irrelevant whether Mr. Wilson feels sorry for them. I feel sorry for Mr. Wilson! That is not an issue. He is an adult. He can make his own choices, and I cannot dictate what he does or thinks on the basis of my pity for him. Likewise, he cannot, and this Task Force cannot, decide what is best for these fully competent adults who are attending school here in Maryland as Mr. Wilson implied he would like to do.
I was invited to make a few comments at the close of the meeting and did so, mentioning that I felt that the ICOC members had not lacked individuality nor had been told or "programmed" what to say. At the close of my remarks, Mr. Wilson made an acknowledgement that what he was about to say was intended for me, but he deliberately did not --- and said he would not --- address me directly in order to preclude me from replying. So he said, "There are a lot of young people who are brainwashed and don't know it." First of all, the theory of brainwashing has been debunked and no scientific or knowledgeable person would seriously speak of it --- but I will not elaborate on this point because Mr. Alex Colvin and several distinguished scholars have already presented sufficient testimony on the "myth of brainwashing." However, I would like you to be aware of this instance. I was highly offended by the accusation that the ICOC members and I were brainwashed. This statement was uncalled for. Anyone can dismiss information and testimony that they don't want to listen to by convincing themselves that the person is brainwashed.
I have one other point. At this subcommittee meeting, Ms. Rausch suggested that there be included in the freshmen orientation a session on critical thinking and time management. I would like to share my perspective on this as a student who has gone through many of these learning activities. I honestly don't know how you are going to teach college students how to think critically and to manage their time in one afternoon of orientation. Quite frankly, Anne Arundel Public Schools have been doing such activities since I was in middle school, so if someone hasn't learned how to do this by the time they enter college, they won't learn it in one day. How can you teach these things anyhow? These are not things you can teach with one simple formula: "Okay, this is how you think critically. You follow these steps and you'll arrive at this answer."
When I think of "critical thinking" and "time management", I think of getting a little ditto with a problem on it. We get into our little groups and think of a way to solve the problem. Then we come back together and share the solutions we came up with and discuss how we arrived at them. I recently attended the Hugh O' Brian Youth Leadership Seminar (all high schools in Maryland were encouraged to send a representative to the Seminar, and I was asked to go as the ambassador of Glen Burnie Senior High School). There we did "time management" exercises. They gave us a sheet that was broken up into boxes for the days of the week. Then they gave us a ditto that was a list of our hypothetical activities and assignments for the week. Then they came around with "surprise" events and we had to fit them into our schedule.
I'm sorry, but these exercises never really helped. They were merely things looked on by my peers and myself as nuisances, little daily annoyances that were all a part of school life and related school activities. They didn't help me manage my time any better. I had already learned time management skills because I knew that I had to get things done and I had to do them by a certain time. That's part of life; that's personal responsibility. These are skills that are acquired as you grow. They're not black and white, cut and dry things that you can teach people in a day. The teaching of these skills certainly should not be used as a means to tell people what to think or what to do. Just because someone doesn't think your way doesn't mean they aren't thinking critically.
Ms. Rausch said that students need to be taught that if they spend too much time in an area outside of school, they'll get "pulled off their course" and won't have time for their studies. People know that. It's common sense that if you spend more time in one area, you spend less time in another. If they're serious about their studies, they'll spend time on their studies. But as to saying that they'll get pulled off their course, who's to say what that course is? She mentioned "going overboard in religion." Yet, look at the great religious men and women in history. Men like Martin Luther were the sons of noblemen, trained to go into professional fields, but they abandoned their studies to follow their religious convictions and were the better for it. Martin Luther became a great religious leader. Joan of Arc left the course that had been predetermined for her. She became a soldier, following voices of saints which she heard in her head. Today she is revered as one of the most courageous and virtuous women who ever lived. Again, my point becomes, it is not the purpose of this Task Force to dictate what course these adults, fully capable of making their own decisions, will choose.
Thank you.