#011 Augustin Cheeley [Class of 2014]

 I want to start this letter by saying that every single person’s experiences are valid. I ask that you not read any of these letters and dismiss other’s experiences simply because they differ(ed) from your own. I attended the Oaks from 2^nd grade through graduation in 2014. I was expelled from the Oaks when I was 13 years old for plagiarizing a debate case. I came back in 10^th grade solely for the relationships I had made and developed for nine years.

I was not your typical Oaks student. I did not do much homework and failed a lot of assignments and projects, simply because I did not want to do them. I was suspended multiple times; I usually had the most “tardies” of anyone in my class (Of course you must have the Bible on your desk at the beginning of Trigonometry! Do you want to be a vessel of mercy or a vessel of destruction??); I frequently was sent to the principal’s office (“Orange shoes are a distraction to others, Augustin”); I had my name on the board possibly more often than not (“The class was supposed to be silent and you were communicating with your eyes to Erik”); I was repeatedly taken into the hallway by teachers (“You weren’t itching your underarm, Augustin. You were clearly taking your shirt off in class.”); and of course, I was expelled in the first quarter of 9^th grade for plagiarism after not writing a debate case and putting my name on my partner’s case. Despite my long list of failures, The Oaks was more than happy to tout my accomplishments as Math Team Captain, Debate Team Captain, Soccer Team All Star, perfect Math SAT score recipient, National Merit Commended Scholar, and Spokane Scholar. They were all too happy to share my academic accomplishments as a product of their ‘rigorous education’ while doing their best to dismiss and humiliate me.

I have struggled with serious depression and suicidal thoughts my entire life. None of this was made easier as a 12-year old boy when Ben Palpant makes you do push-ups in front of your entire class until you cry. Ben Palpant is one of the very few people who made me want to kill myself. It got to the point of me writing my suicide letter and standing on the bridge above the Spokane River in Post Falls as a 10^th grader, and the only thing I could think of is that maybe me killing myself would make Mr. Palpant stop being such a self-righteous prick. Years of therapy and thousands of dollars later, he still visits me in my nightmares, continuing to belittle me.

More on The Oaks’ ideas of discipline: At six years old, I was taken to the principal’s office to be spanked. I was alone, behind closed doors, with a much older authority figure, who removed his belt and hit me with it. Nothing six-year-old me could have done would ever warrant such a fucked-up punishment. Parents, if this is still happening, demand that it stops.

To the students who end up reading this, my one plea to you is to be open-minded. From the get-go. The Oaks masquerades opinions as facts and facts as opinions.

1.      No, the Universe is not 10,000 years old – go look at a star that is millions of light years away. Then think about it and let it click. That was the very first thing that I realized I had been lied to about.

2.      Yes, mental illnesses are very real and should be taken seriously and properly addressed with therapy and medication. It should never be taken lightly nor swept under the rug. Talk to a therapist, talk to me, talk to your friends, talk to your parents.

3.      “The Bible is true because it says it’s true” This was the main argument in my senior apologetics course. I dropped the class that day after pointing out the Book of Mormon and the Quran say the exact same thing, to which my teacher responded with “But we know that we are right and they are wrong.” “The Bible is true” is an opinion. It is not fact. “God created the Universe” is an opinion. It is not fact. Don’t let the same book that condones slavery (Ephesians 6:5) convince you that being attracted to the same sex is evil.

4.      Latin is useless. Learn a living language. Your future self will thank you.

5.      Your teachers that have degrees in Bible or Music are not qualified to teach you Science, Math, or Physics. Your parents are paying for qualified teachers. Start demanding qualified teachers.

If I could do it all over again, I would not attend the Oaks. If you have the ability to get out, get out. Save your parents a chunk of change and save yourself from a midgrade, pretentious education. Go get a balanced, diverse education where you can learn what sex is and how important safe sex is. Where you can learn trigonometry from someone with a math degree instead of a Bible degree. Where you can wear orange shoes without anyone batting an eye. Where you can question the Bible. Where you can learn about Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. Where you don’t have to hide your sexuality. Where you can have black and Hispanic classmates and teachers. Where women aren’t viewed as objects. Where men aren’t viewed as animals.

Question everything, explore outside the bubble, and love people (I mean truly love people: gay people, straight people, people of color, white people, democrats, republicans, atheists, Buddhists) and none of that condescending “love the sinner, hate the sin” bullshit.

-Augustin Cheeley