They searched my computer over false allegations; My experience with Vermont Academy's woke partisan abuse.

False accusations, invasions of personal property, defense of pedophiles, penalizing contrary opinions, and dismissal without due process; All practices of this elite New England prep school.

(Disclaimer: This is not the full story, as that would be way too long. I summarized the situation best in under 15 pages. Every fact in this substack is legitimate. I emailed my evidence to some experts, who can verify. I left out each name and identifying factor for everyone in the story, aside from that of myself.) 

“The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone” - Harriet Beecher Stowe

It was a Monday morning. I was talking to my counselor about break plans. She received a message, then told me I abruptly had to go to the Dean’s office. 

When I arrived, the Dean ordered me to get out my phone and laptop. He asked me outrageous and intimidating questions about what was on them. Then, he made me write down my passwords to my computer, phone, and social media accounts. In a separate room, the IT department searched my computer’s files, search history and social media accounts without a warrant or consent from my parents. All they found were memes and ideas the school found unacceptable. 

Within a few days, they kicked me out. Since it was a boarding school, they flew me nearly 3,000 miles home. What could have prompted this reaction? Surely I must have been a terribly misbehaved student. That is far from the case. 

My Background:

Where do I begin? My name is Eli. I am from the Bay Area. I come from a dysfunctional LGBT family and have multiple mental health diagnoses. 

At the time, my family was in a chaotic state. We all decided I would be better off if I tried boarding school. The head of admissions for Vermont Academy was touring my area. We met at a Middle-Eastern café. After a roughly 30 to 40 minute interview, he told me I was accepted at the school. They told me that I would be a welcome fit, a wildcat (their mascot), and I would be told if there were any issues; it all aged like spoiled milk. 

My five months at Vermont Academy:

I started going to Vermont Academy in September of 2017. I excelled at my classes. My GPA was 3.8. I won a Scholar of the Month award for October.  I was also in a sports team. Although I was not the best at the sport, the team liked me; even sent me a nice card months after I left. At the time, my family thought I was in some kind of utopia. 

In October, someone sprayed a swastika on one of the dorms. To inform the students of this, the student president presented a large swastika in a community meeting. I was bewildered that my school would do this. I pulled out my phone and took a quick photo. Someone above me interpreted this the wrong way. 

A few hours later, the Dean abruptly pulled me from my advisory meeting. He told me “I need to see your phone!” ; I asked why and he refused to answer. He told me that there is no privacy at the school and they can look through all our chats and files. I thought he was bluffing at first. He finally told me that I was accused of “taking inappropriate pictures.” I showed him the photo from my phone’s gallery, and was cleared of any infraction for the time. I was unnerved that the staff would boast about their intrusive policies. 

The Swastika shown at the meeting(above)

Timeline: 

Flashforward to January of 2018, the same patterns continued; I did well in classes, not so well in sports, and had a few friends. At this time, I was no longer trying VA (Vermont Academy) but planning on graduating in a few years.

Like many of us who went to high school, I was in a conflict with another student. He and I would annoy each other in-person, regarding cultural and political issues. I took it to Instagram, which was a blunder since social media is significantly riskier. One weekend, my 15-year-old self foolishly sent him an edgy joke. The joke was along the lines of “Abortion is a difficult topic for me. I support killing, but am against giving women a choice.” The point of the joke is to touch on a sensitive issue and say I am a bad person, a common theme in dark jokes. 

I understand why it was unacceptable in their perspective. I never shared posts like that since then. Many months later, a young woman asked me about what jokes got me in trouble. When I mentioned the joke without even trying to tell it, she burst into laughter. Others had the same reaction. Why should their perception of the joke be treated as less valid than VA’s? Why should online jokes be treated as more severe than actual bullying, which the school is known to tolerate (this will be covered later)? 

January 22nd, 2018: 

The next Monday, January 22nd 2018, is when it all broke down. I woke up and planned to meet with my school nurse to discuss break plans. In the meeting, she interjected and told me I had to leave for a standards meeting with the Dean and advisor. She mentioned it was about the “acceptable use policy”; her tone was grim as if she knew my fate. She walked me to the Dean’s office and I dreaded the walk. 

When I walked in, the Dean looked like he had a long day ahead for us. I told him I was feeling stressed out. He replied “I would be stressed if I were you.” He started out by asking about the Instagram post and situation. I naively thought he was going to hear me out and give me a platform to explain my side. 

When I tried explaining from my side, he told me I was lying. He claimed he had screenshots that I did wrong without showing me or even describing them. When I asked him why he had to talk in such intimidating ways, he told me it’s because it’s his job, and he would get fired for talking calmly. His gist was that his methods are there to keep the students and the “community” safe. 

 My advisor admitted to me she didn't agree with his methods because they were too harsh. This means that intimidating and threatening students is part of the Dean’s job description. It was a safe space, reliant on intimidation against students who don’t fit the standards. 

He told me to hand him my computer and phone, write down my passwords for both devices, and social media accounts. When he previously told me they had the ability to search students’ devices, he was not bluffing. Before the search occurred, the Dean made me answer several bizarre questions.

His first question was “Is there porn on this computer?” There was none, I answered ‘No.’ 

His second question was absurd: “Is there abortion footage on your computer?” I answered ‘No’ again. 

His last question was the most memorable and frightening. 

“Is there extremist content?” he then asked.  

“What?!” I replied. 

He clarified “You know, like KKK propaganda”

I answered “No” and said there should be consequences for that false accusation. They took this as backtalk. 

I was shocked that this would ever happen so abruptly. It is unusual to be a welcome student for months, and then be accused of extremism with absolutely no evidence. The administration could have informed me of the allegations or they could also have dismissed them because they had no credibility. Instead, they treated me like a terrorist under their authority. 

With a threatening look on his face, he told me I better not be lying. He assured there would be consequences for doing so. I was not lying, while the other student was. As far as I heard, he received no consequences. 

The Dean told me to stay in the room while he brought my computer to the IT department upstairs. They searched my computer’s documents, photos, search history, and social media accounts while I was held in the Dean’s office. The “investigation” happened in a separate room so I couldn’t know exactly what the IT members were looking through. This is a clear violation of the privacy rights for both students and their parents. The invasive search practice, by itself, is something people should have a right to know about. 

The Dean could see that this made me feel uneasy and anxious. For a few moments, he showed signs of humanity. He told me to take deep breaths when I got tense. Later on, he advised me to go to athletics because it would help me feel better. I brought up the moment a week ago, in which he told me I am a valued member of the community. I asked him if it was still true and he told me “you are.” Despite the invasive search, it is clear his first intention was not to kick me out. 

By the end of the search, they told me that the worst thing they found was images like memes and different political views; nothing close to grotesque material or extremist content. In an email to my family, he wrote

We get his computer and find several strong right wing information, with other quotes and pictures that have been downloaded that people would feel are offensive

Aside from the terrible grammar of “several strong right wing information”, they penalized me because people could find some of the images. There were no screenshots or examples of the images. From what I remember, the worst I ever had were memes and conservative bumper stickers that I took photos of. This means that not only can VA search a student’s stuff, they will report the student for having alleged wrong think as justifications for the invasive searches. 

One of the photos they presumably cited as “strong right wing information.” In actuality, it was a photo of a truck’s bumper sticker I found while in the Bay Area. (above)

January 23rd-24th, 2018:

 After the searches were done, the administration told me not to tell anyone. As a 15 year old with mental disorders, I had no idea how to handle this. I had no counselors available and I felt scared telling my family about this. I lacked the self-restraint that adults should have. So I vented to my buddies about it as well as a few other staff members. When I found the student who falsely accused me in the dining hall, I calmly asked him what was going on. He told me to leave, which I did immediately; the administration falsely reported that I was “stalking” him. 

The staff told me to cease talking about the issue; I complied. My advisor told me that she thought I would be okay and that they wanted me there. The Dean told me that he was going to make sure every controversial image was gone from my computer next week; this implied there would be a next week. 

January 25th, 2018, Dismissal Day:

A few days later, it was my last day at the school. Despite the whole situation, this was my most calm day of the week. It was one of my favorite days at VA. 

I was pulled from my morning chemistry class earlier in the day by the Dean and school nurse. They walked me to the health center. I asked “Did something come up?” They reluctantly implied so. Once we reached the top of the building, they explained it in the most polite terms; They told me that the school was not my fit and that I was to leave. The incident they cited for dismissal was that I talked about the incident and they lacked the resources to support my mental health. 

Instead of responding negatively, I quipped that it was that my then-roommate would like his single room; the Dean put his head down in regret about their decision. He felt regretful and asked me if I wanted anything. I said sure and jokingly suggested donuts, as he was known to provide donuts to well-behaved students. Surely enough, they ordered donuts for me and the several staff who visited to say goodbye. I am not sure if most dismissals have birthday-like ceremonies. It is almost as if they knew this was a poor idea, or did not want me to leave with a bitter view of them. 

It was also the first and only time I met with the Headmaster. The roughly 10 minute meeting went rather tranquil. She tried to assure me my life would not be ruined, that VA was not my fit, and I had a decent future ahead; things they would not say to someone whom they credibly thought was a threat to their community. At the end, she asked if she could get a hug and I said yes; had I known she dismissed me over false allegations, I would have been grossed out. This was an unusually tender treatment for a future persona non grata. 

The staff let me say goodbye to several friends, whom I would never see in my life again. My advisor and the Dean helped me pack up and drove me to the airport. We ate at Boston Logan International Airport and had our last conversations. At the burger place, I offered to split the bill and pay for my own meals. The Dean showed his last kindness and declined my offer. He felt an obligation to pay for a dismissed student’s meal. 

At the airport, a member of my family arrived. They made her fly all the way from California to pick me up with a few hours’ notice. This is inconvenient and inhumane. At this moment, I knew that I had a longer road ahead of me. 

Phone Call with the Headmaster:

When I arrived back in California, I had to deal with the falling out among my family. They heard a bunch of rumors about me, and were in-shock that I got kicked out of what they perceived was Hogwarts. The family troubles only worsened. I heard my parents arguing on the phone, about what had happened and blaming each other. Some family members defended the school against me, even after knowing the accusations were false.

I later had a phone call with the Headmaster (whom is still the Headmaster of the school as of 2023). It lasted 22 minutes, yet I remember a lot about it. Her tone was far harsher than the meeting on my last day. The gist was that the reason I had to leave was based on complaints from “students” and “parents”; in actuality, it was the one student who reported me along with his parents. She brought up several outrageous baseless accusations from that student. They included being a hateful extremist, to watching porn in class. (I found out that they quietly admitted the allegations were false to my parents months later, and never raised them again). When I pushed back on the extremist allegations, she added that alleged left-wing extremists would also be punished. Her point was that the school is not only liberal grounds. However, punishing students for having alleged views is wrong regardless and the evidence clearly shows the school had a political bias. In this case, they knew nothing about my politics, they simply assumed. 

Her main point, as I recall verbatim, was: 

We just couldn’t have you here.

Aside from this being blunt and cold, it was false. In the week prior to the incident,  the Dean told me that I was a proud member of their community. During the incident, he told me he would help me clear my computer of memes and contrary politics, implying I would still be there. After the incident, both students and staff reached out to me. Either way, I shouldn’t take the phrase personally since every other well-liked staff also left shortly after.

I made two mistakes on this call that I recommend one never make in these situations.

1. I apologized. When the headmaster told me that the joke I sent was horrible, I said “I agree. I have apologized for it.” Hearing this, she doubled down and said something along the lines of “I’m sure you were sorry” or “You better be.” She phrased it like I committed a heinous crime. My confession of guilt let her feel confident she made the right choice. 

Instead, I should have refused to apologize. I would have pointed out that there were active students who participated in much more harmful activities, such as physical fighting, fat shaming, actual misogyny, and other forms of bullying. You should only apologize to people you care about, or in times you were truly in the wrong; never apologize to mobs or institutions. 

2. I failed to record the call. 

On the call, the Headmaster said many incriminating things. She repeatedly cited false allegations, such as the porn and extremism. This is because she was taking claims from the other student like they were true.  However, none of this is as outrageous to the climate as when she used the n-word. I am not making any of this up. 

When reading the list of rumors, she said that I upset students by talking about the n-word. (The context was that in class, a set of students talked about the country Niger and why it is important to pronounce it correctly. Of course, lying bullies leave out important context.)  The headmaster spoke down to me along the lines of “you were talking about the word *[uses the actual slur]* and you made students uncomfortable. We do not tolerate this.” 

I could not believe this happened. I never said nor was even accused of saying the word; it was the headmaster who said it. That’s the irony (aside from the fact that none of the students involved there, nor the headmaster, were Black). Just imagine the principal of a school using a slur to tell a student they cannot talk about the slur. This would feel like a South Park skit. Had I recorded and shared this, people would be outraged. No headmaster should be able to get away with words that don’t belong to them or that students would be punished for.

A few months after the call, she wrote me a letter; it had to be edited because the first draft included some false and disproven allegations. The letter was full of lip service and synthetic hope for me. It also included what the administration claimed got me kicked out. Instead of apologizing for believing false allegations, she doubled-down on them. She blatantly took sides in the letter by accusing me of making other students uncomfortable.

Her implication was that I was a threat to their community, despite it only being one or two students who had complained. This is what happens when institutions define who their community is. It means whoever is closest in influence to the administration or has the most money. Honest people should not let institutions define who the community should be. 

 In one of her complaints about my social media behaviors (which was left in the first draft), she wrote;

You seemed to suggest that you approved of violence, as when you stated “burn him” about a pedophilic gymnastics doctor.

The comment was over convicted sexual abuser, Larry Nassar. It was hyperbolic language regarding a high-profile case of a rather vile criminal. Since there was no context in the letter and I had no memory of making the comment, I imagine it was referring to the judge who went off on him verbally. Regardless, when she cited this as evidence against my conduct, it showed the institution has sympathy for pedophiles and abusers. 

The letter ended with:

Please stay in touch with me as you continue with your school plans and toward a program that will help you both academically and in your social and emotional growth and well being.

This part bewildered me. How often do principals ask dismissed students to write them back like grandchildren to grandparents? Regardless, I was not allowed to see the letter until over half a year later. By then, I had other struggles to deal with. 

The letter and phone call were the only communications I was involved in. The rest were strictly between the headmaster and my parents. I only had access to a few of the emails. One stood out. In it, the Headmaster listed my behaviors that they treated as red flags, half of which were false allegations. One of them was simply browsing a website on my own time.

Eli also browses websites like Brietbart, and popups appear that have been viewed as incendiary.

I don’t remember each website I visited during this time. Nor do I remember the "incendiary" popups, which they included no evidence for. Nonetheless, it is disturbing they care what a student researches on perfectly legal websites. You might not be a fan of *Breitbart* and neither am I. However, this is a clear overreach. How else can people debate ideas if they are punished for simply trying to learn them? Is it right to judge students, with no due process, for simply having visited a website?

Her email ended with the fact that I acknowledged that leaving was the right choice. This is the one rare thing I agreed with the administration on. I was fine with leaving the freezing cold, and elitist preppy environment. I only went because my family wanted me to go. My problem was how they treated me, in spite of their unusually warm behavior on Jan 25th. The administration could have let my parents know at least 48 hours in advance (instead of telling them to fly over ASAP), dismissed the clearly false allegations, and refunded the tuition. Instead, they made my life unnecessarily difficult for a 15 year old, who already struggled with mental health and family issues.  

To summarize what happened since, my parents wanted me in a new school as soon as possible. So I immediately was sent to intensive mental health treatment for two full months. (As of 2023, there are several articles about wilderness therapy on mainstream sources such as USAToday and The Guardian). I turned 16 in treatment, where I got birthday cards from a few staff at the school. After that, I was sent to another boarding school, which was a meme in itself; both of these experiences are worth a whole separate substack. During my time in the Troubled Teen Industry, I didn’t have as much access to technology and the outside world. This diminished my opportunities to advocate for myself. 

Two birthday cards I received in wilderness. (above)

When VA finally mailed my stuff back, it was months too late. Some organic produce arrived months after they were ripe. For example, I had to unpack rotten grapefruits that were originally sent from home during the incident months ago. I wish I had taken and kept photos of them. They represent the school in recent years. 

I rebuilt my life over the next few pre-pandemic years. I found work, a new community, and a much more welcoming school to graduate from. This school let students express their opinions without fear of false accusations or disciplinary action. They had greater diversity of race, sex, national origin, and political opinions; Vermont Academy was overwhelmingly white liberals. Despite it being a Bay Area public school, they treated me like a human in both deeds and actions. Judging from my experiences, I am proud to have graduated from a principled public school, rather than a corrupt failing private school. 

Vermont Academy since I left:

Since the time I returned to social media a year later to now, I checked in with various members of the community; graduating students, students who left, and former teachers. Some of the active students, who were on my same athletics team, said they missed me; they even wrote me a card. 

.

The card written by my former athletics team. Every fully blocked out name is a student, each Mr _, Mrs _, and Coach _ are the coaches. 

After hearing about the card, I was in denial. I thought they just couldn’t have me there and were glad I left. When the card arrived, I was amazed. It meant a lot that they took the time from their lives to send me the card.  I messaged the coach and my friend to thank them through text message and Instagram. This was the last time they reached out to me and a memorable conclusion at that. 

The rest of my communications with VA students was through online messages. One of the former students, the daughter of a staff who visited me on the last day, left the boarding school alongside her father. She told me the decision was “amicable” and her father had no issues with the administration. I had a hard time believing that. 

Others were critical of the school based on their experiences. One of my former learning mates and I messaged. He didn’t know why I got kicked out, but knew it must have been unjust. He added “the new head of school really ran it to the ground” in a casual conversation about why the best staff left. 

I reconnected with my academic advisor and my former learning/athletics specialist; respectively the former left a few months after me, and the latter left the next year. When checking in with my former advisor years later, I thanked her for the birthday letter. She responded: “That is totally understandable. It was a really difficult situation and I am really sorry it all worked out the way it did. I can say now since I no longer work there that I tried really, really hard to change peoples minds and reverse the decision. I’m glad to hear you are now in a much better place than VA ever was to you.” This felt amazing to read. I wish I knew this during the hellish months of my life. I thanked her for telling me and assured her that my life was not ruined from this. 

My sports and learning specialist was harder to locate. Only one former student knew where he worked. I found him and sent him an email, not even about the VA situation. After we emailed about our lives, he wrote: “I think it's pretty common for teachers and coaches to maintain a relationship with students that they had a connection with.  And, really, there is rarely a distinction made between kids who had been let go and those who weren't.  Many kids make mistakes that do not define them as human beings, and in your case, you didn't do anything wrong!” The last part felt wild to me. I apologized for my actions, pledged to improve, went to treatment for mental health differences, and sold out, (As Dostoyevsky famously wrote, “Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.”) Yet not all was lost. My former coach admits that I was not in the wrong. This inspired me to speak out. 

I was most acquainted with both former staff from VA. Neither of them were softballs for me. During my time there, they pushed me to undertake challenging activities and were disappointed at the times I failed to do so. Yet here, they both stuck up for me before I realized. During the hardest moments of my adolescent life, I had to search for new schools, therapists, friends, communities, as well as having to deal with scorn from my family. Had my family known that there were venerable staff who also had these issues, it would have gone smoother. I seek to bring more understanding here. 

My boldest move was to write back to the Headmaster. I timed this after every former student I knew left or graduated, to avoid potential conflicts. I addressed my faults, how to improve for the future, and framed it in a way to make it sound like her actions were understandable. Yet I also pointed out that most of the accusations were false, that the school tolerated students who have done much worse, and asked if there were consequences for them; For this, I got no answer. It is as if they want to forget I ever existed. 

I also checked on the school’s Google reviews. Many of them are negative. Two of the recent credible reviews are astonishing.

Both of these reviews call out the school for misplaced priorities, engaging in bigotry and bullying, and marginalized students feel unsafe. They also have a noticeable amount of likes, presumably from others who had similar experiences. As with my review, the school never replied to either of those; they are not open to feedback. However, it is not just online reviews that show this, hard data exists as well. 

During the pandemic, many of us lost money, opportunities, and loved ones. For Vermont Academy, they gained over 2 million dollars in PPP loans. This is significantly greater than the average PPP loan amount. 

At the same time, they lost at least 20 jobs. I understand there is a pandemic and businesses often lose employees during hard times. However, given the other staff who left due to issues with the administration, there may be more to this than the pandemic.

With the fact that many staff have left, parents given honest criticism, and a need for 2 Million dollar loans during a pandemic, it is clear that the school is not in good shape. I am far from the only one who claims this. 

My Final Thoughts.

I have often compared this to notable hoax-cases which occurred around the same timespan; The Covington Catholic boys, the Minnesota High School girl falsely accused of racist messages, Kyle Kashuv and Harvard (although the only person who used the n-word in this case was the Headmaster), and the Oberlin bakery case. 

One quote that strongly resonated was from a former Harvard law professor. Ronald Sullivan Jr, who was fired from Harvard for representing Harvey Weinstein in 2019, wrote a piece where he spoke truth.

Unchecked emotion has replaced thoughtful reasoning on campus. “Feelings are no longer subjected to evidence, analysis or empirical defense. Angry demands, rather than rigorous arguments, now appear to guide university policy.

This is no longer limited to college campuses or universities. It happened at my high school when I was 15. The administration never properly vetted any of the outrageous allegations, and believed some which were proven to be false. The scary fact is this is not an isolated incident.  Many of you may have experienced this directly. It is a problem with our society and it needs to change.

While many people describe incidents in modern times as ‘Orwellian’, mine felt more ‘Kafkaesque’.  As this Bustle article describes,

"Kafkaesque" means a system that has no vested interest in doing anything but keeping itself going, alienating everyone in the process.

This perfectly described what happened at VA. Before I got kicked out, they admitted that the reason the Dean has to be intimidating is because it’s part of his job requirement. When he wasn’t in his position, he was very warm and kind to me and my family. If their actions to dismiss me were based in truth and common sense, then why would so many staff disagree and choose to leave shortly after? Why would students write to me and tell me they miss me? Why would the same Headmaster who dismissed me, want me to write her back? I can safely ask these questions now that I no longer fear retribution from the private institution. 

Now to address potential critics; I understand why someone may not sympathize with my experience. It happened rather long ago, I was not perfect then, the school likely broke no laws, and this is just one experience. This may not be worthy of appearing in any mainstream outlets. 

However, I stand by coming out about my experience. The headmaster, who dismissed me and turned away some of the most loved staff, is still in charge today. It is not ancient history. Furthermore, there is no statute of limitations for expressing one's experiences, nor covering abusive practices. As a 15 year old, I made my fair share of stupid choices, and was deserving of proportionate discipline. Yet who here has not acted foolish when they were around this age? One does not need to be an angel to be treated like a human. Lastly, this is not about me. I want to speak for myself as well as many lesser heard voices. 

This is not a left or right issue; it is a human issue. If one identifies as left-leaning or on the left, they would find common ground with me. They would not support a wealthy private institution which takes millions in dollars during a devastating pandemic, weaponizes mental health diagnoses against students, nor one that lacks any and all restorative justice; also the fact that the Headmaster would punish students for allegedly being left-wing extremists. 

This is no less true for people on the right. They would not support an elitist, politically-biased institution which penalizes students for simply having been to websites they may agree with or had their opinions saved on their personal devices. 

If someone has views that are rooted in humanity and reason, they would disagree with the invasive searches, defenses of pedophiles, false allegations, as well as every disturbing issue previously mentioned. I hope that this experience reaches everyone, regardless of personal politics. 

I am not sure how many other people have been through crazy cases similar to mine. However, I know that we are growing and have just begun to speak out.  My dream is that every student and former student can speak out about their schools’ abuses; while also praising the schools which can truly educate, rehabilitate, and motivate. Thus every good parent can save the time, energy, and money to places which have their best interests at heart.