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	Anglican School's Former Students Tell of Brainwashing, Abuse By Neco Cockburn Ottawa Citizen September 8, 2007 http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id= 6b11ac61-95de-40ea-9f68-968b919cb94d&k=86481 An Anglican bishop has begun meeting with people as part of an inquiry into allegations of abusive practices at a Brockville-area private religious school that shut its doors earlier this summer. Grenville Christian College has faced numerous allegations since it closed at the end of July after citing changing demographics, declining enrolment and increasing operating costs. Former students have flooded websites and told media of allegations including physical and psychological abuse. Bishop George Bruce, of the Anglican Church's Diocese of Ontario, has started to meet with people who have filed written complaints, diocesan executive officer Wayne Varley said yesterday. "This matter is being dealt with seriously," Bishop Bruce wrote in a statement, in which he described the inquiry into complaints lodged against two clergy members. The school has never fallen under the responsibility or control of the Anglican Church, but priests at the school were clergy of the Diocese of Ontario. Yesterday, former students told the Citizen of brainwashing attempts, humiliation, strict discipline and chanting sessions meant to denounce sexual acts and promote chastity. Alex Onyemenam, whose parents sent her to the school in 1980 to provide her with structure and discipline, said she was soon confronted with strict rules and an "attitude that hid behind the veil of Christianity." That included "light sessions," in which students who allegedly committed wrongdoings were stood up in front of the student body and not allowed to speak while accusations were made against them, said Ms. Onyemenam, who now lives in Toronto. A light session would usually lead to a student being placed on "discipline" -- punishment that included anything from heavy chores and isolation, to not being allowed to speak or be spoken to, being barred from wearing school uniforms or being tailed by a staff member, she said. "There are people that have been beyond devastated by this," Ms. Onyemenam said. "After you had been at Grenville for a while, you could see the people that were going to break." Marion Morton, who attended the school between 1982 and 1989, said she was placed on discipline after being pushed to make a false confession that she had stolen a bathing suit. When it was later discovered that the suit had not been stolen, she remained on discipline for a week "because I was a liar," Ms. Morton said. Erin Bloch, who attended Grenville from 1985 to 1988, said incidents at the school, including light sessions, left her with "huge trust issues." "Even people that you felt were best friends, if they were put under enough pressure, they would say anything to get themselves out of the hot seat. Someone you would confide in could turn against you at any time," she said. "In my case, and in a quite a few other cases, parents just didn't know. Had I had the strength to call my mom and tell her what was going on, she would have pulled me out of there immediately," Ms. Bloch said. Rev. Charles Farnsworth, 75, was headmaster at Grenville from 1983 to 1997. Yesterday, he said he had been advised not to speak to reporters. "So much has been said (in newspapers) already, and they're not accurate and they don't quote what we say or the spirit of what we say," he said, directing future calls to his son, Don Farnsworth, who is a vice-chairman of the school's board of directors. When reached, Don Farnsworth said it was not appropriate for him to make an "official comment just yet." Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien, who sat on the college's board of directors when his son attended the school in 2004 and 2005, said yesterday that at the time, he had heard rumours that Grenville once had a reputation as a "tough love-type school." "It had completely changed by the time I got my son into the school," Mr. O'Brien said.
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