Like any do-gooding multi-hundred-millionaire movie star, Hancock's Will Smith is involved in the philanthropy scene. He's also, as prying eyes have woefully pointed out, been involving himself with the Tom Cruise scene, which means of course that he's basically a raving Scientologist trying to hold in his inner homo, because that's what the cult is about, right? Back in 2004, Smith donated $20k to something called "HOPE: The Hollywood Education and Literacy Program," which is the church's "literary program," where children get homeschooled and, we're guessing, brainwashed in their formative years. Now, he and Jada have been plugging a way at their New Village Academy, a private school they're funding that will open in December, which got the LAT treatment over the weekend. Naturally, the first word out of the school's mouth is that it is not a Scientology facility. (Even Will and Jada still insist they aren't of the church.) But a certain anti-Scientology crusader is casting his eye of suspicion on this educational institution, mostly because of a … goat.
Reports cult religion hater Roger Friedman:
Smith’s students are getting an odd education in global policy. According to the school’s mission statement, students "recycle plastic bottles at 10 cents per bottle. Once we have $100 (1,000 bottles) we have enough money to buy a goat for a village in Africa, which can ensure the survival of this village."
Most rural Africans would agree that goats are not what they need at this point. When I got a tour of an extremely rural village in Botswana’s Okavango Delta last summer, I asked what the children there needed most.
"A school," replied our guide, Xanthe, without hesitation. He didn’t say, "goat." New Village Academy might be interested in this. African villages also need things like shoes, electricity, irrigation and medical supplies. That $100 might go a long way to getting those items through Save the Children, UNICEF and other proper organizations.
Oh, and then there's the little matter of the actual Scientology connection, which may or may not be a stretch:
As for the Scientology influence at New Village Academy: The school’s much-invoked mantra is "Spiral Up." Whether the Smiths know it or not, and I suspect they do, the word "spiral" is very much a part of the Scientologists' lexicon. It appears constantly throughout their propaganda. A "dwindling spiral" is when "one commits overt acts unwittingly."
Editorial Director
There is no way that there won't be at least a little Scientology influence in the school… it perfectly fits in with the organisations Modus Operandi..
Unfortunately what can one really do to stop it?
Public decrying topped with sarcasm go a LONG way to stop something like this.
Unmasked you may be interested in knowing that the current leader of Scientology is altering founder L Ron Hubbard's scriptures. Just follow the link in my name. Thats a high crime in Scientology and you need to report it if you are to keep Scientology Working. Also do a quick google search for "Musical Chairs INT Base
Style" while your at it.
Unmasked I like your blog it's good to have you on board.
I dated a Scientologist, and from what I've seen, EVERYTHING about that school is Scientology.
Scientology connection? Absolutely! There are earlier versions of the school's website that have been heavily edited once the CoS connection was being sniffed out. One of the more glaring "changes" is the list of faculty staff members. Of the 17 members on the staff list, at least 6 of them are known Scientologists on the Scientology completions course list. There may be additional members, as the list tends to lag behind by a few years.
How about accreditation? Did you know that Scientologist children who "graduate from "Apple" and "Delphi" schools CANNOT get in to schools like Harvard and Yale because these institutions are NOT accredited? Delphi "graduates" are also shown to have far below the national average in all subjects required to enter such institutions anyway. Will needs to look at where his money is going, as well as his reputation!