------------------------------------------------------------------- F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Incorporated) a non-profit computer bulletin board and electronic library 601 16th St. #C-217 Golden, Colorado 80401 USA BBS 303 530-1942 FAX 303 530-2950 Office 303 473-0111 This document is part of an electronic lending library and preservational electronic archive. F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Professional Profile: Dr. Richard H. Ofshe Richard H. Ofshe (Ph.D., Stanford), a Director of the American Family Foundation and Professor of Sociology at the University of California Berkeley, has always been interested in individual decision-making and group pressure. It was natural, then, that when the Synanon group came to his attention (before it became controversial), he should think it worth studying for the interplay of these factors, which are among AFF's core concerns. Although all basic research has the potential for applied work, Professor Ofshe remarks that the link is rarely made. But his prior study of Synanon enabled him to explain system-atically how the group worked, thus illuminating its descent into bar-barism in secular terms, and vitiating claims to protection from scrutiny on religious freedom grounds. Like other scholars associated with AFF, Professor Ofshe was threatened with lawsuits for his research and writing. He received late night calls, and his wife was slandered. In the end, he shared a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for his book, The Light on Synanon (co-authored with the editors of California's Point Reyes Light newspaper), as well as several newspaper awards. He also collected damages for injuries suffered during the decade-long era in his professional life. Since then, Professor Ofshe - often working with fellow AFF committee member Dr. Margaret Singer - has lent his academic expertise to court cases by helping prosecutors build cases against cult-generated violence. He has also assisted former cult members by explaining how the very nature of cult membership should, in some cases, mitigate their punishment. Professor Ofshe is involved as well in studying the problem of false confessions- helping courts investigate the many cases stemming from police interrogation across the country - and warning that most claims of Satanist cult activity are not true. At Berkeley, Professor Ofshe gives both graduate and undergraduate sociology courses on thought reform and social control. This semester he is teaching a seminar on "interrogation," using as his text interrogation transcripts from the recent Phoenix Buddhist temple murders case, in which innocent people were made to confess to crimes they did not commit. Indeed, Professor Ofshe's "Coerced Confessions: The Logic of Seemingly Irrational Confessions" (Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1989, 1-15) argues that unethically manipulative interrogation procedures can be conceptualized as a type of thought reform. In addition to the Synanon book and many other professional articles, Professor Ofshe has written or edited five books, including Interpersonal Behavior in Small Groups, and The Sociology of the Possible. He has also served on the Cultic Studies Journal Editorial Board since its inception. 2 Professional Profile: Dr. Edward A. Lottick Edward A. Lottick (M. D., University of Nebraska, F. A. A. F. P.), a Pennsylvania native and resident, is a board-certified Fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice who practices general medicine, is a staff member of four hospitals, medical director of one nursing home and utilization chairman of three others, a board member of his county medical society and editor of its Bulletin, a delegate to and state board member of the Penn-sylvania Medical Society, a spare time inventor in the medical field currently holding nine patents, formerly affiliated with several local universities, and a speaker on tele-vision and radio. Among his publi-cations are nearly thirty articles and editorials for The Bulletin, several of which reveal a lively sense of humor- "The Hospital That Ate Chicago," "Bulletin Probably Will Not Publish Centerfold in Near Future," "How Not to Be a Goon"- that is not only a virtue but a requisite in his field. Dr. Lottick is also a survivor with his wife and two other children of the tragic loss of a third child, Noah, to Scientology and, subsequently, to suicide. The Time magazine cover story of May 6, 1991 ("Scientology, the Thriving Cult of Greed and Power") gives a devastating account of the Lotticks' plight. Last summer, the Reader's Digest asked Dr. Lottick to con-firm the facts set forth in its condensed version of the Time story. In a detailed affidavit, he stated that the story was accu-rately written, and that he had indeed said, "Their so-called therapies are manipulations. We thought Scientology was something like Dale Carnegie. I now believe it's a school for psychopaths." In a separate affidavit, the poignant testimony of Mrs. (Sally Teller) Lottick, a former college teacher now active in local government, and church and school organizations (and past president of several), now President of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Girl Scout Council, and a published author, as well, adds vividly to her husband's story. The Lotticks have come through their ordeal with a determination to educate others on the truth about cults as they have experienced it. Dr. Lottick recently became a member of the AFF's Advisory Board, and will serve on the Committee for the Education of Physicians. He says that after attending continuing medical education (CME) courses for twenty years, he has never yet been to a course on cults, and thinks it long overdue. Two weeks after Hurricane Agnes (1972) flooded 60,000 dwellings, including his, Dr. Lottick re-established his primary care office in his "somewhat muddy home." The resilience, stamina, and determination that characterized him then as now will make Dr. Lottick a tremendous asset to the AFF. ================================================================= If this is a copyrighted work, you are acknowledging by receipt of this document from FACTNet that on the basis of reasonable investigation, you have not been to obtain a copy elsewhere at a fair price, and that you are and will abide by the following copyright warning. WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photo copies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified by law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. FACTNet reserves the right to refuse to accept an order for copying or other duplication, or delivery of copied or duplicated material if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. ------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Incorporated) a non-profit computer bulletin board and electronic library 601 16th St. #C-217 Golden, Colorado 80401 USA BBS 303 530-1942 FAX 303 530-2950 Office 303 473-0111 This document is part of an electronic lending library. F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- CARD CATALOG ENTRY DOS FILENAME OF TEXT FILE: CO0292AF.TXT DOS FILENAME OF IMAGE FILES: none ADMINISTRATIVE CODE: OK SECURITY CODE: SCO DISTRIBUTION CODE: RO DESCRIPTION FOR BBS FILE LISTING: The Cult Observer July 1991 SORT TO: AFF CONTRIBUTOR: American Family Foundation (AFF) LOCATION OF ORIGINAL: American Family Foundation (AFF) NOTES: Back issues and selected reprints of the Cultic Studies Journal are available from the American Family Foundation, P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 33959-2265. PROFESSIONAL PROFILES: | 1 Dr. Richard H. Ofshe | 2 Dr. Edward A. Lottick For additional verification see the contributor of the document. UPDATED ON: 8/30/94 UPDATED BY: FrJMc =================================================================