A professor and a chaplain on the College Park campus said in interviews that they had met frustration over the years in trying to get the university to respond seriously. The climate began to change last summer, when Warren Kelley, executive assistant to the vice president for student affairs, opened a discussion about cults on campus. He instituted discussions of the subject during freshman orientation in the summer and persuaded some instructors to add it to a fall course that teaches freshmen how to cope with college life. Some parents said they were relieved to see those recent actions but added that they remain unhappy with the pace and intensity of the efforts. But much more needs to be done, and the university still doesn't seem to recognize that.
Colleges have throngs of young, energetic people who fit that description.
Parents should understand, she said, that cults do not bill themselves as such. Instead, she contended, students fall victim to what amounts to an elaborate scam. Only slowly, she said, does the group take control of the student's life and finances, using sophisticated psychological techniques. Even psychologically healthy people are vulnerable, if they have not been trained to recognize the techniques, she said. It keeps happening, and I think that's because people keep forgetting.