Opening BB&N Minds

"Last summer was the first time I was able to tell anybody about what Ted Washburn did to me at the School."
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Anonymous, BB&N Alum
August 20, 2009

 

"The simple rule that I find true, though, is that if something sounds very wrong, it probably is. And if class after class of students, more or less naive teens, knew what was going on, then surely 30-something teachers and 40-something administrators did. "
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Tom Harris, Class of 1979
March 24, 2009

 

"Dear Rebecca,
I have been wanting to contact you about Ted Washburn ever since Daniel Weinreb launched Opening BBN Minds. I would like to encourage you to  provide a series of facilitated meetings ..."

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Anonymous, Class of 1990
March 23, 2009

 

"I guess if I still remember the discussion of the pig in Washburn's class, I have to believe that the memories of any of his victims (perhaps I am one and just don't "get it") are much fresher and more painful than mine."
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Thomas Coates, Class of 1984
March 20, 2009

 

"I was 15 when Washburn molested me on the "Red Top" property owned by Harvard in 1981.   I did not go to Harvard or BBN, just lived in the area in Connecticut.   It is too painful to disclose further information but I will soon. "

Anonymous
March 19, 2009

 

"The stories I'm hearing about BB&N today and its recent years worry me deeply. I believe that the defensiveness and inadequate responses from the administration come from old-fashioned ways of thinking, which perhaps are themselves fear-based."

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F.D., Class of 1974
February 23, 2009 

"I myself had a tangential encounter with Washburn, when he asked students if anyone was interested in traveling with his family to the Henley Regatta in the UK..."

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Lewis Wheeler, Class of 1987
February 21, 2009

 

"I am shocked to know that BBN has not completely addressed all the ways that it failed so many...  "
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Liz Melhado Ward, Class of 1985
February 21, 2009

 

I have no doubt it has cost you plenty as it has been a herculean effort on your part to bring this all about; but I do hope, given the gift you have given to others by doing so, it has been well worth the cost to you. 
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Kate Haigney Krims, Former Middle School Teacher
February 17, 2009

 

My romantic memories of BB&N are more complicated now, now that I am outraged by all the institutional inaction and indifference.

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Rachel Greene, Class of 1990
February 16, 2009

 

I saw old sh*thead Washburn in Staples in Burlington (MA) a couple years ago. He was a withdrawn version of his arrogant, offensive, humilating self.

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Mike Goodman, Class of 1982
February 16, 2009

 "The academic rigor he brought to creative and expository writing, combined with his anti-establishment attitude (which I now know was merely a ploy to win over his young male students), made for an extremely enticing classroom environment for an adolescent boy. "
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Paddy Spence, Class of 1985
November 7, 2008

 

Ted Washburn is a criminal. I am grateful to all of the people who are speaking up. Thank you!
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Emily Alston-Follansbee (Glick), Class of 1982
October 27, 2008

 

"I started B&N in 1972. I was in the 6th grade. I went on one of those trips to New Hampshire and although I was not molested I watched as he sat around with all the other boys naked and lighting farts. "
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John Beuscher, Class of 1978

October 23, 2008

 

"I only experienced Ted Washburn as a study period monitor, and that was bad enough. He was rude, crude and used intimidation regularly."
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Claudia Wilson (Pietropaolo), Class of 1986
October 15, 2008

 

"It seems inadequate to say this, but ... Thank you, Daniel, and others, who have worked so hard on this issue. You have done so much for us all.  I really appreciate your sacrifices."
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Sarah Like (Rhatigan) Class of 1987
October 14, 2008

 

But, more importantly, it seems to me now very likely that BB&N's actions may have facilitated Washburn doing this through the years, and most certainly has made the challenge victims face dealing with their ordeal that much harder. 

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David Thompson, Class of 1985
September 15, 2008 
 

"My general view is that providing counseling and assistance to victims of child abuse can be helpful and rewarding if proper, professional assessments are made for those who have suffered."
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Chester Beattie, Class of 1974
September 5, 2008

 

"After I "told on [Washburn] to my mummy" (his choice of words when he announced in class that his "bond of trust" with us had been broken on account of me) I became subject to his psychological abuse, which was fierce."

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Anonymous
September 3, 2008

 

Even though I loathed Ted, when the news broke I recall being flabbergasted that he could be capable of such things."
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Robin Fogelson, Former Middle School Teacher
August 28, 2008 

 

"Yours [Upham's] is an enviable task. You sit on the precipice of a decision which can positively impact the lives of past AND future generations of the BB&N community."
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David Drake, Class  of  1979
July 18, 2008

 

"One could say that they were oblivious of their own obliviousness."
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Dan Farber, Teacher of English Emeritus
BB&N 1970--2006
June 26, 2008

 

"Except for a few teachers, I found my experience there to be awful, and I never looked forward to going to school. Fortunately I essentially flunked out, and my parents sent me to school in Europe."

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Stewart Gardner, Class of 1969
June 18, 2008

 

"At the time, I knew of a few classmates that would brag about going into his back room and look at porn magazines. I never thought much about it until 1987 and the court case."
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Colin Barbera, Class of 1987

June 18, 2008

 

"In addition, while I was taking his class, I heard rumors of him bringing groups of boys on an overnight and masturbating together. But he was a teacher, and a very well-established one at that."
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Sharon Cramer Lincoln, Class of 1988
June 6, 2008

 

"And in the morning,  there were jokes with Ted at breakfast about who had "messed up the sheets"  but I never really knew what happened in there."
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Anonymous, Class of 1981
June 5, 2008 

"I think a lot of us knew, that when Washburn took kids to NH they would 'circle j*rk.'"
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Anonymous, Class of 1983
June 3, 2008

"Daniel's experience with Washburn twenty years ago has caused him immeasurable pain. His trust was betrayed, and his sense of right and wrong was turned upside down first by Washburn's actions, and then by the school's reaction."

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Lizzie Weinreb Fishman, BB&N Class of 1987
June, 2008

 

"I am increasingly saddened and disappointed that the institution failed then and continues to fail to meet its most basic responsibilities which are to protect its students and to set an example of honesty."

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Ruth Weinreb
June, 2008

Of course Washburn is primarily responsible for all this, but I have lasting anger at the BB&N administrators who allowed sexual abuse to thrive transparently in the community for two decades. I heard that Frances Ackerley, when confronted by the mother of one of Washburn's victims, who asked why she hadn't done anything about prior reports of abuse, replied, "I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in court".

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John-Paul Pagano, Class of 1991
June 2008

 

"I was a female recipient of the 'Land of Lakes' award, which had something to do with breast size.  In Washburn's demented mind, he thought nothing of his behavior..."

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Valerie DeJongh, Class of 1985
May 26, 2008

 

"I felt physically ill all weekend, not at having to call it in, but at the pain that had been inflicted ..."
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Alex Pirie, Former BB&N Lower School Faculty
May 18, 2008

 

"I taught at the Upper School from 1975-1980.  My hope is for the healing of all of the victims."
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Patricia Varela, BB&N Faculty 1975-1980
May 12, 2008

"I can confirm that [Washburn]  made pornography available. He encouraged "boner" contests and group masturbation at his home in NH."
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Anonymous, Class of 1979
April 28, 2008

"You, the other thoughtful people who have posted, and the many thoughtful people who won’t post, are making a lasting positive contribution to the struggle that so many people faced and face because of Washburn and the too many others like him."

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Jenni  Weinreb Owen, Class of 1985
April 24, 2008

"In the context of what has been revealed, these memories have far-darker potential implications, regarding his assessment of our reactions. Scary stuff."
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Anonymous, Class of 1987
April 24, 2008

"I attended a private school just like BB&N where a nearly identical incident of sexual misconduct occurred."
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Anonymous, Seattle WA
April 21, 2008

 

 

"On my next volunteering visit, I arrived to find Washburn, surrounded by volunteers and staff in the reception area, holding forth on the abuse he had suffered at the hands of BB&N and his accusers."
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Jen "Chase" Chiasson-Aronoff, Class of 1988
April 16, 2008

I find myself once again asking why the school refuses to do the right thing by confronting a sordid part of its history and reaching out to really help the victims. I echo the sentiments of others who have posted that the school has the chance to right the wrong ...

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Trish McCarthy-Bleau, Class of 1979
April 16, 2008

But it was only until I got your email that I realized that I never received any official school communication about [Washburn].

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Becca Lee, Class of 1993
April 14, 2008

"I was class of 1970. To my knowledge no one in our class has been directly affected. I will encourage them to come forward if I hear anything."

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Roger Sturgis, Class of 1970
April 14, 2008

"If you are identified with the incident then I am confident it will be in the manner deserved: as a man who has decided to take the fear and shame you surely felt as an emerging young man and harness it for whatever good can come from it."

Holly (Quirk) Lane, Class of 1989

April 13, 2008 

"I'm ashamed of BB&N for not coming forward to help immediately, when administrators discovered what had happened."

Katie Clapp, Class of 1978
April 12, 2008

"I applaud you for making everyone face the horrible truth that lies beneath.  I  am sure your struggle and those of other victims has been unbearable at times.  I have always felt that part of the reason that this was brushed under the rug was because of the Washburn family wealth and clout in the Boston area."

Anonymous, Class of 1988
April 12, 2008

"It’s clear to me now that he perfected the art of attracting boys to him.  I have grown to despise him for what he has done to students ... and to the BB&N community in general."
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Willard MacDonald, Class of 1989
April 11, 2008

"I was sexually molested by Ted Washburn while a student at BB&N. The abuse I suffered as a child had terrible consequences for me personally; the effects were so devastating that I consider myself fortunate to be alive."
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 Anonymous, Class of 1989
April 8, 2008

"Mr. Washburn somehow caused us to withhold information from parents and teachers despite feeling that what we were doing was wrong..."
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Sebastian Knowles, Class of 1979
April 8, 2008

"I was called to the principal's office as part of an apparent investigation by the school into the activities taking place at Squam Lake."
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Maia Ettinger, Class of 1979
February 18, 2008

"The law tells me that I waited too long. Let me be clear. I was not waiting."
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 Daniel Weinreb, Class of 1989
February, 2008