3.27.2008
Hoopeston Documentary Premieres at NYUFF
The upcoming 15th (and final) annual New York Underground Film Festival will be hosting the international premiere of the documentary "Hoopeston". The film looks at a formerly prosperous Illinois town as it deals with a declining economy, drugs, and the controversy caused by Witch School (and the Correllian Tradition that runs it) moving in.
Hoopeston - Trailer from Synydyne on Vimeo.
"Two and a half hours south of Chicago near the Illinois- Indiana border, once the global capital of sweet corn production, Hoopeston, according to residents, went from a town of "overachievers to underachievers in the span of just ten to fifteen years." Church. Meth. Republicans. That's about what's left when town officials, hoping to create jobs, start offering to give away prominent downtown buildings to anyone with a business plan ... but - whoops - guess who's coming to dinner: a displaced Wiccan sect shopping downmarket for a good spot to open the "nation's first witch school," Witch School. A beads industry mover and shaker from Virginia Beach; a pagan CEO with a checkered romantic past; the Orson Welles-esque leader of the Corellian Tradition, since age thirteen... take a trip with these egos to the dork side."
While the NYUFF description is somewhat mocking, the filmmakers seem quite sincere in wanting to impartially tell the story of the conflicts that emerged between Witch School and the heavily Christian town.
"The directors of the school faced stiff opposition from religious conservatives (Hoopeston has over a dozen churches - its other nickname is "The Holy City"). But the Witch School is now a fixture in Hoopeston, one that forces the town to ask whether its future lies in traditional industry or internet wand sales. Hoopeston tells the story of the former Sweet Corn Capital through the lives of its residents. A laborer struggles to find work, a young entrepreneur buys the only motel in town, the police chief battles a drug epidemic, and the Correllian Chancellor lays plans for a vast Crystal Web."
The Hoopeston story doesn't have a happy ending for Witch School. Due to a number of factors, including the ongoing lack of acceptance by locals, the school (and the Correllians) moved to the even smaller town of Rossville, Illinois to make a new start of building a "Salem of the Midwest" (a plan that seems increasingly unlikely, as Rossville seems even less enthusiastic than Hoopeston at Witch School's presence). "Hoopeston" should be an interesting exploration of what happens when religious cultures clash outside the (mostly) tolerant (and secular) urban areas most Pagans flock to.
The New York Underground Film Festival runs from April 2nd through the 8th at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City's East Village. "Hoopeston" is scheduled to screen on April 3 at 8:45 PM, with a repeat showing on April 8 at 9:30 PM. No word yet on other festival appearances or a DVD release.
Labels: Correllian Wicca, documentaries, Don Lewis, Ed Hubbard, Hoopeston, New York, Paganism, Witch School
4.19.2007
My (Hopefully) Last Witch School Post
It seems that this story is finally coming to a close. Witch School, the infamous online school founded by Ed Hubbard, has been sold to a coalition of buyers from the Correllian Nativist Tradition with Don Lewis at the head. This follows much speculation following the initial announcement that Witch School would be auctioned off on eBay.
"No one takes Witches and Pagans as a serious market force. By using eBay as a platform for selling, at least we can get fair exposure. It is not like we can list this in an ordinary newspaper and be taken seriously. Of course, everyone will probably take this as a joke. But Witch School is a serious business and opportunity for the right buyer"
Since then students tried to form a coalition to buy their own school, outside Pagans tried to purchase the school, and the auction was pulled from eBay due to claims that someone was hacking Witch School's account. In the midst of all this, Ed Hubbard started making the news for criticizing Hoopeston, Illinois' for its lack of acceptance.
"Hubbard sold his interest in the Witch School recently to add to his financial base for Illiana Web. He announced this fact at the Hoopeston City Council meeting on Monday, when he also told the council the Witch School would be gone May 1. Hubbard asked a simple question at the meeting of the mayor and each individual alderperson: "Do you want me to stay? Illiana Web is fully ready and Hoopeston can become a regional hub. Do you want a Regional WIFI hub here?" No one answered the question. Hubbard turned and left the meeting. Mayor Bill DeWitt said it was Hubbard's prerogative to stay, but added after Hubbard left the meeting that, 'If I was engaged in any business and had to take a public-opinion poll, by hell, I would move.'"
Now that the sale finished, one wonders if it being sold to a Correllian-affiliated group was the planned outcome all along? One of the few serious non-Correllian coalitions to attempt purchasing the school seemed to not get very far in their attempts to discuss a bid.
"We wished to meet with Witch School partners to discuss the matter, but that didn't happen. We made an offer to the majority partner, but not on E-bay. We also had a lot of questions about finances, philosophy of the school, assets, etc."
Ed Hubbard is planning to make a formal announcement regarding the sale soon (feel free to post a link to it in the comments once it surfaces). No doubt he will discuss how the final sale came about, and reveal the new status of the school under the leadership of Don Lewis. One can only hope the buyers, sellers, and Witch School students will be happy with this new/old arrangement. Some of the ethical questions raised by this entire process will most likely go unanswered, but it seems the matter of the sale is finished.
Labels: Correllian Wicca, Don Lewis, eBay, Ed Hubbard, Paganism, Witch School
4.16.2007
Witch School Sale Update
Witch School, the largest online training center for would-be Witches, which went on the eBay auction block a week ago has pulled the listing and ended the auction. While school CEO Ed Hubbard claimed that the school and its assets would be "auctioned off to the highest bidder", it seems that other plans were in the making.
"I read the letter that was sent out to registered Witchschool students, and I got the impression that the entire idea of the auction was to set the dollar value of the "assets." Since the school is a registered llc, to legally dissolve it, the owner/members must set price and pay each other off."
Now Hubbard is looking for private buyers, and in a letter to Witch School members makes clear what his fiscal and organizational preferences are.
"I am still selling it, and I will work with a coalition. I have a simple price of $50,000. cash, and at $200,000 will give a 10 year promissory note at 2%. Anyone or any coalition that meets that will get it ... Don Lewis should be part of any coalition if you are smart. His royalties drive the company. Virginia Powell is really cool, and would be amazing help. Michael Ferrell should not be ignored, He is crucial. He controls the site....he knows it so well. Raven is Don's personal Computer and programmer. Debbe runs the daily spell reanna marie is a exceptional crafter and she makes the wand Krystel is perfect. and Lisa Tuit would be helpful if she is interested."
It seems Hubbard is looking for someone to take Witch School away from him but keep things running generally the way they were running. That doesn't seem to line up with potential buyer A.C. Aldag's view of how things would go.
"My husband David and I are forming a holding company with the intent of purchasing Witch School ... We would no longer offer initiations, dedications, degrees, or ordinations in the Correllian tradition or any other religious or magical system. We believe that this matter is between seekers and their spiritual leaders ... Ed and Don have an incredible vision and an amazing plan. They are both very creative and dedicated; however, they are not really business-minded people ... We will employ business people to ensure that Witch School can continue, pay its bills, produce quality products, educate students, and give service to the Pagan community ... I'm going to ask other buyers, partners, and the general community the hard questions so that I know the truth before I spend my partners' money!"
Aldag and her husband are meeting with Hubbard to discuss a potential sale next week. Meanwhile it seems that WS students are discussing the buying the school and the ramifications of a non-Correllian tradition taking over. At this point many seem to want the school to stay in Correllian hands. But it remains to be seen if the students can bring together a large enough coalition to meet Hubbard's fiscal needs.
Labels: A.C. Aldag, Correllian Wicca, Ed Hubbard, Paganism, Witch School
4.11.2007
Wanna Buy Witch School?
On Monday Ed Hubbard publicly announced that he is selling off Witch School (here is the official eBay auction for the site), the infamous online school for aspiring Witches.
"Imagine, if you could buy Harry Potter's Hogwarts? Well, the world's first and largest public school of Wiccan and Witches has become available for sale. Starting Tuesday, April 10th, WitchSchool.com will be auctioned off to the highest bidder during an eBay Auction. If you ever wanted to have your very own cyber school of magick and witchcraft, this is the auction for you. So you can own and run your very own Academy for Magick and Witchcraft. If you would love to become the next Dumbledore, this is your chance to do so."
This announcement has come after a strange series of shake-ups and developments. First a schism between two factions of the Witchcraft tradition that the school was associated with, then the installation of a new president (from one of the factions), and then the news that a reality program was being developed around the school. But now it seems everything must go, including their "Minispells" business, the proprietary software that runs the school, and even their MySpace page.
"The Comprehensive Site for online Wiccan and Pagan Education. With over 85 courses, plus tons of features that have been developed over the last five years. With over 145,000 currently actively registered students, and hundreds of thousands have passed through. It offers a lot of interaction including testing, transcripts, etc."
In a letter to me
"I offered to give the school to the tradition and the church and Davron refused. At that time, I informed Don and Davron that I would give WS one more year, and that I would turn it into NFP ... I resigned from Correllian Nativist Church International, Inc. and The Correllian Mother Temple which were two separate organizations."
There is no word on how this will affect their bricks-and-mortar campus in Hoopeston, Illinois. Will the property go to the Correllian Mother Temple and Don Lewis (who is acting president of Witch School), or will it be sold off? It seems strange that the Witch School site is conducting a fund raiser in which it urges all its online students to donate money to fix up their building in Hoopeston.
"We are asking our students, friends, and supporters to 'Adopt' a brick, and have your name (or craft name) put on it. We are creating a wall that includes everyone who helps us in this fundraiser ... His exact words 'If each basic student were to give a dollar the building would be able to be fixed up pretty quickly.' And he came up with this fundraiser. We hope that Michael is correct and the blessing of the three fold law is given full rein in this project."
As for the online school, Hubbard seems to hope it will be scooped up by a major Pagan-oriented business like Llewellyn Worldwide or New Page publishing, but seems just as open to the idea of it being bought out by a non-Pagan corporation like Google or Disney. In an addendum to the auction, Hubbard explains that the new owner of the school will have to honor the development deal with the SciFi Channel, and that the new owner will have the power to grant religious initiations within Correllian Wicca, and will control the Copyright to Don Lewis' (head of the Correllian Mother Temple) writing.
"The Main Thing it holds is the License to Don Lewis Correllian Wicca, and the right to use it in many different ways. It has a perpetual right to provide FIRST, SECOND and THIRD DEGREES. It has many other rights to sell product. Witch School also negotiates and handles Don Lewis Copyright licenses exclusively since the Year 2000. Currently, a major publisher has the option to publish Don Lewis books, and will be likely exercise this right."
Of course given the rules of eBay, it is entirely possible that a stealth organization hostile to Witch School (like an evangelical church) could buy it out, or that the winner of the auction will be a non-Pagan who will start selling off initiations. Which makes the eBay selling method somewhat surprising (top bid as of this writing is $1,625.01). But aside from the pitfalls of a public auction, there are all sorts of troubling ethical implications, like what will happen to personal data once its sold, the selling of the power to "initiate" someone as a Witch, and the strange legal intermixing of the school with the Witchcraft tradition it has been affiliated with. It remains to be seen what the final fall-out of this sale will be.
A big thanks to Lupa for tipping me off to this story!
* The letter in question mostly concerns Ed Hubbard's take on the split between the two Correllian factions, so it might be useful for those wanting more information on the split (from one point of view).
Labels: Correllian Wicca, Don Lewis, eBay, Ed Hubbard, Paganism, Wicca, Witch School
