E-mail concerning LUCC written 7/9/02 THUGGERY In order to do the best for the students and to save the college, Sid E. Williams, D.C. has resigned the helm of Life Chiropractic under pressure from the CCE and upon the request by the college board. Whether you like Sidney Earl Williams or hate him, know him or don't, agree with him or don't, idolize him or vilify him, a terrible injustice was done in the way he was summarily removed from Life. There are those in the profession who will jump for joy over this announcement and there are those who will be saddened by it. I would like to explain why EVERYONE in the profession should be frightened by it. I assure you that everything written here is accurate. This should be a call to arms for fundamental change in the way the CCE operates for the preservation of the profession. In the spring of 2001, when the CCE went to Life to evaluate the school for re-accreditation, 11 issues were brought up that the CCE felt needed to be addressed in order for Life to be re-accredited. They ranged from clinic issues to long range planning. The deadline to make the changes was June of 2002. This is not an unusual occurrence for any chiropractic school. It happens all the time, all across the land. The problem is that the CCE doesn't EXACTLY spell out what the school needs to do in those areas of interest to bring them up to snuff. It is up to the college to determine what the CCE is exactly looking for and to make the changes in the HOPE that what has been done will satisfy their requirements. Life diligently worked to accomplish that end. Nov.-Dec. of 2001, Life submits an update. Upon re-evaluation, the CCE found that Life indeed had met their standards in 8 of the 11 original areas in question. This is where it all starts to get a little fuzzy and the CCE's true agenda begins to come forth. Usually, upon re-evaluation, if the school in question has worked diligently to rectify problem areas, the CCE will pat them on the back, and essentially say, "Good job, but you have these three areas that still need work. We are going to grant you conditional accreditation until this is fixed". Everyone goes away happy. Apparently, the CCE granted re-accreditation to Palmer in 1995 when they still had 4-6 issues remaining to be resolved. It didn't happen that way this time with Life. The CCE said that the school still needed to fix those three areas. CCE plans site visit for March of 2002. At that site visit, an additional, heretofore unmentioned issue appears. Now there are four issues Bringing up an additional issue at the eleventh hour is probably not legal, but the CCE essentially told Life that if legal proceedings were started, the CCE would ABSOLUTELY deny accreditation, regardless of the legality of their actions. May 6th-May 10th, Life submits final plans for compliance. June 10th, Life receives notification of denial of accreditation. June 11th, transfer recruitment begins at local bar by Texas College. Logan, LACC, and Parker (via student rep.) are at Life as well. As a side note, Southern Accreditation, who is responsible for undergraduate accreditation at Life, re-affirms the undergraduate program for accreditation. Southern Accreditation says Life still has 19 issues to correct, but extends the courtesy of re-accreditation with a warning and 1 year to comply. Why didn't the CCE extend the same courtesy to Life with only 4 issues on their agenda? There are people high up in the accrediting process who as early as last year had let it be known that Life would NOT be granted accreditation under the current administration. It was understood that the CCE wanted Dr. Sid, Dr. Nell Williams, Dr. Kim Williams, and Dr. Kirk out of the administration. It should be noted that it is not within the CCE mandate to dictate administrations. There are many reasons why the CCE would want such changes to the administration. Life commands the lion share of all available potential chiropractic students. Other schools, whose enrollment is off by as much as 60%, would love to have a larger share of the prospective student pool and perhaps put some pressure on the CCE. Life graduates a lot of chiropractors. But more importantly, Life graduates a lot of chiropractors with strong philosophical backgrounds. The CCE doesn't necessarily see that as their preferred direction for the profession. In fact, their preferred direction for the profession runs exactly opposite to the philosophically based non-allopathic chiropractic model that Life emphasizes. Life has been a thorn in their side regarding this issue for many years. The ability of Life to maintain educational standards consistent with CCE requirements and still emphasize philosophy and subluxation correction has really pissed them off. They don't like philosophical non-allopathic chiropractic and are truly attempting to mold the schools to fit their vision of the profession. They designated Life as a target and summarily conspired to bring it to its knees. The reason we should all be frightened by the outcome of these events should be readily apparent. Is the function of the CCE to maintain educational standards or to use its power to foist upon the schools their own brand of chiropractic? During the recent re- accreditation process, the CCE also mandated that Life not make any administration or teaching changes, ostensibly to maintain certain people on the staff sympathetic to their views. There is some question as to the legal right of the CCE to mandate this, as well. But then, we already know about the CCE threats with regard to legal action. This point was unchallenged by Life. We should be frightened by the actions of the CCE because as the accrediting body for chiropractic education in this country, they are patently demonstrating their ability to shape the mission and purpose of chiropractic colleges, effectively shaping the future of the profession into an allopathic model. I remember being taught that chiropractic was a separate and distinct healing art. A healing art that was drugless and surgery- less and whose primary goal was to look for the cause of dis-ease of body functions. We were taught that we were not the treaters of symptoms, that symptom treatment was within the realm of the medical man. We were taught to adjust the subluxation in order to allow innate intelligence to do its work within the patient. We were also taught differential diagnosis, physical examination, orthopedics, neurology, etc. according to the requirements of the CCE. That did not change who we are or how we practiced. It merely gave us appreciation for the human body and an understanding when we were responsible to refer a patient to another health care provider. We were taught to be chiropractors, not medical doctors. It is time for everyone in this profession to stand up for chiropractic as the separate and distinct healing art it is. To do anything less is to ensure our demise. The upcoming Life-Dynamic Essentials meeting in San Francisco, July 25th-28th promises to be most interesting. Dr. Williams will be completely free to discuss at length the issues talked about in this paper and the full story will come out. It is essential for EVERY chiropractor who cares about the profession to attend this historic meeting to lend support to a man whose accomplishments and dedication to this profession are unparalleled. Dr. Williams has worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years to ensure the survival of the profession. Many in our profession misunderstand this giant of chiropractic, but I can assure you that his intent is pure and his vision is strong. It is time for us to rally around him for the sake of chiropractic and to let the CCE know that their corrupt practices will not be tolerated. You need to do everything you can to get to San Francisco for the D.E. meeting later this month. Historic change is coming down the road. Be witness to it. Andy Forelli, D.C., July 4th, 2002 NYCC class of '90