Certified Resolution of the Board of Directors of the
Cult Awareness Network, Inc.
A California Not-for-Profit Corporation
William Svoboda, being the Secretary of the Cult Awareness Network, Inc., hereby certifies that at a meeting of the Board of Directors duly held on October 26, 1997, the annexed Resolution was adopted and is still in full force and effect.
The Board of Directors of the Cult Awareness Network, Inc. ("CAN"), a California not-for-profit corporation, being empowered to do so and after full discussion adopts this resolution ("Resolution") effective November 21, 1997 (14 days after approval of this Agreement by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois).
a. The following statement, as well as any Agreement relying thereon, only addresses programs of the corporation named "Landmark Education Corporation" and its wholly owned subsidiaries Landmark Education International, Inc. and Landmark Education Business Development, Inc., all of which entities began operations after February 1, 1991.
b. CAN does not hold, and has never held the position that Landmark Education Corporation, or any of the programs of Landmark Education Corporation, including The Landmark Forum ("Landmark"), is a "cult" or "sect."
c. Although CAN has not classified "Landmark" by name as a "cult," certain actions may well have given that impression. For example, when the CAN office received inquiries about Landmark (including inquiries about Landmark's "Forum" program), for a period of time after Landmark came into being in 1991 CAN would mail brochures, copyrighted by CAN in 1990, about CAN and about "Destructive Cults"; about characteristics of cult groups; "WHAT IS A DESTRUCTIVE CULT?" and "WHO ARE THEY?" which included "The Forum" in a list of groups. Moreover, CAN has offered for sale packets on a number of "specific groups" including "est/FORUM" as recently as 1996.
d. CAN has never authorized any officer, director, staff employee, affiliate or licensee on its behalf to take the position, written or otherwise, that Landmark or The Landmark Forum is a "cult" or a "destructive cult."
e. CAN also states:
i. Although CAN has received some criticisms of Landmark programs from participants and others, it has never secured or attempted to secure independent, 'systematic and objective evaluations of the criticisms CAN has received, or learned of from secondary sources, regarding any of the programs of Landmark.
ii. When CAN compiled statistics about communications it had received about Landmark, it did not separate statistics about criticisms from statistics about questions or comments favorable to Landmark. Moreover, CAN statistics did not distinguish anonymous criticisms from criticisms where identity of the critic could be verified.
iii. CAN believes that understanding the impacts of Landmark's programs on different participants is an area with room for accumulating greater knowledge.
iv. CAN has never had evidence that would justify taking the position that either Landmark or any program of Landmark has the characteristics of a "cult" or "sect."
v. Therefore, CAN has decided not to and it shall not apply controversial labels such as "cult" or "cult-like" to Landmark or any of its programs and CAN will not intentionally give the impression, by word or deed (including but not limited to oral, written, Internet, electronic or otherwise) that CAN regards any of them to be a "cult" or "cult-like." Rather than apply general labels, or trying to generalize about positive or negative (or mixed) impacts on all potential participants, the informed consent process should help each individual decide whether a particular program is now appropriate for that individual.
vi. CAN favors the inclusion of NOTICE and INFORMED CONSENT provisions in Landmark's Forum registration form and encourages prospective participants to read such provisions carefully.
f CAN profoundly and sincerely regrets all misunderstandings and misimpressions which have arisen in the past and whatever damages Landmark, any of its programs or their reputation sustained as a result of any CAN actions, including without limitation, CAN's responses to inquiries about Landmark or the listing of CAN's packet on "est/FORUM" among the packets on "specific groups." It was never CAN's motive to cause any such damage to Landmark. CAN's motive with respect to Landmark was and is solely to facilitate informed consent.
g. CAN understands that Landmark has entered into an agreement with Margaret T. Singer, Ph.D. ("Landmark-Singer Settlement"), settling a dispute concerning a book she co-authored entitled CULTS IN OUR MIDST: THE HIDDEN MENACE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES (Jossey-Bass Publishers 1995). (the "Singer Book"), and calling for a change in the next edition of the Singer Book. CAN has decided and agrees that if, after its emergence from bankruptcy, CAN elects to sell copies of the first edition of the Singer Book, CAN will enclose in the front of the book the relevant language from the Landmark-Singer Settlement (which language shall be provided by Landmark to CAN).
h. CAN also understands that Landmark would prefer that CAN not sell at all copies of a biography of Werner Hans Erhard by Steven Pressman entitled OUTRAGEOUS BETRAYAL (St. Martin's Press 1993) (the "Pressman Book"). CAN has not previously considered whether, after its emergence from bankruptcy, CAN would consider it appropriate to sell copies of the Pressman Book at all, for any purpose. In the interests of settling a dispute and in deference to Landmark's preference, however, CAN now agrees not to sell the Pressman Book for at least five years after CAN emerges from bankruptcy.
/s/ William Svoboda this 3 day of November 1997.
Notarized:
JAN STEVENSON
NOTARY PUBLIC
STATE OF KANSAS, My Appt. Exp.