On Being Expelled from Peterson Academy – Part 2
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NOTE: This is Part 2 of a long saga about being booted from Peterson Academy (PA). You can find Part 1 here:
On Being Expelled from Peterson Academy – Part 1
Continued Bannings & Immediate Aftermath
“Where was I?”
At this point, I know of two of us who had been forcibly removed.
At 21:28 ET Dusty was banned.
Three.
Then another student let us know at 21:29 ET that she also couldn’t log in.
Four.
By now I was pretty hopped up on adrenaline.
(Actually, it’s funny because I previously remembered all this happening sometime in the afternoon. In retrospect, as I’m combing through logs, it felt earlier because I think I was up past 3 AM ET the next day due to trying to assess what had happened and process the shock of it all.)
At 22:42 ET we discovered that another student had been axed.
Five.
At least two others that we know of were also deplatformed at this time.
Seven.
Now, to put this into perspective for you, we know of four people who had been removed from Peterson Academy prior to all this.
There are the three legitimate trolls I mentioned in my previous post, and there was a reporter for Slate who wrote this article back in October 2024:
What I saw in my brief career as a student at Jordan Peterson Academy.
(As a brief aside, I do not recall seeing this reporter on PA social, but I have friends who do. I find it unfortunate that he got expelled trying to write a news article, since that seems like weird grounds for an expulsion. Even if it had been a hit piece I think he should have been allowed to research and write it. The fruit of the endeavor would have proven him right or wrong in the long run.)
Now, in a matter of hours there were 7 newly-expelled students.
And it seems like an odd choice that they removed some of us but not others.
For example, one student was a stay-at-home mom in Europe who didn’t participate as much as some of us on the social side of things, and when she did it was usually about the joys and challenges she was experiencing as a mother of young kids–incredibly kind posts encouraging others or sharing uplifting things, like beautiful artwork, with the group.
She spoke up a bit about her disapproval of Mikhaila’s handling of the price situation, but certainly not in an egregious way–and she was most definitely not trolling other students.
There were others who spoke more directly to (and even tagged) Mikhaila and her husband Jordan in posts explaining why their choice to expel us was disappointing and troubling, but these students did not get expelled immediately (and some never got expelled at all).
Regarding those who had expressed their disapproval, the standards seemed to apply to some and not others.
I still don’t know how they decided who should be taken out and who should stay.
Oddly, the first student who had alerted us to her sudden inability to log in was also blocked on Instagram.
She had not been belligerent or hostile–or had even tagged Peterson Academy about any of the price stuff on Instagram–to have merited such a thing, so this still seems weird to me.
Attempts to Return Quietly
I think it’s fair to say that this turn of events was unexpected.
I had joked openly about these sorts of things happening because of how absurd they were, since they would never happen.
Aaaaaaand then they did…
People were pretty shocked about the whole thing.
I got in touch with students who were still there and willing to pass my contact info along to others we’d just been cut off from.
I received emails and Discord DMs from a number of students expressing their shock about it all.
I was using a Discord server for connecting with (now) former and current Peterson Academy enrollees to gather and figure out what happened.
We didn’t know who all had been banned, so we tried to track everyone down as quickly as possible.
I worried a lot about one student we were informed about having been booted, as she had previously mentioned how much she loved the PA community because it made her feel less alone.
She was in Europe and would have been asleep by this time.
I didn’t know what kind of a state she’d be in when she found out she’d been expelled.
And if we weren’t there to connect with her, how would she take the whole thing?
(Spoiler Alert: we did find her and connect within a few days or so.)
So, on the one side, we were consoling one another at such an unexpected turn of events.
Some students already had it hard and were using Peterson Academy to give them a framework of meaning that there were now removed from without warning.
The following day we had a movie night where some of us watched V for Vendetta as a bit of a cathartic outlet.
Then on the other side of things, we were trying to figure out what to do next.
We were all aware that Jordan Peterson is a public figure.
He has enemies, and we didn’t want him to see us as enemies before being given the opportunity to assess our situation.
If it got into the wrong hands, the press could have a field day with the level of hypocrisy going on here.
Stephen, a former student (who was not removed against his will, but did request a refund later) and author of the NoRegret Gazette (a PA “newspaper” where he summarized the activity of the day in a single post, usually with fun-and-witty commentary) joked about this in a semi-private channel:
Stephen’s Parody of a Babylon Bee Article Highlighting the Absurdity of the Situation
It was possible nothing would happen, but we were navigating uncharted territory and wanted to be as careful about it as we could.
We wanted to get things sorted without throwing Peterson Academy into an avoidable controversy.
On 10 January 2025 Dusty wrote a letter to Dr. Peterson expressing the issues we were facing.
The two of us then spent about 6 hours or so meticulously editing it to ensure it said exactly what we wanted it to in as succinct a manner as possible while still getting across some of the sentiment we thought was relevant to the situation.
Once it was written and we agreed it was ready to send out, we emailed it to a number of private channels, including:
- All of the email addresses on Jordan Peterson’s personal website.
- The Daily Wire (we figured that since he did work for them and they–as a news outlet–should be keen on protecting his public image, this had an okay probability of getting our message to him)
- A number of the Peterson Academy professors (the thought here was that their names were affiliated with his academy and that perhaps if they were keen on his original vision and deemed our message worthwhile to pass along they may have private ways in which to do so)
This is a copy of the email that I sent out to those channels (some of these were slightly tailored and had minor variations based on the recipients, but this should give you a good idea of what was going on here):
Email Sample of What Was Sent to Various Private-ish Channels around 11 January 2025
Here is a copy of that emailed letter in full, which was first published publicly on Dusty’s blog (Open Letter to Jordan Peterson from Expelled Students of PA) on 12 February 2025:
10 January 2025
Dear Dr. Peterson,
We’d like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you and Mikhaila for inviting us to embark on the thrilling adventure that is Peterson Academy. As early adopters and torchbearers, we have come to know that the promised potential of top-tier education and likeminded fellowship was rightly stated. You said early on that the social side of university was one of the primary benefits and would be one of the most important features. We believe you were correct.
Peterson Academy Social is a bona fide treasure: a group of highly-motivated early adopters sharing their dreams and struggles, arguing and laughing. In only a few short months, a miraculous thing occurred: real relationships were forged based on a shared ethos of aiming upward and accountability; an ethos of honesty and integrity, transparency, fun—and even ambition. In short, we each in our own ways have aspired to follow your example and take your wisdom to heart. These past 5 months have enriched not only our intellects and knowledge base, but our lives and community.
PA Social users may be the minority of 40,000 students, but we feel like a true academy. In our midst are mothers, artists, psychologists, tradesmen, military and veterans, nurses, retirees, those on disability, high school students—everything you can think of. We participate from all over the world, including third-world countries.
Recently it came to our attention that our subscription would increase from $450 to as much as $1,000 USD in an undisclosed amount of time. Some were able to take advantage of the offer to extend their current subscription for three more years; others could not afford this unanticipated expense. Many simply wanted additional information before investing additional money upfront. Unfortunately, requests for clarity were met with vague messaging despite months of unrealized features (e.g., the sign-up page for PA suggests that exams for courses exist, but they are not yet available).
The dragon of uncertainty reared its ugly head. As a result (as is often the case on PA Social), a heated debate sprang up. Some expressed concern and requested further explanation and assistance. Others made evident their desire for silence from those who were requesting clarity. Humour was deployed by the Jesters of PA Social (largely in the form of memes), as a lighthearted effort to make it okay to discuss the uncomfortable topic of policy and finances. When Mikhaila quote-posted one of the more pointed memes (which had high levels of somewhat-relieved engagement), she indicated that the price of $4,000 for 4 years was always the goal, that there was no time to entertain the perspective of people who could not afford an extra $50 USD per month, and that perhaps the issue was a general lack of usefulness and work ethic.
Much of the community was taken aback by this, and continued to ask questions. Some even began questioning whether the foundational ethos of Peterson Academy had changed. On Wednesday, January 8th, at least 5 prominent and prolific members of PA Social were banned and refunded without warning. They were given no time to save their content or exchange contact information with fellow students. If one or two had not already done so, friends would have been lost and community members isolated. One user emailed Support requesting an explanation for why she was removed, and received the following response:
“We have noted your dissatisfaction with the platform and therefore have ended your subscription and refunded your money in full.”
As this seems punitive (in light of the fact that a refund was neither requested nor desired)—and PA Social has shown itself to be a very difficult place to be banned from (in light of real trolls who were given multiple warnings over a reasonable period of time)—we can only assume these users grievously violated an unwritten rule. This lack of clarity led to a significant shift in atmosphere on Peterson Academy Social, as users wondered what they were and were not permitted to say.
The memes, articles and comments had several different themes:
- A request for clarification regarding the pricing for legacy students and “torch bearers”
- Clarity on the timeline for subsequent price increases
- Questions about accreditation, testing, lack of final exams, and the value of PA compared with other institutions and streaming platforms
- Concerns over what is and isn’t acceptable on PA Social (i.e. code of conduct)
- Comic relief
- Open letters to leadership explaining the students’ perspectives and causes for concern
This raises the following questions:
Was the expulsion for crossing a line with humour? Was it for bringing up uncomfortable questions the academy doesn’t want to address, or was it some other breach we have failed to identify as problematic?
Dr. Peterson, we have invested our time, hearts and energy into Peterson Academy because we believe in the values you have been championing for the past decade. Our loyalty and goodwill towards your endeavour are sincere. We cannot help but note the disconnect between your own values—speaking truth, fearlessly asking difficult questions, and aiming upward—and the conduct of this academy towards the students who have been banned. Proverbs 18:17 says,
“The first one to plead his cause seems right,
Until his neighbor comes and examines him.”The consensus amongst students is that you are our only hope for restoring the vision, optimism, and perhaps even classically-liberal ethos we anticipated at Peterson Academy. We hope you’ll turn your attention to the situation, and give a fair hearing to the perspectives of both the academy and the students who have been expelled (though relevant content has since been erased from the platform in conjunction with account removals). Most of the deplatformed students have expressed their desire to stay, as well as a heartfelt commitment to their education and community.
We know we are a small minority of enrollees, but we pride ourselves on being torchbearers in this noble educational endeavour—which we truly believe will change the world. Any time and attention you are willing to devote to this matter would mean the world to us, as we hope to continue on this adventure together for years to come.
With Respect and Gratitude,
Dusty May Taylor
Frankie Joy Bailer
And Other Concerned Current and Former Students of Peterson Academy
Most of the channels we hit up were totally silent.
One professor seems to have deemed it worthy of at least a forward.
Here is the response we received, with the lecturer’s name removed for privacy purposes:
12 January 2025 Response from a Peterson Academy Professor
Indicating a Forward to Jordan Peterson has Occurred
(What I do not know is whether or not JBP has a secretary or other means of filtering emails
that has restricted him from receiving what was sent.)
So we sent this stuff out and waited.
We negotiated that we’d give approximately 5 days before we took further action.
The following week, two more students were removed from the platform.
One student who had Captain Picard for his profile picture started a campaign on January 12th where he declared that he would post a memorial to the removed students until we were either reinstated or he was removed from the platform.
His account was deleted on January 14th.
At this point account removals were expected, and–in some cases–feared.
What was strange is that after the total lack of communication from PA leadership, today was the day they sent out an email.
The following was sent out with the title 2025 Update Message from the Founders:
14 January 2025 Email to Current and Former Peterson Academy Students
The very next day, a Code of Conduct (later renamed the “Principles of Conduct”) was introduced.
Here is a screenshot of those:
Principles of Conduct Published 15 January 2025 (Originally Marked as Updated 14 January 2025)
as found on Peterson Academy’s Website 11 April 2025
Another student, who had been fairly vocal of his disapproval of how things were going both leading up to and after the expulsions was finally removed on January 15th.
Nine.
The Podcast that Got Jeffrey Banned
On Friday, 17 January 2025, Jeffrey van Leeuwen, Dusty, and I sat down and recorded a podcast on all of this.
Man, I was so nervous about it:
What if we just needed to give the Petersons more time?
Jordan Peterson was touring, after all.
What if this podcast picked up attention from the wrong people who wanted to twist it to make Peterson Academy look bad?
What if I misspoke?
What if things were misconstrued?
Needless to say, I was incredibly nervous about it.
It was the right thing to do, so I was committed and glad to be there.
But–man–it was a thing I was simultaneously loathe to do.
The podcast was four hours, and (if you’re not totally exhausted from the coverage of this topic already and curious to watch) you can see it here:
Jeffrey van Leeuwen Podcast Published 21 January 2025
Jordan Peterson’s Academy Expelled Students for Asking Questions | EP 21
I believe within the first week there were approximately 3,000 views on this.
