Spring Break
A.A. Isn't the Cult You May Think It Is
A Studen't Account of an A.A. Experience
Andrew Perez
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Features
March 12: Thursday-8:30
As I walked out of Bartley towards the Health Services Center, I fumbled through my papers to see what room the Alcohol Anonymous meeting would be held in. It was to be held in Room 200. I had seen this room before, but this time as I made the trek over to the building, I was pretty nervous about the world I was about to enter. I had somewhat of an idea of what A.A was about, but I did not know the truly reality of it. The only time I've been exposed to A.A was in the movies and these instances did not make these meetings seem appealing at all.
Nonetheless, I headed over and once I arrived I noticed that I was one of three people there. Although I came 15 minutes early, I still expected the room to be a little more occupied. It was quite evident that this may have been just a little too early of an entrance for me. The room consisted of the group leader, who was brewing coffee and greeted me, another man playing a card game with himself, and me. As the awkward minutes dragged on, I was quietly hoping for someone to come and break the silence.
Another gentleman came in to ease some of tension and he slapped hands with the group leader as they exchanged some pleasantries. The man then dug quietly into a box and pulled out several yellow books and placed one on every chair in the room. The books were titled, As Bill Sees It. I made the connection that the "Bill" being referenced was Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, who saw that when he talked with Dr. Bob Smith, a fellow drinker, about his alcohol problems, the two soon abstained from alcohol and thus, started what we know now as "A.A."
So as I flipped through the book and I saw different letters and talks that Bill gave to help people to cope with their alcohol problem. While I was browsing the book, a couple more people filed into the room and one walked over to the card player and asked him what game he was playing.
"It's a game I used to play when I was little. It's a visual memory game. It's kind of simple," replied the card player as he went on to explain the rules of the game.
As I walked out of Bartley towards the Health Services Center, I fumbled through my papers to see what room the Alcohol Anonymous meeting would be held in. It was to be held in Room 200. I had seen this room before, but this time as I made the trek over to the building, I was pretty nervous about the world I was about to enter. I had somewhat of an idea of what A.A was about, but I did not know the truly reality of it. The only time I've been exposed to A.A was in the movies and these instances did not make these meetings seem appealing at all.
Nonetheless, I headed over and once I arrived I noticed that I was one of three people there. Although I came 15 minutes early, I still expected the room to be a little more occupied. It was quite evident that this may have been just a little too early of an entrance for me. The room consisted of the group leader, who was brewing coffee and greeted me, another man playing a card game with himself, and me. As the awkward minutes dragged on, I was quietly hoping for someone to come and break the silence.
Another gentleman came in to ease some of tension and he slapped hands with the group leader as they exchanged some pleasantries. The man then dug quietly into a box and pulled out several yellow books and placed one on every chair in the room. The books were titled, As Bill Sees It. I made the connection that the "Bill" being referenced was Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, who saw that when he talked with Dr. Bob Smith, a fellow drinker, about his alcohol problems, the two soon abstained from alcohol and thus, started what we know now as "A.A."
So as I flipped through the book and I saw different letters and talks that Bill gave to help people to cope with their alcohol problem. While I was browsing the book, a couple more people filed into the room and one walked over to the card player and asked him what game he was playing.
"It's a game I used to play when I was little. It's a visual memory game. It's kind of simple," replied the card player as he went on to explain the rules of the game.
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