Reasons to avoid Ashwell House

Summary
Why you might not want to stay in Ashwell:
-Ashwell is a recruitment centre for Opus Dei.
- House rules in Ashwell are unbelivably strict, harsh and oppressive.
- Ashwell is highly controlling of its residents.
- Some student residents are bullied, and verbally or emotionally abused by Opus Dei residents.
- Residents in Ashwell enjoy less freedom, privacy and personal space than residents in a normal residence hall.

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There are many reasons you might not want to stay in Ashwell, even though these things are not very obvious in the admission process.

I'll start with the things that affect all student residents:

1. Residents do not own room keys, front door keys, or gate keys, etc. The rooms cannot be locked from the outside. They can be locked from the inside with a bolt. Rooms are inspected daily by the director of the house prior to cleaning time.

The obvious problem that this gives rise to is theft. I know a girl who had four hundred pounds stolen from her during her stay.

2. The environment is not safe. The front door key is kept in a box in the first floor corridor and is easily accessible by anyone. When I stayed in Ashwell, some rebellious student residents duplicated the key and kept the copy so that they could enter Ashwell at night after the curfew.

3. There is no contract. This means that a student resident has no legal rights to stay in Ashwell, and can be asked to leave at any point during her stay. During my stay, Opus Dei director had expelled a resident because of her kissing another girl a pub one night, and since homosexuality was a sin in the eyes of the Opus Dei members, she was asked never to come back. Another resident received a warning, and was told that she would be expelled if she kept coming back late, i.e. around 10pm.

4. Recruitment efforts of Opus Dei

Opus Dei members never waste any opportunity when it comes to recruiting for Opus Dei. The methods they use are manipulative and deceptive. They often invite residents to take part in Opus Dei meetings or camps, without informing residents of the religious nature of the activities. Residents are told that these activities are normal discussions about politics or science and ordinary camps, only to find themselves being recruited into Opus Dei when they take part in these activities.

Friendship is used as a bait to lure residents into taking part in these activities. If the resident shows no interest in joining Opus Dei, friendship is dropped and the Opus Dei member may become hostile toward her (see 'opus dei questionable practices').