On Being Expelled from Peterson Academy – Part 2

This page is under construction. The builder-guy picture will be removed once the article has been finished.

NOTE: I am working on this with my edits available below, but I recommend waiting until the post is actually finished, as that way you won’t be slogging through an incoherent version of stuff I’ve yet to put together properly.

PARENTS, YE BE WARNED: I’m not actually sure who’s reading my blog, but I’ve largely left quotations intact as they originally appeared for context so this post has more strong language than usual.

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

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Peterson Academy renamed its “Social” page to the “Quad” because a quad is a lawn where students gather at a university. This change took place around mid-December.

NOTE ON LENGTH: This blog was originally going to summarize the events that happened following my expulsion from Peterson Academy to provide a briefer conclusion to the Part 1 post. However, in light of Dr. Peterson’s recent (April 2025) comments on a podcast with Joe Rogan saying that they had to remove a handful of people who were causing trouble, “maybe [because they were] immature or didn’t know how to handle themselves,” I thought it would be better to explain what happened at length in case anyone with a mind to knowing what actually happened may find this useful.

NOTE ON INHERENT BIAS: I think it’s worth mentioning that there was a lot more going on here than just what I’m presenting. There were students I believe were bad actors who were stirring up extra drama in the middle of all this. There were people who gave opinions without fully understanding what had happened. Although these things do provide extra context, I do not believe that including them here would change the fundamental points I am trying to make. So it is worthwhile for the reader to know that we did have some critics and people who seemed pleased at our removal and that not everyone on the platform agreed with us.

Continued Bannings & Immediate Aftermath

“Where was I?”

It was the evening of January 8th, 2025.

At this point, I know of two of us who had been forcibly removed.

At 21:28 ET Dusty was banned with no forewarning.

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 trying to assess what had happened since the whole thing was an incredibly-surprising turn of events.)

At 22:42 ET we discovered that another student had been axed.

Five.

At least two others that we know of were also deplatformed around 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:

Antiwoke U.

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.

Initial Student Reactions & Attempts to Contact Jordan Peterson 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 disbelief.

Here are some emails illustrating this point:

9 January 2025 Email from Peterson Academy Student Expressing Disbelief at What Happened

10 January 2025 Email from Another Peterson Academy Student

11 January 2025 Emails from Yet Another Peterson Academy Student who Disagreed with the Administration’s Handling of the Situation & Expressed Discomfort at Lack of Clarity

Some students were pretty open about their disapproval of the management’s decisions directly on the Peterson Academy platform.

Before we got expelled, Jeffrey (who had proven himself to be a reliable and even-keeled kind of guy over the months during which he’d created a school podcast interviewing students) had extended an offer to Mikhaila to have her come on his podcast and use the opportunity to explain things that the students had been asking about.

When we were removed, he made another (imo, very gracious) attempt to help mend the trust that many students had lost:

9 January 2025 Student Attempt to Restore Trust in Peterson Academy via a Podcast Conversation

Students had differing opinions on this offer, but the ones I saw were largely favorable. Here’s a sample of student responses to Jeffrey’s post:

Mikhaila posted later in the day, ignoring student requests for clarity and explanations of what happened. This caused one student to respond in frustrated protest:

8 January 2025 Example of Mikhaila’s Nothing-to-See-Here Posting with a Cheeky Student Response

That night, one friend featured us in his unofficial “school newspaper” that night with this ironic tribute:

8 January 2025 NoRegret Gazette and Another Student’s Response of Disbelief

Here’s a bit more of the Gazette in text form, since I don’t have a screenshot of the whole thing, for additional context (names and links have been changed where it made sense to do so; I’ve highlighted the stuff that’s most relevant to this narrative):

𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕠ℝ𝕖𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕥 𝔾𝕒𝕫𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖 January 8, 2025

What a very, very strange and sad day. Downvotes were implemented. The quad was rebooted, Refunds offered,[sic]at least five students were expelled from the school without warning and given a refund. I might be next, who knows. Regardless, moving ahead with No Regets [sic].

To Tessa, Frankie, Talia, Dusty and Annegret (who will receive this Gazette separately), I want to say thank you for the time and thought you’ve poured into PA, for your insights, your humor, and sharing your life over these months together. I consider you friends and hope we will continue to stay in touch.

If anyone has any farewells or thoughts that they want to communicate to them, feel free to respond to this post and I’ll get the message to them.

𝑭𝒖𝒏 (Due to recent expulsion of our funniest student, Fun has been cancelled for the foreseeable future):

𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈:

Student 1
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
What happens if we never get to realize the purpose or ultimate goodness of a given tragedy and suffering? How do you wrestle with that possibility?

Student 2
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
Facts aren’t facts. They’re functions.

Student 3
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
On IRWS and the possibility of AI sages replacing humanity.

Student 4
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
On embodying Dr. Peterson’s core teachings.

Student 5
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
To get the most out of the courses – do the readings, review the lecture notes, etc.

𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑩𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅:

Mikhaila Fuller
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
The 3 REs of PA: “REnew, REfun, or REmain silent”.

Mikhaila Fuller https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
Which professors would you like to see back?

Student 4
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
There’s no such thing as a dragon.

Student 6
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
Speaker’s Corner tonight was well attended.

Student 7
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
What Are Appropriate/Inappropriate Topics for the Quad?

Student 4
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
On the upvote/downvote system

Student 8
https://petersonacademy.com/posts/#####
I believe it’s a mistake to try to control or dictate how people interact with each other on a social media platform.

Here’s another student reaction to this issue of the Gazette:

Another Student’s Reaction to the 8 January 2025 NoRegret Gazette

One student (who had referenced the lesson taught by Jordan Peterson in the No Such Thing as a Dragon book earlier) reposted his concerns along with that book’s cover to remind everyone that the problem was not actually solved but had been ignored by the administration.

Within the next 24 hours or so, several others reposted this adding their own perspectives. Here are a few examples:

Student Post Sharing Concerns after Losing Trust in Peterson Academy

Another Student Explaining Reasons for Considering Leaving Peterson Academy

Yet Another Student Pointing Out Hypocrisy in Peterson Academy’s Choice to Deplatform Students without Explanation

One student expressed his grief and was reposted by another who agreed:

9 January 2025 Posts Expressing Grief at Peterson Academy’s Decision to Remove Students
(NOTE: Dusty used to include the flower emoji in her posts, so I believe this was a subtle reference of student support for her specifically.)

Some expressed their concern about the uncertainty of whether or not they might be next to be removed if they were candid about their real thoughts on the situation.

Others wanted to give Peterson Academy the benefit of the doubt:

So, this is what was going on at Peterson Academy.

But what was going on behind the scenes with the rest of us?

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.

Well, we thought this was wrong and that it didn’t seem to follow the Petersonian ethic we’d expect from the Professor himself.

It seemed clear that Jordan Peterson surely could not be aware of what had happened.

He’d just put out a book.

He was on tour.

It seemed reasonable to assume that he was too busy to have seen anything that had happened on Peterson Academy recently.

So, we decided that it would be worth trying to write to him.

However, we had a concern with this idea.

Jordan Peterson is a public figure who has enemies.

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, of the aforementioned “student newspaper” posts, 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 agreed that we’d give approximately 5 days before taking further action.

Some students began leaving.

One expressed his disapproval that Dusty had been removed:

And shortly after the previous, he posted to let everyone know he was asking for a refund on his membership (and the reason why he requested the refund):

12 January 2025 Example of Student Leaving Peterson Academy

In the midst of all this, Jeffrey tried to reach Mikhaila again:

11 January 2025 Post from Jeffrey Explaining the Problems and Asking for Issues to be Fixed

His post remained ignored.

Stephen decided at some point in here that he was stepping away from the social side of things, providing this explanation:

As people were leaving, other students shared their disappointment:

The day Stephen stepped away another student decided to satirize everything that had happened:

At this point it appears that the culture we had build up over the past several months was already crumbling:

12 January 2025 Post with Student Lamenting Months-Long Tradition that Seems to have Fallen by the Wayside Quickly After the Expulsions

Someone started a poll to see if we should be let back onto the platform, and a sizeable majority ruled in our favor:

14 January 2025 Screenshot of Peterson Academy Poll Started (I Believe) around 12 January 2025

Some who were openly critical of us got push-back from other students who had been around long enough to understand why we’d been vocal in the first place:

Mikhaila and the rest of the Peterson Academy administration remained silent on the issue.

People reacted to this in different ways.

The student who had posted the much-reposted There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon topic earlier summed up everything with a brief line and reference to that book again:

On January 12th, one student started a campaign 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.

Here is his original post:

Here is what his protest looked like:

14 January 2025 Example of Student Disapproval of Prior Expulsions

His account was deleted on January 14th sometime before 19:30 ET.

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, January 14th 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

Summary of PA email:

Dear PA Students,

[Assumption of patience]

Here’s what we’ve already done:
[Proclamation of all the good they’ve done already (this is some of my least-favorite type of corporate messaging) and why this is so difficult to pull off]

Here’s what we’re going to do:
[Back patting, with promise of new classes]
[Promise of Code of Conduct, with minor jab at/allusion to recent events]

Here’s a list of upcoming courses:
[January – things our students we kicked off actually already knew (guys, straight up: “Skepticism 101”)😂]
[February – other cool classes by people you like]

More 2025/2026 plans:
[Full course for an entire degree timeline (cool)]
[Testing details (also cool)]
[Merch promise sometime in the next two years]
[Other possibly-interesting features]

Other Updates:
[Indication that price at summer renewal time will be $599 with suggestion that ramping up production speed is why they are charging more.]
[Kindly-veiled request for renewal if you want to keep your current rate]

Summary:
[“…This project and our students are our highest priority…”]

[Thanks, and we hope you’re getting the most out of your classes]

[Mein Fuller]

Around 00:52 ET on January 15th, the student who wrote all the Dragon posts was removed after submitting a meme pointing out that, despite the email update, Peterson Academy was still acting in a way that people were unhappy with:

14 January 2025 Post that Got Another Student Removed with No Warning

It was around the time of these removals that the scales began to fall from many students’ eyes.

It had become clear that Peterson Academy was doubling down rather than accepting that perhaps the administration had made some poor choices.

Students expressed their disapproval once again.

15 January 2025 Reaction to Continued Expulsions

This very same day, January 15th, a “Principles of Conduct” statement was rolled out.

Here is the text of that in full:

Principles of Conduct Published 15 January 2025 (Originally Marked as Updated 14 January 2025)
as found on Peterson Academy’s Website 11 April 2025

[Put in opinion about the PoC here–concerns, issues with sharing Quad activities with prospective employers, etc.]

Student Reactions & More Removals

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.

Thoughts on Jordan Peterson’s Involvement (or Lack Thereof)

//Lack of participation in social

//Possible indication of lack of knowledge

//30:59 – Question on exams, as if they already exist

//trolls gone –> sense of relief; us gone –> fear/chaos

Current State of Things, as Far as I Can Tell

So, Frankie, here’s my take on the things wich happend in the time I spent at the Peterson Academy.

Brief introduction: Jordan Peterson’s words helped me tremendously in the past to get through a difficult time in my life. When I learned that he wanted to establish an online academy, I was immediately excited. The advertised vision (future accreditation, a place where open-minded people meet, Phone-App etc.) led me to participate from the very first launch.

Time at the Academy:

Of course, I was initially euphoric and naive. After about 3-4 weeks, my state of euphoria subsided. The academy wasn’t at all what it had been advertised as. It lacked essential features (personal messages, group chats, mobile app, exams, etc.), and extremely annoying bugs were not uncommon.The fact that no tests were available and had not been introduced during my time made me question whether accreditation (which is important) would even be possible. Nonetheless, the courses and their materials were extremely professional and packed with information. While the Peterson Academy was initially a good idea, it still needed a lot of development, wich wasn’t communicated that way. This bothered me a little, but it wasn’t a reason to leave the platform. I still believed in the marketed vision.

Social feed: I looked at everything on the feed every day. While I barely interacted with other people (I think this is the first time we’ve ever communicated 🙂 ), I still enjoyed watching the exchanges between other people on the social feed. Dusty, Wyatt, you, and others were consistently strong posters, which meant that the feed was constantly fed with interesting discussions/statements. Throughout this time, your posts were consistently positive, and you kept the feed alive even after the initial euphoria of all the students (it’s only logical that normality will return at some point) had subsided. Great respect for that. After a while, the first people were banned (Brian, CAP GUY, and Meme Guys), but these people were clearly behaving inappropriately and were constantly disturbing/insulting other students. I don’t see a single moment where I question these bans.

The price increase: The price increase was announced. What was the problem? For me, there were two things.
1) From the beginning, nothing was communicated about a possible price increase. I even think I remember it being said that early enrollers would pay this price permanently, but I’m not sure about that anymore. Add to that the shady 2-year Black Friday commitment deals, and it was no longer certain what the price would be in the future.
2) To be honest, the price increase itself wasn’t a lot of money and was more than justified for what you would potentially get. BUT, what would you get? Accreditation was no longer addressed, and the academy’s technical progress from the start to the increase was neither rapid nor encouraging, as it hadn’t added anything new. They only added features that had already been marketed from the start and should have been part of the website already.
These concerns were also reflected in the feed. An academy using the name Peterson could have decided, after all the questions from students in the feed, to communicate the future transparently. However, despite numerous questions, NOTHING happened. This led to frustration for many. Dusty, Wyatt, you and others raised questions about it every day. Perhaps you exaggerated a bit, it could be, but for me, these questions were more than justified. Another point for me was that I didn’t see any disrespectful/insulting posts towards the leadership. So, everything was fine. Then Mikhaila even took a disrespectful swipe at you in one of her posts (I unfortunately don’t remember the content exactly, but I think she was confirming another student’s theory that you’re narcissists or something like that). That really called this woman’s integrity into question for me. Then you were banned, which I think was unjustified, because your questions were justified and not disrespectful. After all the missing features, bugs, etc. mentioned, they more than owed us an answer. Then questions about your bans were asked daily, politely but not disrespectfully. As a result, the active critic posters (daily or every two days) were also banned. Wyatt and I then posted about the bans every three or four days, politely and not disrespectfully. Wyatt phrased his questions so beautifully and cleverly that just reading them was enriching, given how well the man could express himself. But we never received any answers.

I have a very high moral compass that strikes an extreme when I perceive things as unfair. However, for me, all the bans were unfair compared to the bans of Brian and co. The leadership avoided dealing with criticism constructively, something that, according to Jordan Peterson’s teachings, shouldn’t happen (stand up straight with your shoulders back). However, I increasingly realized that this wasn’t Jordan’s academy, but his daughter’s. His name was simply being used for marketing purposes; I can’t explain this behavior any other way. So, I reached a point where I had little/no fun being part of the academy anymore, as I felt that “free speech” only existed here if it wasn’t (justifiably) directed against the leadership. Nevertheless, I still tried to believe in the vision. On a positive note, after a certain period of time, the academy published a future plan that addressed all the criticism and clarified what the future would look like regarding accreditation, the app, etc. That would have been a good time to bring back the banned people. But they didn`t bring back the unjustified banned people and when Wyatt was banned, I’d had enough. I decided to leave the Academy, as I would have been next on the list anyway.

Let’s briefly talk about a big mistake I made. My last post on the Academy’s social feed was a criticism directed at the leadership and their behavior. At the end of this criticism, I wrote that I had no intention of leaving the Academy. One or two weeks later, however, Wyatt was banned, and I’d had enough. I emailed the Academy a criticism and added at the end that I wanted a refund. However, I also wrote that if they would offer me the refund that they wait a day, so that I could post a final friendly/sympathetic message on the social feed, stating that I was leaving voluntarily and wishing the others the best despite our differences. This request was not granted, but I did receive a refund. I was still on discord at the time. I should have left a message there. However, there was a certain Joshua there who insulted many students and constantly devalued my criticism by implying that I was friends with you, Dusty, Wyatt, and the rest. However, I never interacted with you. So, in a fit of rage, I quit the server and left no message. When I tried to leave a message for clarification 3-4 days later (because i want to be honest), I couldn’t find the server anymore. Clearly, I’m at fault, and this behavior may have misrepresented my situation to students who were wondering where I was. I wasn’t banned, but I certainly would have been if I hadn’t left voluntarily. I’m glad you wrote to me; this allowed me to clarify and present my perspective correctly, and I hope I was able to be of use to you in your endeavor.

Conclusion: It would have been nice if the marketed vision had been fulfilled. I completed my bachelor’s degree alongside the Peterson Academy, so for me the academy was not groundbreaking for my professional career. Nevertheless, I would have liked to acquire the knowledge that the academy provides, as it is worth its weight in gold. However, under these conditions my moral compass does not allow me to be a part of it. Since accreditation will take another 3-4 years, its another negative for me. With all due respect, the academy can certainly contact companies, but most companies are still interested in accredited training courses, and that is a good thing. For companies to hire you or prefer you based on a Peterson Academy certificate is ideological and not realistic. State-recognized certificates have an advantage, and that must be recognized. I wish all the students of this academy the best and hope they are successful in life. Unfortunately, this project ended too soon for me and you, but I am happy with my decision for now (Maybe, i will visit it again later). If you would like to know more, we can talk via voice chat. Otherwise, all the best for you in the future and please pass on my regards to the others.

Kind regards Adam

16 April 2025 Email from a Former Peterson Academy Student