Elan's Ranking Structure (scribbled note from 10 years ago)

As soon as you walk into The Elan School you learn a concept that everyone in Elan called ‘The Dichotomy’. Every single person who is not a staff member has a rank in the program.

NON STRENGTH  
(this means you are either a new resident or demoted). One non-strength cannot talk or react to another non-strength in any way. For example, if Matt is a non- strength and he sneezes, another non-strength cannot even say ‘Bless You’. These are the non-strength positions

Worker - You are brought into the program as a worker. So as a brand new resident, as soon as you leave your orientation on your first very day, this is your rank. Being a worker means you scrub trash cans, toilets, anything with a surface. You sweep, mop, dust, clean dishes, move tables, and pretty much anything bad that happens is your fault. You cannot talk or interact with the other workers that you need to work with. You need constant approval to do anything out of the ordinary, like use the bathroom. You get the worst scraps of food that may be left at the table after the higher ranks take what they want.

Ramrod - You are put in charge of a few workers, but since a Ramrod is also a non-strength, you cannot directly deal with them. You have to constantly find higher ranking people in the program to help you get your job done. Since the workers are either new residents or failed older residents, they are constantly sneaking around or getting into trouble. If a worker gets into trouble, it is the Ramrods fault. A Ramrod also has to do all the work of a worker, especially if told to by a higher rank. So being a Ramrod is even harder than being a worker, this is a theme in Elan, every new position on the ladder becomes more and more demanding. I think it is because Elan doesn't want you to climb the ladder, they don't want you to ever leave.

STRENGTH
(this means you have been in the program at least 6 months or more). When you are a strength you can talk to and interact with anyone else in the program.

Expeditor Trainee - This is the first strength position, it is also an Elan student's first taste of the security detail. As an expeditor, you are used to guard other students in the program. You have a clipboard full of paperwork that you have to complete every day. This includes a variety of daily tasks, including:

Seating charts: You scan the room for people doing anything against the rules, then you document the person, time of day, their location on a seating chart, and what the offense is. You have many pages to complete, three or more full pages of ‘offenses’ are required.

ARF (Attitude Report Form): ARFs are chosen every day, you are given one or more students to observe, you are required to talk to the student and ask him how things are. But the student can never be informed that you have them as an ARF. An ARF report has to be very detailed. Describing the security threat level, disposition, and attitude of the selected student.

Possible Contracts: A ‘Contract’ is when a student of the program could have a pact with another student. A Contract can be determined through eye-contact, lack of eye-contact, sitting close to one another, looking out the same window, acting suspicious, or not screaming at a certain person(s). This is grounds for suspicion and all possible contracts, even if just a gut feeling, needs to be reported to your superiors and eventually Staff.

Department Head - The Department Head is in charge of one of the house departments. They are in charge of the Ramrods and Workers of their particular department. 

These are the Departments in Elan 8

• Service Crew
• Kitchen Crew
• Business Office
• Communications
• Broadcasting
• The "X's" (Expeditors), while not technically considered a "department", they should still be added as they make up a group in the house

Shingle - The Shingle is essentially "the Department Head" of security (the X's). The Shingles are in charge of the Expeditor trainees, the overall security of the house, and the day to day paperwork that needs to be accomplished, including the clipboard packets. The Shingles are also in charge of a judge and jury system called ‘The Book’ which holds every person in the program accountable for their day by day mistakes. Every day one Shingle is given the title of SOD (Shingle On Duty) and the house is told to report all that day's incidents to that one person. Another Shingle is given the position of SOF (Shingle On Floor) and they are in charge of making sure yesterday's incidents are all "dealt with" today. Both of these responsibilities are incredibly difficult and many Shingles have nervous breakdowns. Most residents never make it past Shingle.

Chief - The Chief is essentially the police chief of the house, he or she is given no limitation on power as long as they can keep the house secure. If someone were to pick up a chair and swing it at you like a bat, someone would scream CHIEF and the Chief and his/her chosen gang would deal with it. The Chief and all with the Chief's blessing have zipties to restrain you and flashlights to chase you through the woods if you run. These things are locked in a "Chief's Closet". The Chief is easily recognizable because he/she wears the key to that closet around his neck on a bright red band. This is a sign of power in a house where very few people can wear accessories of any kind.

Coordinator - A resident has no hope of ‘Graduating’ from the program (going home) unless they can reach and hold the position of Coordinator. Every day there is a COD (Coordinator On Duty) who has to run the day to day operations of the house including wake-up, security, three meals served, that day' schedule, school preparations, The Book, etc… But any variations to a "normal day" are blamed on the COD. For example, if a person ran away on the day you are COD, you are held responsible for it and would be shot-down  for it.

Shotdown - A resident who is shot-down is considered the scum of the house. They get food after everyone, even the workers and new residents, have already chosen. They spend the day with a sponge and a bucket of dirty water. They are told to scrub something that will be used all day and can never get clean. Like a toilet, trashcan, or a piece of the floor that is heavily trafficked. They get no respect from anyone. They may get a GM (General Meeting) every single day.

Corner - A resident who is in the corner is facing the intersection of two walls in an isolation room. They have an SP (Support Person) who watches their every move and records it in a journal in ten-minute updates. They may or may not have a chair. They may or may not be in arm restraints, leg restraints, or hog-tied. They may not speak, write, or move without permission. A Corner student does not have the privilege of going to school or eating a full meal. They are given the leftover scraps from the kitchen (this is called the E-4 or essential four). The resident has to drag their mattress into the corner to sleep at night and has to wake up before anyone else in the house. A person can be in the corner for a matter of days, weeks, months, and in some cases, over a year. They are in complete isolation.