Pepperdine University- conservative?

Parents Forum
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<p>Im sorry I had to post this hear. The Pepperdine University board is pretty much dead, and the parents on CC appear to be so knowledgeable in this area... thanks for any input u can give. </p>

<p>I've lately been hearing some negative things through the grapevine at school about Pepperdine. Is it really as "hardcore christian" and conservative as people make it out to be? Is it true that people there are rich snobs? If any parents here have kids who attend Pepp, maybe you yourself attended this school, or you know of others who go here, can u give me some insight? I live in Northern California, a REALLY liberal area...so the views of people here might be skewed.</p>

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<p>aren't liberals supposed to be tolerant of others' views?</p>

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<p>I live in the 6th congressional district, basically a bubble. I've never met a real conservative before lol.</p>

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<p>Conservative? Yes. It is affiliated with the Church of Christ (not the United Church of Christ, which is a whole different anima). But I definitely wouldn't put it in the same class as Bob Jones University, Oral Roberts, Brigham Young or Liberty -- I doubt you'd be the only liberal on campus, but you'd be in the minority. As to rich, snobby, etc -- it's a very expensive school in southern California. Of course there are going to be those type of people, but I don't think they would be a majority.</p>

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<p>"Conservative" is in the eyes of the beholder, so you need to make your own value judgement about whether it is too conservative for YOU. While Pepperdine may not be the west coast equivalent of Bob Jones U, its administration' mission and its the rules and restrictions for students on campus are definitely more conservative than the vast majority of colleges out there. To some, that won't matter --- but only YOU can decide if it is right for you, just like any other college. </p>

<p>Since I have answered this exact question here on CC many times, I'll just cut and paste my answer from a thread a few months ago - the link to the full thread is at the bottom: </p>

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<p>Dorms are still single sex and members of the opposite sex are not allowed to visit in rooms --- in fact, on tours you may not get to see a dorm room if your tour guide is of the opposite sex because they can't show you their room.</p>

<p>Weekly convocation is required for all students. They take attendence to make sure you attend. Sometimes convocation topics are pretty broad but more often they are religious in nature. You can find a list of recent speakers, as well as recordings of some of the convocation speakers at the Pepperdine site to get an idea if this is something you'll be comfortable with.</p>

<p>The school's administration places a HUGE emphasis on religious committment and church activities in admissions. That also tells you something about what the administration sees as the school's primary mission. While Catholics and non-Christians are welcomed, the administration sees the school's primary role as being evangelical in nature --- in other words, they see their mission as keeping students who are already on board with evangelical Christianity in the fold, and getting those who aren't on board into the fold. There's nothing wrong with that - after all, Pepperdine is a private school - but prospective students should keep in mind that that is what the administration sees as its mission.</p>

<p>Some students may find this uncomfortable at times, others won't care, some will feel they have finally found their religious home. It really depends on how important your particular brand of religion (or non-religion) is to you.</p>

<p>Students do tend to come from well-off families, mainly because Pepperdine is not very generous with financial aid and will not negotiate the package they offer you which is likely to be comprised heavily of loans. </p>

<p>That said, while there are definitely a lot of conservative and religious students at Pepperdine, not everyone is --- lots of kids are attracted by the Malibu setting and the strong academic programs and are willing to put up with the overall administrative tenor. </p>

<p>There is a contingent of gay and lesbian students, as well as islamic students, and just generally non-religious students on campus to balance things out. There are kids who party and have sex, just like at any other school. The difference with Pepperdine is that the administration of the school truly believes in its parental role and enforces its moral rules stringently. So, Pepperdine students have to be creative to get around the rules. </p>

<p>Pepperdine is a great school in terms of academics --- but if you are not into following lots of rules that aren't found on most campuses, there are lots of other great schools out there that are more flexible so I'd recommend looking elsewhere.</p>

<p>Full link: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=95001&highlight=Pepperdine%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=95001&highlight=Pepperdine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>masha</p>

<p>I would suggest that you carefully read the info at Pepperdine's website. There is usually a statement of faith somewhere on the site and that might shed some insight.</p>

<p>One thing you should check is if the school has mandatory Bible classes and/or chapel. If yes, make sure you are comfortable with what is taught (sometimes they have a chapel clip). </p>

<p>For example. there is a Christian college in So Cal that I really liked, but it had mandatory chapel three times per week (they took attendance). My son was OK with chapel once a week but didn't feel he would be comfortable going three times per week.</p>

<p>Good luck!
FresnoMom</p>

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<p>Fresnomom, Our posts must have crossed in cyberspace. :)</p>

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<p>Carolyn, I would note that Pepperdine's decision to allow on-campus dancing was actually a huge controversy within the Church of Christ. While on the one hand it does show how conservative they are, on the other hand it also shows that it is willing to listen to what the students are asking for, within limits.</p>

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<p>Well, it took them about 40 years to "listen" to what the students are asking for. My husband graduated from Pepperdine in 1980 and even back then the students were asking to have the "no dancing" requirement revoked. He clearly remembers that the controversy had been going on for many years before he arrived. Yet, the administration didn't get around to OKing dancing on campus until five or six years ago. So, I guess you could say they're responsive to student requests....but sure not in a very timely fashion. :)</p>

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<p>I've known one person who went there. He's what I call a "right-wing nutjob."</p>

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<p>Oh you wanted TIMELY movement on something like that?? :) Good luck. </p>

<p>As you can probably tell from my posts in this thread I grew up in the CofC. Sometimes their focus on their rules is, well, surreal to an outside observer. No instruments in worship -- but does that mean a song leader can't use a tuning fork to find the right pitch? What about a pitch pipe? Oh, the battles over that. </p>

<p>I can remember going to church camp and not being allowed to "mix swim" (i.e. be in the pool at the same time as the girl campers). And I'll always remember a weekend "lock-in" retreat at our church. Again, no instruments in worship. But the entertainment included a band concert. Was it "instrumental music in worship" if they played purely secular songs in a Church? Dilemmas, dilemmas. They finally loaded us all on a bus, took us to an empty school gymnasium, had a band concert, then bused us all back to the Church to continue the retreat.</p>

<p>So all I'll say is that Pepperdine is a conservative college to most people, but is considered somewhat liberal within its religious family. Of course, this is the same religious family that kicked Pat Boone out. . . .</p>

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<p>I have liberal friends who attend and are members of the faculty at Pepperdine, the school's dim views on dancing notwithstanding.</p>

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<p>Going to Pepperdine can't be any worse for some far-left hippy-liberal than a conservative or moderate student going to Wesleyan or some other bastion of ultra-liberalism, although I'd hardly call Pepperdine ultra-conservative. Conservative students routinely put up with liberal universities; at the same time, liberal students rarely find themselves in predominantly conservative universities.</p>

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<p>Cavalier, good point. That is why I am always careful to say that each person needs to decide if ANY school is a fit for them. EVERY student has to keep their eyes open when looking at schools, and be honest with themselves about where they will and won't feel comfortable. Pepperdine does provide wonderful academics, and many students will be fine with the administration's slant, or at least willing to tolerate it for a beautiful setting and great education, but some students will not be comfortable or may be happier elsewhere. In the end, of course, it's up to each individual to get the facts and decide for themselves.</p>

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<p>Personally, I don't see how ANYONE wouldn't enjoy Pepperdine. I mean, LOOK at it:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.pepperdine.edu/virtualtour/pepinpics/malibu-campus/mc4.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.pepperdine.edu/virtualtour/pepinpics/malibu-campus/mc4.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.pepperdine.edu/virtualtour/pepinpics/malibu-campus/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.pepperdine.edu/virtualtour/pepinpics/malibu-campus/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>:)</p>

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<p>My D wanted to go, loved it after she spent a night there, got accepted but recieved only loans, making it impossible. The students she stayed with were a lot of fun and seemed very happy with the school. I was amazed at the library, glass windows, floor to ceiling with unobstructed ocean views, gorgeous, not sure I would get any studying done there!</p>

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<h1>2</h1>

<p>Your post made me question whether one should tolerate intolerate intolerance.</p>

<p>BTW, I'm not generalizing that conservatives are intolerant by posting this. I was just wondering.</p>

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<p>"tolerate intolerance" <====huh? where'd that come from? i think you're trying to imply that conservatives are intolerant, to which i would reply "no more so than liberals." every group's got its hardliners.</p>

<p>obviously pepperdine has some conservative financial backing and history, but that doesn't make it "intolerant." it also seems to have some history of somewhat puritanical rules, but i'm assuming that it's been decades since they were enforced, as pepperdine seems to be a completely mainstream university.</p>

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<p><<it also="" seems="" to="" have="" some="" history="" of="" somewhat="" puritanical="" rules,="" but="" i'm="" assuming="" that="" it's="" been="" decades="" since="" they="" were="" enforced,="" as="" pepperdine="" be="" a="" completely="" mainstream="" university="">></it></p>

<p>I would question your assumption -- Pepperdine is still a school that, as Carolyn has posted earlier, does have some strict rules and does indeed enforce them. Kids just need to determine whether that's for them or not. It is a good school, but Pepperdine's trustees would probably take serious exception to it being considered a "completely mainstream" university</p>

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<p>Iderochi is correct: Those same rules are still in effect, its only the no-opposite-sex dancing that was loosened. And he's also right that Pepperdine's administrators and trustees would take offense at being considered "mainstream." They see themselves as being akin to other strongly Christian colleges like Wheaton in Illinois and Calvin in Michigan.</p>

<p>Like Wheaton and Calvin, Pepperdine provides an excellent education. But, like Wheaton and Calvin, the administration and trustees see the schools role as evangelical in nature. Unfortunately, many prospective students see that ocean view location in Malibu, California and, just like you did Cavalier, they get stars in their eyes and don't look further at what Pepperdine is all about beyond the location and view. </p>

<p>I've seen too many kids (and parents) apply to Pepperdine assuming that it's a "a completely mainstream university" and then be surprised and/or disappointed when they get there and discover that it is not your typical college in terms of student rules and regulations. Again, I think Pepperdine can be a wonderful choice for many kids, but everyone needs to be fully informed about their college choice, and not just assume that all colleges are a fit with their picture of what college life will be like. Some kids will welcome the conservative rules at Pepperdine, some kids will tolerate them, but a beautiful campus isn't enough if you're going to chaffe at the administration's paternal approach to regulating student conduct on campus.</p>