Malibu location sets Pepperdine apart from other Church of Christ universities

The 2013 annual BIble Lectures at Pepperdine. The lectures bring Church of Christ members from all over the country. (Photo by University Photographer Ron Hall, photo courtesy of Public Relations and News)

Church of Christ schools abound in the South — Abilene Christian University and Lubbock Christian University in Texas, Freed-Hardeman and Lipscomb University in Tennessee, Harding University in Arkansas, Oklahoma Christian University in, well, Oklahoma.

Then there’s Pepperdine, a Church of Christ affiliated school in Southern California.

Pepperdine’s Malibu location sets it apart from other Church of Christ schools in numerous ways, and have led to to it being seen by some as the most liberal of the bunch.

“Pepperdine is the only major Church of Christ university outside the Bible
belt,” Pepperdine Dean of Seaver College Rick Marrs said. “That has something to do with its uniqueness. Founded in LA, George Pepperdine wanted his school to be somewhat ‘different.’ I think Pepperdine reflects the greater diversity of Los Angeles, just as LA is dramatically different and far more diverse than the communities of Searcy, Abilene and Nashville.”

Pepperdine’s Church of Christ makeup, Convocation requirements, visitation rules and dry campus make it seem conservative compared to the rest of Los Angeles County, but to its Southern sister schools, it is often seen as downright progressive.

“I think the fundamental difference stems from our founding,” Pepperdine President Andrew K. Benton said. “George Pepperdine expected our outreach to be more inclusive than other affiliated schools. And, over the past 76 years, we have enjoyed the remarkably diverse opportunities related to our location in California, too. Both are powerful, shaping influences.”

Church of Christ schools are more abundant in the South because that is where the denomination gained the most traction.

“Over the years I think it’s fair to say that each institution developed its own unique characteristics — in part due to the region of the country and in part due to the natural tendencies of its constituencies,” said Scott McDowell, dean of Campus Life at Lipscomb University. “Pepperdine, for instance, was way ahead of the rest of us in terms of race relations and the civil rights movement. My old friend Dr. Calvin Bowers, a long-time faculty member and administrator at Pepperdine, came there for a master’s degree in the ‘50s because doors were closed to him here in the South.”

One major difference between schools affiliated with the Church of Christ is the number of church members on faculty. Pepperdine’s faculty is 29.1 percent Church of Christ. Pepperdine does hire Church of Christ faculty when possible, but only requires the president, a majority of the Board of Regents, and religion faculty to be associated with the denomination.

At Harding, Lipscomb and Abilene, all faculty must be members of the Churches of Christ, according to their websites.

“In terms of church affiliation, Lipscomb and Pepperdine are both institutions founded by members of Churches of Christ who had a vision for educating students in a Christian environment,” McDowell said. “We share a very collegial relationship and view each other as sister institutions along with our peers at Abilene Christian University, Oklahoma Christian, Lubbock Christian, Harding University, Freed-Hardeman and others. Like our sister institutions, we value and are very proud of our roots and relationships to the Churches of Christ.”

The most recent statistics show that Pepperdine had 12.8 percent Church of Christ affiliated students enrolled in Seaver College in 2012. This statistic is a slight decrease from the 14.5 percent in 2011, and an even bigger decrease from the 17.7 percent in 2008.

However, Harding has maintained a stronger pattern of Church of Christ affiliated students. In 2003, 88 percent of their new fall freshmen and transfers were affiliated, dipping to 81 percent in 2008 and decreasing even more in 2012 with 77 percent.

All of the universities require attendance to Convocations throughout the semester; however, the numbers vary depending on the university.

Pepperdine grades students on their Convocation attendance, requiring 14 Convocations for an A.

“If I could change one thing about Pepperdine, it would be the required Convos,” junior Corina Mun said. “Five per semester sounds a little more reasonable to me.”

Lipscomb University requires students, depending on their daily class schedules, to collect 15 to 30 chapel requirements per semester.

Harding University specifies that daily chapel service be held, with attendance mandatory for undergraduate students who are under the age of 25 and taking nine or more credit hours per semester.

“Harding is unique by design, a distinctly Christian university with high expectations of its students,” said David Collins, dean of Students at Harding University. “These expectations are designed to help prepare students for a lifetime of Christian growth and living, as well as allowing the campus community to function more effectively.”

This distinctive Christian influence creates a unique atmosphere that separates Harding from its sister schools.

“Harding is like summer church camp, except you never go home,” Harding sophomore Corey Rhoades said. “And all your friends get engaged. And you’ll hear ‘Happy Birthday’ sung acapella with harmonies better than you’ve ever heard before.”

Abilene has a similar requirement. According to their website, required daily chapel and required Bible courses contribute to the open acknowledgment of Christian faith as an important aspect of the lives of most students.

“The promise ACU makes to its students is that we will be a vibrant, innovative, Christ-centered community that engages students in authentic spiritual and intellectual growth, equipping them to make a real difference in the world,” said Phil Schubert, president of Abilene Christian University. “Inherent in that community are certain behaviors we believe honor Christ and his call on the life of each student. Therefore, our student policies are intended to help create and foster such an environment.” 

Pepperdine students would have to attend 70 Convocations a semester if its policy matched up with Harding or Abilene.

Pepperdine has gone through many changes since its relocation to the Malibu campus. Originally, dorm room visits from members of the opposite sex weren’t allowed.

Now visitation in residence halls is allowed between the hours of 10 a.m. and 1 a.m., according to the Pepperdine University student handbook. Visitation is allowed in the main lobbies of the freshman suite-style halls between the hours of 7 a.m. and 2 a.m. This fall, some sophomore dorms went coed, though visitation hours in the suites still apply.

Abilene has a slightly more conservative outlook, according to their current student handbook. Visitation to resident rooms by members of the opposite gender is limited to times of recognized hall open houses, meaning there are designated times where all dorms are open to males and females to visit freely. Open house policies are posted in each hall and discussed at Town Hall meetings. All visitors must be registered at the front desk and be escorted by a resident.

Harding and Lipscomb also differ with their curfew policies.  

According to Harding’s student handbook, each night, after the residence hall staff has accounted for every resident, all outside doors will be locked and alarmed. Room checks will be conducted nightly at curfew. At this time, all residents are required to register their presence in the residence hall.

“The rules that Harding has placed on the university ensures that campus stays in the most pleasing way to God,” Harding freshman Whitney Walker said. “The rules get tedious at times but I know that they are meant for a good purpose.”

Lipscomb has a midnight curfew for freshmen from Sunday through Thursday, and a 1 a.m. curfew on Fridays and Saturdays. Sophomores, juniors and seniors are allowed to come and go as they wish though they are required to sign out at the front desk when leaving residence hall after curfew, according to the student handbook.

Pepperdine is also quite lenient when it comes to a dress code, simply because there isn’t one.

However at Abilene, the student handbook encourages students  “to demonstrate by their dress and appearance a mature Christian attitude and the ability to discern propriety.”

An example in the handbook states that all students, staff and faculty are expected to dress with Christian appropriateness. Dress should be modest. Some extremes are not acceptable, including halter tops, crop tops/open midriffs, and short and/or revealing skirts and shorts.

Lipscomb also has a dress code “to encourage standards of modesty appropriate to Christian life,” according to the university’s current student handbook.

“At the end of the day, we are simply doing the best we can to create an environment where our students can flourish and become the person God created them to be,” McDowell said. “We set policies with a view toward minimizing distractions en route to that end. If you did a side-by-side comparison of our codes of conduct, my guess is that you’d find more similarities than differences.”

All four schools do seem to agree on one particular issue: alcohol.

Pepperdine, Harding, Lipscomb and Abilene all maintain alcohol-free campuses, though Abilene describes its dry campus as in being in line with Christianity.

“The life choices and decisions that students make extend far beyond the college experience, and ACU is committed to challenging students to make decisions that ultimately glorify God,” the handbook reads.

Leaders at all four universities said they strive to create a Christian atmosphere for their students to prosper. It may be done in slightly different ways, but each has developed a unique approach to carry out its Church of Christ mission.

“Although Pepperdine has lots of rules regarding different things, I really have no problem with it,” Pepperdine junior Cassie Thomas said. “I already knew it was a Christian university, so I wasn’t really surprised by any one particular rule. Honestly, the beauty of waking up to the Pacific each morning is worth it all.”

Brandi Saldierna completed this story in Dr. Christina Littlefield’s spring 2013 Jour 241 class.