There are plenty of other ways to run afoul of the rules. Last spring Timothy Dow was caught playing the video game Halo 2. Such games are banned by the college. Movies are also forbidden, including those rated G. Music is restricted to classical or approved Christian (“contemporary Christian” artists are deemed too worldly). Students are allowed to watch television news at 6 o’clock, but that’s it. The TVs are controlled by college employees, who flip a switch to black out the commercials, lest students see anything inappropriate.
In the library, books and magazines are censored. One student says she saw a pair of black-marker boxer shorts on a photograph of Michelangelo’s David. Any books that students wish to read that are not in the library must first be approved by administrators. Those containing references to “magic,” for instance, are normally rejected. The rule book specifically prohibits “fleshly magazines and books.”
Students routinely turn each other in for violating rules and are rewarded by the administration for doing so. According to several former students, those who report classmates are more likely to become floor leaders.
If I might make a small suggestion, GROW. THE. FUCK. UP. Thank you.
He says because rules can be “made up on the spot,” it seems impossible to abide by all of them. “There’s a feeling of helplessness and a spirit of fear,” he says. “Not to put too fine a point on it, but there’s a very 1984 feel to the place.”
The catholic vow of chastity is well known and while not publicly advertised, it’s at least not kept a huge organization secret. Unlike this.
Donald Barber asked about accreditation before he enrolled. The first time he asked, he says, a college representative evaded the question. Then the representative said it wasn’t important. “I had to ask three more times before he said no.”
It is mentioned, in small print, on the inside flap of the course catalog: “Pensacola Christian College has never made application for regional accreditation as the College believes it would jeopardize the College’s philosophical distinctives.” The catalog goes on to say that getting other colleges to accept Pensacola’s credits “has seldom been an insurmountable problem.”
What’s the point of college if it doesn’t prepare you for life outside?
That’s kind of the point: the school teaches them that life outside is sinful. They’re part of a social movement that not only rejects modern, secular culture but is trying to actively reshape it and going to a college like this probably helps to keep people within the movement (or loyal to the ideology.) I’d bet money that a significant portion of the faculty are active in Christian Dominionist circles.
The similarities with North Korea are quite striking, but on the other hand not very different from most other sectarian organisations. Poor kids. I hope they can get a faculty job right there after graduation because they don’t stand a fucking chance out in the real world.
I would think that people that attend places like this would live in a community that holds similar values. Those that leave this lifestyle probably wouldn’t feel that much culture shock as they are already different than those around them.
Perhaps I’m just odd, but this doesn’t seem that strange to me. It’s not my cup of tea, but if they agree to it, and want to live their lives like that, who am I to tell them they can’t?
What results? Is the basic assumption that the inability or unwillingness to sow one’s wild oats leads to violence? Freud would be so proud.
Insular communities are more common than one may think. Come to New York City and you see them all over the place. There are religious communities, such as the Hasidic community. There are large ethnic communities almost completely isolated from “mainstream” America.
As a culture, aren’t we moving closer to this anyway? The internet is a prime example of wide reaching insular communities.
I assume you are fine with the treatment of women in Islamic countries, or with child labor laws in SEA, then? The fact that people chose to go there isn’t enough to ensure that their rights are not being violated, or that the practices are not harmful to society. It’s a fine line, of course - it’s legal to be a neo-nazi, for example, but would it seem fine if there was a school where people were punished for acting Jewish or black?
That’s the real question, isn’t it? Where do you draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior? Should the Catholic church be outlawed because people don’t belive in celibacy? What about the Amish or the Ultra-Orthodox Jews up in New Square, NY? How can we judge which beliefs are harmful and which are not? Do we apply the pornography standard to it?
In my mind, the real difference is that these people are entering into this school voluntarily, hopefully of their own free will. If they are not, then there is an issue. If it is their choice, I have to support their right to do so as much as I have to support someone who wants to live life as a pansexual circus performer.
This is twice now that people have mentioned Catholic priests and their vow of celibacy. I don’t think it’s an applicable comparison for a variety of reasons. Keep in mind, I’m talking about American Catholics for this comparison, so digging up “Well that’s not how they are in Belize!” or whatever is not relevant. However, I’m not Catholic myself, so anyone with more direct knowledge is welcome to correct me.
Catholics tend to be both Catholic and catholic (sorry). The kind of insularity that this school represents is simply not there. Even someone who attends Catholic schools is dramatically more acclimated to the real world and the wider society than someone who’s been home-schooled their entire life.
Taking the priesthood is generally seen as a weighty choice, and seminaries and professors (at least the good ones) make sure the student fully understands what he is getting into. This place, on the other hand, deliberately conceals its nature through unwritten rules and obfuscation of its unaccredited status.
This place gets kids straight out of high school, whereas the priesthood requires four years of college before you can enter. Someone in their early twenties generally has a much clearer understanding of themselves and the world than someone fresh from high school.
