Pepperdine students are notorious for their gripes pertaining to the social life on campus. There is an endless list of complaints some justified and some unreasonable that circulate through the student body but the criticism that Pepperdine administration fails to provide us with hundreds (give or take a few) of enlightening social opportunities to hear the wisdom of engaging speakers would fall in the category of unreasonable. The fact of the matter is we either a) don’t know b) don’t care or c) don’t take advantage of them.
The “we don’t know about it” excuse is a pretty lame attempt for students to blame the University for their lack of initiative. The student calendars that go in the mailboxes every month the colorful fliers banners and posters ALL over campus the Pepperdine Today e-mail as well as very frequent reminder emails from Don Lawrence about ICA-related events give students ample information about upcoming campus events. And if you somehow miss all of these announcements a list of all campus events is easily accessible on Pepperdine’s website at www.pepperdine.edu/pr/events/.
So then the question becomes why don’t students care?
Just last Thursday Donzaleigh Abernathy the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.’s right-hand man spoke in Elkins. If she doesn’t qualify as a speaker worthy of our attention I don’t know who does. Paige Hemmis of Extreme Makeoever: Home Edition also slid under the radar recently and Craig Detweiler director for the Center of Entertainment Media and Culture brings Hollywood icons to Pepperdine every Monday night.
And for those of you who don’t know we actually have a museum on campus that can be great to peruse should you have a few extra minutes between classes. The exhibit changes every couple months and currently features Andy Warhol’s iconic set of Marilyns. But everyone probably knew that from one of the sources mentioned above right? Why not take 10 minutes to check it out?
Even if still art isn’t your thing the Fine Arts Division brings some pretty cool musical groups to campus every single semester. You might have missed Dala on Sept. 25 because you hadn’t yet been enlightened about the astounding array of opportunities but don’t worry. All opportunities are not lost. Don Felder the lead guitarist from the Eagles is coming to do a show called “A Night at the Hotel California” on Oct. 16. The best part is that as a Pepperdine student you have access to this show and countless others for only $10 each. That is potentially cheaper than one meal in the Caf and certainly cheaper than one meal at La Brea.
The University also offers a variety of outlets for student creativity which include hosting your own radio show and producing a TV show.
And finally for all the students out there who still see anything that can’t be added to a resume as a pointless frivolous time-waster consider the following: The Student Alumni Organization puts on Night to Network (N2N) events a couple of times every semester covering almost every academic division at Seaver College. At these events students can meet with professionals in their respective industries offering the opportunity to network and gain invaluable wisdom. It makes little sense to ignore this opportunity unless you and all the other soon-to-be college graduates feel comfortable with the promising job market out there.
Since there are so many events it can be easy to miss a few of them. But that is no reason to ignore them all. Those working behind the scenes of these events try exceptionally hard to provide us with as many different opportunities for educational emotional and spiritual growth as possible during our time at Pepperdine. We owe it to them to take advantage of their efforts.