There is a fine line between promoting Christian values and invading one’s private life.
The committee behind the new sexual relations policy in the Seaver faculty handbook has not only crossed that line, but threatened disciplinary actions to punish those who may not be living in accordance with the Bible. The 14 lines, which include attribution to Scripture, include:
“Pepperdine University affirms that sexual relationships are designed by God to be expressed solely within a marriage between husband and wife. Sexual relations of any kind outside the confines of marriage are inconsistent with the teaching of Scripture . . . therefore, as a matter of moral and faith witness, all members of the university are expected to avoid such conduct themselves and to refrain from encouraging it in others . . . Sexual misconduct, depending on the facts and circumstances of each case, may result in disciplinary action.”
The university offers as part of this new policy counseling, assistance and support, as means to encourage a life, and perhaps even a sexual preference, consistent with the Christian teaching of sexuality. Nowhere, however, does this new policy acknowledge privacy rights of faculty members. Whether sex outside of marriage or sexual relations between two members of the same sex is wrong in the eyes of Pepperdine administrators is not the issue. We attend a private, Christian school, and are understandably expected to live up to certain standards in class or on campus. This is why the first half of the policy is tolerable. However, when the words begin to change from “affirm” and “encourage,” to “expected” and “discipline,” that’s where the issue starts to get tough.
Professors woke up one morning, as many students did when an identical policy was written in the student handbook, and saw it in black and white. A professor living with her boyfriend read in clear black type that what she was doing was not only judged wrong, but she could be disciplined. An openly homosexual professor was shown the policy and realized — not only am I being discriminated against, but now I am under suspicion and my job could be in jeopardy.
The policy is nestled within a book containing mostly human resource information, such as health benefits and vacation time. It is the only clause with a moral tone squeezed right in between the alcohol and tobacco policy and sexual assault policy. The day some professors discovered the new policy was probably very frightening. Some faculty members certainly feared they could fall under suspicion, and others were outraged at what they considered an invasion of privacy.
When students sign an acceptance letter to Pepperdine University, they do not agree to become a Christian — they agree to respect the teachings of Christianity while attending school. When professors choose to teach at one of the most prestigious Christian universities in the country, they agree to embody the teachings of Christianity in the classroom. They agree to represent Christian values and strengthen students for lives of purpose, service and leadership.
It would be nice, we suppose, if every professor at Pepperdine lived what administrators deemed a perfect Christian life. But real life is a little more messy and isn’t that what makes it diverse and interesting?
Same-sex relationships or pre-marital sex among grown adults may not be looked upon as consistent with Scripture, but when it comes down to it, these people should have a right to their privacy. What happens behind the closed doors of an off-campus home should stay right there. Encouraging all members of Pepperdine University to live a life congruent with the Bible is not only expected, but part of what makes Pepperdine what it is — a family based on strong morals. But establishing a policy punishing the actions of Pepperdine professors for what might be happening in their bedroom is plain wrong.
Good luck to our professors in the Seaver Faculty Association who are urging the drafting of a new policy that shows a little more respect for individual privacy. Thank you for being nurturing teachers who genuinely care about our Christian development at Pepperdine — we don’t need to know what you do at home in bed, and no one else should either. All that matters is that you can sleep at night.
January 30, 2003
