By Micah Kafka
Photo Editor
Consider the plight of the freshmen. As new students they come in, open and ready for the college experience. They come from different states, different lifestyles, and different heritages. But as the weeks slip past, something happens to them. They begin to look alike. First they dive into the Abercrombie and Fitch world, then they get their first pair of Diesel shoes, then maybe even move on to Gucci.
Sophomore Boro Isailovski has seen this as well. “I see the freshmen and when they first come in, they’re so different, so amazing,” he said. “Nobody knows each other so their character is totally open, total free from any restrictions. Once a couple months get in, they find their cliques, find their place of comfort, they just shut off and nobody smiles anymore.”
Psychology professor Dr. Cindy Miller-Perrin attributes some of this to the sociological end emotional state that college students are experiencing. College is one of the huge milestones in identity development for adolescents. They are away from their parents, and peers become more of an influence.
In the midst of this, college students try to find out who they are, what they believe and what their values are. “They are asking ‘who am I?’ and continuing the process of figuring it out, which can take years,” she said. Only 40 percent of college students have it “figured out.” The rest feel pressure to find a sense of self while also feeling pressure to fit in to the new culture around them.
Dr. Miller-Perrin credits Pepperdine’s fairly mainstream image to the religious background of the school.
“In my experience, the more conservative population is less tolerant for a broad type of experimentation,” she said. In her ten years at Pepperdine, she hasn’t seen much change in the level of self-expression in her students. She said that not only does the college foster a more conservative atmosphere, but families that appreciate this atmosphere might send their children here as a way to control their behavior.
Freshman Jason Eppink has a different theory. Eppink quickly stood out from the new batch of incoming freshman this year. His habit of never wearing shoes and his bowtie Fridays brought him a great deal of attention early on. Even when he had a good reason for his behavior, he still attracted hostility. “I don’t wear shoes because it’s comfortable. It also brings (the building) down to my level,” Eppink said.
People were even less receptive when Eppink and his friends started a “Gentlemen’s Club,” in which the members used to get together and play croquet while wearing suits. At his high school in Spring, Tex. Eppink didn’t feel much of the conformist pressure associated with high school. “High school was great,” Eppink said. “Everyone thought for themselves, then I can here and experienced what everyone complained about.”
What Eppink experienced for the first time at Pepperdine was the pressure to “fit in.” But despite constant pressure to conform, Eppink has continued to stay true to himself. “Being normal is boring. This is more exciting. I’m not a joiner,” he said.
Eppink has even managed to convince a few more students to step out of the Pepperdine mainstream.
“People come up to me and say ‘Hey, I want to not wear shoes too,’” he said.
Some students believe the pressure to conform may stem from Pepperdine’s economic and academic climate.
“People are already coming into (Pepperdine) with so much pressure to be rich or smart,” Junior Alan Chapman said. “They want to fit into that because people are intimidated by people they think are higher then them and they want to be accepted by that. When I tried that, I wanted people to think I was rich; that I fit in. People that get caught up in it want to look like they have money. They can’t buy an expensive car but they can do it clothes-wise.”
Former Pepperdine student Jennifer Calligan left after her freshmen year largely because of the lack of self-expression at the university. “It definitely wasn’t the right fit for me. It would have been helpful if there was greater diversity personality-wise on the whole campus. I can’t think of anyone who really stood out, that was different. It was all very Malibu,” she said.
Calligan now attends Washington State, and even though transferring set her back at least one year, she doesn’t regret it. “There’s much more individuality at a school like this,” she said.
With all the pressure college students are already face, Pepperdine piles on the added weight of fitting into an unrealistic affluent culture. “There’s just so much pressure to fit into the wealthy Hollywood/Malibu look,” Chapman said.
April 17, 2003