I think it’s odd that leadership is among the pillars of Pepperdine’s mission statement.
Purpose is a life-source, service builds moral humility, but leadership? Leadership, as it appears to me, is the precarious road between responsibility and power.
Some people are great leaders and some are terrible, but most people never have any chance to lead. I, for one, am generally dubious of the people who want to be leaders, because I suspect they are often driven by pride and power.
But regardless of who we get, we need people to step up, since every system of people needs leaders.
When I started writing editorials for the Graphic in the fall semester, I wanted my work to encircle a thematic focal point to anchor my arguments. I chose Pepperdine’s mission statement because it appeared to me to be the rules of the game we play.
Even if there was discrepancy between visions for the university, that mission statement preexisted all our disagreements.
My first op-ed highlighted the importance of purpose and resolving loneliness, using the writings of Viktor Frankl because of how they inspired me. Later down the line, I wrote about service in the form of a thank you letter to Pepperdine’s workers.
In my head, I was building up to leadership. I touched the topic with other articles, but I found it was too involved, too complicated to interrogate without a lot of effort, reporting and care.
Leadership, still in my head as a theme, was not what I initially presented for this Special Edition. But while the initial theme did not survive the edits, the product of that meeting was, before anything else, a reporting angle: Five Years In.
In essence, what is Pepperdine like five years into Jim Gash’s presidency? What has happened in those five years?
Those questions are too complicated and weighty, however, to leave them in the hands of editorials. Instead, what is necessary is reporting on the stories in as clear and informative a way as possible.
So here is the labor from talented reporters and stories concerning what it is like for the administration, faculty, students and churches five years into Jim Gash’s tenure. Alongside several reflections from the senior class members on how Pepperdine has changed during their time as students, these stories will hopefully clarify something necessary about leadership that an editorial from some egotistical senior would fail to show.
Lastly, a recommendation: never stop asking questions.
Sincerely,
Eliot Cox
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Contact Eliot Cox via email: eliot.cox@pepperdine.edu
