Christina Littlefield
I’ve always had a lot of school spirit. I was even voted most spirited in high school. I never missed a home football game, I traveled with the basketball team to the state championships and I not only went to pep rallies, I organized them. I was also active in student government, service organizations and student publications.
I can still belt out a stirring rendition of my alma mater.
My Pepperdine experience, however, has been a bit more apathetic.
Please don’t send me hate mail, but I’ve never been to a Pepperdine basketball game. I have never attended any Homecoming activities and I only went to Midnight Madness when I was a freshman and the free T-shirt thing still appealed to me.
In fact, the only sports events I have ever attended are a handful of volleyball and baseball games. I’m not sure what happened to the “rah, rah, rah” spirit I used to have. Perhaps I used it all up in high school.
Yet I wouldn’t say my spirit stick is completely wilted. Instead, I would venture to say that my school spirit has transformed from the typical “go, team, go” to a more mature appreciation of my university as a whole.
I would be so bold as to say I have as much or more pride in Pepperdine University as any one on this campus.
School spirit, you see, can manifest itself in many different ways. For me, school spirit has been investing myself in the Christian heritage and mission of Pepperdine University.
I’ve read George Pepperdine’s biography. I’ve visited the original campus at 79th and Vermont. I’ve spent dozens of hours researching and writing about the school’s history, heritage and mission.
I’m a Pepperdine geek. Not only can I answer random trivia such as listing all of the university’s presidents, but I can also quote from the mission statement, the affirmation statement and the Founder’s Day address.
I found something at this university that I hadn’t been looking for — a foundation of faith by which to survive the storms of life.
I came here for the journalism program and for the new communication building. I came in indifferent to the Christian mission of the school.
But I was intrigued. I wanted to know what made the university and the people in it tick, so I started investigating.
What I found at this university was a loving community ready to welcome anyone in. I found professors who were inspired by their work and by their faith. I found people who were willing to invest in other people.
There is a reason that Homecoming always has a familial theme. This university isn’t about all of its accomplishments, this university is about the people who make it up.
There is a lot of ways to show pride in your school. You can go to a game, a pep rally, a service project or the SGA movie of the week.
However you express your school spirit, just make sure you show it. Remember, you’ve got family ties.
February 07, 2002