By Jordan Morris
Perspectives Editor
Ask anyone why he or she attends college, and you’ll encounter a hodgepodge of answers. Some are merely complying with parents’ wishes; others are seeking escape from them. Some are searching for meaning in their lives; others just have nothing better to do. Some are following their life-long ambitions; many others are grasping the hope of finding one.
But ask any academician, and he will tell you the “right” answer — that the college experience is a four-year, rigorous academic crusade for the highest concentration of knowledge possible in a given field.
As flowery (and boring) as this definition may sound, we actually start to painstakingly consider it around the junior or senior year, when the amorphous abyss of post-graduation looms ahead. This is when we start to take everything more (sometimes too) seriously and may become bogged down in a scholastic mess.
But it is precisely at this time when we need to step back and re-evaluate our priorities before they become lost in this mess. Moreover, it is vital to remember what lies at the center of today’s society — the human being.
Until this year, more than 120 stressed-out Pepperdine seniors every year were allowed to enroll in a course in the Business Administration Division that focused on exactly this humanistic principle. The course, taught by Dr. Jeff Banks, is called “Human Relations and Values.”
Frequently tagged “HRV,” the course has developed a cult following of sorts. With three sections of the course typically offered each semester, it quickly fills to capacity, with a waiting list longer than the class roster itself. And according to Banks, HRV students are so moved by the knowledge gained in the classroom that they are eager to continue these lessons outside the classroom by staying in touch with each other after graduation.
Despite the unmatched, overwhelming prominence surrounding the class, the Pepperdine administration elected last spring to cut the number of sessions of this classes each year from six to one, angering many students and some Pepperdine alumni.
The reasons for this cutback were not — and still are not — completely clear, other than a vague mention of budget cuts in the Business Administration Division.
Regardless of the reason for these cuts, limiting a class of this nature — despite the fact that it is not in itself a requirement — deprives large numbers of students from experiencing this unique course. And until I took the course this semester, I did not completely understand the significance of this issue.
Those who have never heard of the course — however few may be in this minority — will rightfully wonder what the big draw of HRV is, exactly.
Without stealing the thunder of the course’s proud instructor, the premise of the course is to provide business majors — and, typically, a large number of students from every other major — with a unique focus on the individual. Thousands of bachelor’s degrees in business are awarded every year around the country, but regardless of the depth of their education, many graduate not knowing the first thing about interpersonal relationships and personal idiosyncrasies.
After all, if one’s ambition is to manage a working business, shouldn’t he or she have some knowledge of what makes a person tick?
A mandatory confidentiality statement signed on the first day of class creates a safe haven for all issues, problems and joys, allowing students to divulge personal stories and open up to the rest of the class. This, in turn, expands others’ worldviews and instills the often-stated notion that every person, indeed, has a story.
Other coursework unique to HRV includes mandatory community service at a senior citizens’ home, a weekend retreat that strengthens bonds outside the classroom and unconventional homework, such as working on assertiveness and honesty in interpersonal relationships, principles that could not easily be conveyed in the standard textbook.
Most important, students experience the value of being “real” with each other, offering constructive criticism and surpassing the veil of ignorance often infused by mainstream society. HRV students write more than 50 pages of self-exploratory essays throughout the semester and attend grueling three-hour classes every week, laden with laughs, tears and, perhaps the most rare commodity, feedback.
Granted, Pepperdine is a well-rounded university with faculty thoroughly skilled in preparing students for the working world. While bits and pieces of these lessons are present across the wide spectrum of the Pepperdine curriculum, HRV is a timely capstone class that delivers these vital messages at the conclusion of the college career.
Even Banks, who teaches in the humanities and psychology departments, says the wide scope of the course is unmatched at the university. Similar courses, such as Interpersonal Behavior and those within the Social Action and Justice Colloquium, do not match the distinctive coursework and impact of HRV.
This is a class for a distinctive type of student, too. Those who value the importance of the human being and are willing to be truthful and open with themselves, in addition to having an eager interest in humankind, will benefit most and play a part in the humanization of the future progressive business world.
After all, author Betty Bender once said, “When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.”
Pepperdine needs to put the heart back in the business division, making better businesspeople and socially wise humanitarians out of its students.
November 13, 2003