The Proposition 8 spotlight has some faculty and staff arguing that Pepperdine has been branded as a far-right institution damaging the university’s credibility as a place of scholarship.
To combat that impression faculty from a variety of fields formed a new initiative called the Pepperdine Coalition for Balance on Tuesday Feb. 3. The goal is to bring more diverse speakers to campus. The coalition will work to fully recognize the political diversity of the school.
“In order for a university to really strengthen itself it must grasp a wider perception said Dr. Harry Caldwell, School of Law professor. Caldwell joined Seaver political science professor Dr. Dan Caldwell (no relation) to lead the coalition.
The two started discussing the idea in the fall of 2008 out of frustration with a trend they observed during their years at Pepperdine.
I did an analysis of the speakers featured at Pepperdine School of Public Policy from 2000 to 2007 Dan Caldwell said. Over that seven-year time period 68 percent of them were identifiably conservative and only six percent were liberal.”
The rest of the speakers were either nonpartisan or of unidentifiable affiliation according to his research.
Harry Caldwell also said he hopes to balance political figures such as John Bolton and John Ashcroft both speakers on campus in the fall 2008 semester with more liberal ones.
Other faculty members at Pepperdine said the school is more balanced than these professors suggest.
“My personal opinion is that Seaver College works hard to have an open dialogue environment wrote Dr. Rick Marrs, associate dean of Seaver, in an email. I’ve taught at a state university (and have numerous friends in other state and private institutions) and I find one of the great ironies is that you can have more open conversations often in a Christian university like Pepperdine than a state institution or private secular institution.”
Marrs is responsible for coordinating the W. David Baird Distinguished Lecture Series. The program is designed to expose students to intellectual leaders from a variety of disciplines.
Its main function is to create a support network for its members who are seeking change.
Harry Caldwell said the university should encourage a wide range of speakers.
“There’s symbolic value in a group that recognizes the diversity of this campus Harry Caldwell said.
Dan and Harry Caldwell said the emphasis on the conservative perspective bothers them not because they would rather work at a liberal campus but because they feel the best universities represent the full spectrum of political ideology.
For centuries the objective of colleges has been the pursuit of truth Dan Caldwell said. Part of that has to be the consideration for alternative views.”
Although the Coalition is too new to be well-known among students its purpose is attractive to students who are involved in Pepperdine’s political discussion.
“I am extremely happy to hear about this group said Emerson Siegle, president of the Young Democrats. Every time there is a speaker that advocates a perspective that differs from the norm it shows that we are a university that is open to engaging intellectual inquiry and discussion.”
On the other side of the political spectrum Ryan Sawtelle former president of College Republicans was supportive of the organization because he believes in the importance of exposure to a variety of perspectives. He was however skeptical of its premise.
“Assuming the Coalition was created with a sincere philosophy it is noble Sawtelle said. I would be interested to know how one determines the current makeup of the political speakers brought to campus. I would hope that those involved in the Coalition do not become disingenuous when they survey the current political climate.”
Marrs agrees that the speakers should reflect diversity on campus.
“It allows us to remain true to our commitment as a topflight academic institution to have as many sides of a discussion represented as possible Marrs wrote.
He disagrees, however, with accusations that the university does not seek diverse speakers.
We are also very concerned to ensure that not only are several voices from the political spectrum represented but voices from a variety of social and ethnic settings as well as having a gender balance Marrs wrote.
For the members of the Coalition, however, the current efforts of the university are not enough.
In addition to his belief that balancing liberal and conservative voices at Pepperdine would make it a stronger and more dynamic institution, Harry Caldwell also said that an effort to recruit liberals to speak at the university would improve Pepperdine’s representation in the media.
Proposition 8 was a very controversial issue and we really got locked into a box on that Harry Caldwell said, speaking of the media’s depiction of Pepperdine as very supportive of the anti-gay marriage legislation. A lot of people at Pepperdine weren’t happy about that.”
Marrs agreed that the university typically projects a more conservative image to the public while maintaining a faculty and staff that varies across the political spectrum. Dan Caldwell attributes the university’s political image largely to its affiliation with the Church of Christ a denomination that is generally associated with conservative views.
