Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
With the 2025-26 academic year starting, I have been thinking about activities on campus I would like to participate in this year. During my time at Pepperdine, I have been a part of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), Feminist Club, Rotaract Club and more, with one of my favorite events being the beach day that a few Intercultural Affairs (ICA) clubs hold each year.
As a group of clubs focused on diverse cultures on campus, the ICA clubs have a major responsibility to the student body. They help foster community between students with similar backgrounds, help represent and emphasize marginalized groups and also serve as a space for education.
Some of the ICA clubs that can be found on campus include the Black Student Association, Feminist Club, Indian Student Association and Neurodiversity Student Association.
This year, it has become abundantly clear that ICA needs more support — not from students, but from the University itself.
As of fall 2024, white students made up 42% of the student body, according to Pepperdine’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness. The ICA clubs are important for minority groups like Black, Asian, LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent students because of their representation and support.
ICA is especially important in light of the discrimination these students face both on and off campus.
Last spring, the Pepperdine Step Team reported experiencing racism from members of the Women’s Tennis team, according to previous Graphic reporting. At the time, the University had not enacted disciplinary action, according to the Pepperdine Step Team’s Instagram.
Additionally, ICA restricted GSA in how they could promote their formal due to a conflict over terminology, also according to previous Graphic reporting. GSA ultimately had to publicly comply with the restrictions, despite the protests of the attendees and external groups.
Optimistically, I would like to believe that these are fluke incidents and that the University has the best interests of the ICA clubs in mind. Unfortunately, I find it difficult to truly believe this when the support and protections seem to be lacking.
These groups need this public support and defense more than other clubs because, unlike most clubs, ICA clubs represent the voices of and communities for these students. Without support, these students get heard less and are less able to receive support when, for example, they are discriminated against.
There are currently 23 ICA clubs on campus compared to nearly 100 clubs and organizations total. While the ICC itself receives some funding designated for all clubs, it has annually required an increase in funding to support such a large community, according to previous Graphic reporting.
Problems like these may lead to clubs struggling to find the funding they need throughout the year. For ICA clubs, this means they are not able to host events for minority students, allocate resources to advocacy on campus or represent and foster community effectively.
As the financial officer for GSA last semester, I experienced firsthand the impacts of this lack of support from the University. With the funding issues ICC faced and the terminology conflict surrounding GSA’s formal, it felt like GSA’s voice was not being valued as much as other voices on campus.
In a Feb. 27 email to the community concerning what is known as the “Dear Colleague Letter,” President Jim Gash wrote that “In our [the University’s] quest for academic excellence and community belonging, we welcome a wide array of people and perspectives into the Pepperdine community as necessary collaborators for enriching thought, scholarship, service and leadership in fulfillment of our Christian and academic mission.”
With the lack of public support for ICA and recurring funding issues, President Gash’s statement rings hollow. These are the voices that represent much of the diversity in the people and perspectives at Pepperdine, so why not support them more?
The political environment outside of our community is becoming increasingly extreme, with ICE arrests more than doubling since January. The impacts of events and policies like these cannot be expected to stay outside of our community, as seen from the experiences of the Step Team, GSA and the impact of the “Dear Colleague Letter.”
Without a strong support system for the diverse members of our community, the University is failing its students and moving in a terrifying direction — one where students who are white, heterosexual, neurotypical, etc., may be prioritized over other students.
Hopefully, in the coming academic year, the University will prove me wrong by increasing funding and engagement with ICA. In the meantime, I encourage students to support ICA clubs by attending events found on ICA’s Instagram and advocating for these organizations to show how much they are needed and valued.
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Contact Noah Burton via email: noah.burton@pepperdine.edu
