Staff Editorial
Although many label Pepperdine as a friendly community, beneath the Christian bubble that shrouds campus is a homogenous quality about Pepperdine that makes it easy to spot those who may be “different.”
One topic that has come to the forefront is pregnancy on campus. Service 4 Life, SGA and Dean of Student Affairs Mark Davis are trying to make Pepperdine a more accepting campus for students who find themselves pregnant while at school. However, an unavoidable question arises: Can Pepperdine truly be a welcoming environment for expecting students?
While Davis said in the Feb. 1 article of the Graphic that there will be no disciplinary action for pregnant students, which may seem the logical course of action considering the sex policy for students, there needs to be something more than the absence of punishment. These students must figure out what comes next and who can help them with the physical and emotional rollercoaster ahead.
One of the most important things for pregnant students is medical care. The Health Center on campus does have some services available. According to Director Nancy Safinick, the center can do urine and blood work pregnancy tests, and the practitioner seeing a patient can prescribe pre-natal vitamins. Because the center does not provide obstetrical care, students are then referred to an OB-GYN or other women’s resource centers for prenatal care. Safinick said the center also refers to the Student Counseling Center on campus.
“The Student Health Center welcomes any woman who thinks they may be pregnant,” Safinick said. “We have the resources to confirm pregnancy and to assist the student with appropriate referrals and initial care.”
Another issue to consider is the living situation on campus. While members of Service 4 Life and Davis have been able to work with administration to create a new policy that took effect in fall 2006. The policy allows children to live in the married student housing in the George Page Residential Complex, there have been no options for unmarried students.
As convenient as it would be, it is impossible to schedule a birth during the winter and summer break. What is a female student to do if she is due during the semester, or finals? Will she be able to continue going to school and finish her classes?
Which brings up another issue: class attendance. For most classes, professors employ a strict attendance policy, usually allowing just two unexcused absences. Unfortunately, pregnant students are bound to get ill on a regular basis, even if they make their 8 o’clock class despite morning sickness (which, contrary to popular belief, does not occur only in the morning hours).
There are also more permanent problems literally built into the campus: the stairs. While most students moan and groan about climbing the steps, moms-to-be will find it exceptionally difficult to get around campus as their tummies grow.
Still, one of the most difficult aspects of this “problem,” however, is the stigma that comes along with unplanned pregnancy. Judgmental glances — or at least looks of surprise — are likely to follow pregnant students walking around campus, if only because the sight is so unusual.
Taletha Phillips, a 2000 graduate who had an abortion after discovering that she was pregnant after her freshman year, experienced first-hand how lonely someone can get after such an ordeal.
“No one was telling me it would be OK or saying there was a way through this,” Phillips said during a speech at a Walk for Life event. “My college (Pepperdine) was definitely not friendly to pregnant girls.”
John Denniston, a member of Service 4 Life, said he hopes the club can change that experience by leaving Pepperdine a campus “that is more equipped at loving than when we stepped in four years ago.”
While strides are being made to create a campus that is more accepting and doors are being opened to talk about the taboo, administration and the student body still have a long way to go. Lectures and convocations can help to increase campus awareness, but changes in policy will have to be enacted to build a truly accessible campus for pregnant students, where more aid can be provided.
02-08-2007