By Sara Rosner
Staff Writer
A summer in Malibu immediately summons dreams of warm sand, blue water and a perpetual parade of bronzed flesh. However, a few dedicated Pepperdine students will be forsaking the land of Barbie and “Baywatch” for more academic pursuits in classes offered in this year’s Summer Program.
“It’s a great opportunity for students to make progress toward their degree,” Director of Summer Programs Dana Dudley said.
Seaver College is currently offering 180 classes from all departments in three month-long sessions. Among the most popular classes are the universally required General Education courses, such as humanities and religion.
According to Dudley, roughly 1,000 students enroll each summer.
“People like to do these classes in the summer because you can just focus and do the whole sequence,” said Dudley.
“I’m doing them to catch up and get ahead,” said sophomore Robert Romero, who has enrolled for two sessions of humanities. “It’ll be easier because I won’t have any other classes to worry about.”
Communication professor Dr. David Lowry, who has taught summer school for 25 years, observed some other advantages.
“Summer school is more relaxed,” he said. “Students are more relaxed because they have fewer classes and are more focused. I love it, it’s great.”
Lowry said students are more motivated in one-month classes.
“Almost anybody can do anything for a month,” Lowry said. “It’s those four-month stretches that kill people.”
Although the course duration may seem more convenient, most students still must spend three to four hours a day in a single class.
“Sometimes things can make a lot more sense if you just let it sit in your brain,” Lowry said. “You don’t have that luxury in summer school. You have to be a quick study sometimes.”
Students are discouraged from taking two classes in one session due to the concentrated nature of the courses.
“The classes are far more intensive,” Dudley said. “You have to stay on top of things. It’s easy to get behind.”
In addition to the usual gamut of classes, Pepperdine will be offering a dispute resolution program for undergraduates.
Half of the 16-unit program will be taught by Pepperdine School of Law professors, which surpassed Harvard as the first in the nation for education in dispute resolution.
The Dispute Resolution program will only be offered in the second and third summer sessions. There are 20 spaces in the course and only eight are still available.
Students who chose to live on campus will enjoy events such as weekly barbecues and ice cream socials sponsored by Housing and Community Living and the Student Government Association.
“It’s always important to balance out academics with fun,” Dudley said.
Students will be placed in either Towers for a cost of $970 per session (meal plan included) or Lovernich Apartments for a cost of $820 (meal plan not included).
Tuition for the first and second sessions is $855 per unit, while the third session is discounted to $680 per unit.
Submitted April 1, 2004