The Graphic asked seniors to reflect on their time at Pepperdine by answering the prompt: During your time at Pepperdine, how have you experienced Pepperdine change culturally, academically or otherwise? What is your opinion about these changes? Do you have faith in the future of Pepperdine?
The following are their responses.
Matthew Sedlock, Biology
Over my four years at Pepperdine, I’ve witnessed a wild transformation rooted in spirituality. Coming in, I had never been part of a spiritual Christian community outside my family, so I was nervous pulling into NSO, unsure of what attending a Christian university would be like.
But I sought community and felt immediately welcomed. I went to The Well every week, met fellow believers, and bonded over our shared faith. Yet, spirituality still felt like a quiet undercurrent in other parts of campus. It was easy to grow stagnant. In the Biology department, I struggled to find others who firmly believed in Jesus, and I’m sure other students felt the same in their own fields.
However, over these four years, God has grown ministry on campus, planting seeds through over 11 student-led ministries reaching all corners of campus — including Global Medical Missions Alliance (GMMA), which connected me to Christians in the science division. The Well is packed out every week with people hungry for the Lord. I see the desire for the Lord in these different student-led ministries that meet every week to worship, pray, study Scripture or just talk about God. I even hear it in individual conversations on main campus: I’ve heard people preaching the Gospel, I’ve seen people praying together and I’ve met with so many people, from freshmen to seniors to just talk about what Jesus is teaching us in our individual lives. The Lord is moving on Pepperdine’s campus, and it is becoming hard to miss it. I can confidently say that while the desire for the Lord was strong on campus my freshman year, it has only increased, and there’s no denying that it will continue to increase. I’m sad to leave this community but excited to hear how God will move at Pepperdine in the coming years.
Lydia Wolford, Business Administration
One of the most apparent changes I’ve experienced has been in our national ranking. When I applied, Pepperdine was a top 50 school; now, it barely makes the top 80. On top of that, its acceptance rate has increased to 50%. Despite that, our tuition has continued to skyrocket almost every year. When we all walk across the commencement stage in May, we will be receiving degrees that are much less valuable and yet cost so much more than when we signed our acceptance letters.
Another change I’ve seen at Pepperdine is a much more apparent conservative alignment. Through presidential appearances on Fox News and spotlighting speakers such as Jordan Peterson, Pepperdine is highlighting the views of one side of the political spectrum while removing the other from the conversation altogether. There must be space for competing thoughts and healthy discussion in any academic setting. Being a Christian university doesn’t exempt Pepperdine from that.
Christianity heavily emphasizes how every single person was made in God’s image, not one more important than another, and how we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Pepperdine’s current trajectory seems far from this. Some ideas and identities are prioritized and validated, while others go unheard and unseen. This is to the great detriment of the University in both an ethical sense and an academic sense.
Pepperdine has a lot of good going for it, but it is falling behind in so many aspects, such as accessibility and diversity education. This seems to be reflected, at least in part, in our national rankings. If Pepperdine wants to continue being a competitive University that is more than superficially founded in the love of God, it needs to be better. I have faith that Pepperdine can make the changes required to make this campus as exemplary as it aspires to be; it is merely a matter of choosing to do it.
Stephen McDaniel, Political Science
My time at Pepperdine has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. Guided by faculty who are as loving as they are brilliant, I’ve grown more confident in my faith and developed a passion for the subjects I study. When I think about the future of Pepperdine, there are some things I am quite excited about. International Programs will continue to be excellent and Waves Church has created another community for students to engage in their faith. These two programs represent what has made Pepperdine successful: its prioritization of students.
Unfortunately, despite these successes, the University seems to be drifting in a different direction. The student community has been hurt by the administration’s decision to place their priorities over the students’ well being. This is central to my pessimism about the future. It seems the students are no longer the University’s top priority and have taken a backseat to power and ideology. I have noticed how the President’s Speaker Series has degenerated from a meaningful, academic inquiry into an opportunity to maximize fundraising potential. I have uncomfortably participated in Pepp Gives, which in truth should be called “Pepp Receives.” I have seen the University pursue political alliances because it gives them power, though it alienates half of their student body. I know fundraising is critical to every institution, but at Pepperdine my professors and mentors have taught me that a good life is not about money and power. In my freshman seminar, I learned about vocation. Over four years, my professors have taught me what mine is, as they each do for their students year after year. I am convinced that this mission — leading young adults to a place where their greatest passions meet the world’s greatest needs — is what Pepperdine at its core is about. “Purpose, service, and leadership” are not meant to ring hollow. My only hope is that Pepperdine will return to being a place for students first and a place for business second.
Xaree Reyes, IMC and Hispanic Studies
Every college has a different culture and Pepperdine is no different. When I first started at Pepperdine in 2021 there was a huge culture of relationship and community. I perceived that the incoming classes were originally excited to get involved but the Pepperdine culture of independence and separation pushed many of them to find people they “fit in with” and stop exploring new connections.
The spiritual influence has also changed over the years. Small groups were incredibly publicized and important when I started my first year. As the years have gone by, Pepperdine has become more religiously focused in a performative type of way. It is no longer about creating those individual connections but creating a gathering and performing.
Academically, Pepperdine has changed. A GE should not be harder than a 400-level class. Maybe that means that upper division classes need to be “harder” or maybe that means that GE’s should be “easier.” Classes that should not be difficult are and classes that should push you are too easy.
Getting to my last year has made me realize I will never be in the same place as these people again. Everyone, good or bad, is a part of the person I am today and I couldn’t be more grateful. We have all gone through triumphs and tragedies together and each of those experiences shifted the culture. For better or for worse we have all been placed in this bubble called Pepperdine and have watched it change the same way each of us as individuals has changed since we first started college. And yet I can think of some things that never change: running to catch the bus, the beautiful sunsets, the endless stairs and the quiet weekends.
Lindsay Hall, International Studies
In the fall of 2021, I began my Pepperdine experience. Knowing no one else ahead of time, I ventured into my new dorm with my mystery roommate whom I met online, went to classes with new acquaintances, and ate among strange faces. Somehow over the course of four years, those same people have become my best friends; all bonded together by the culture that Pepperdine cultivates. The word that immediately comes to mind when I think of Pepperdine is: community. A community of people who are passionate about similar things, yet love each other despite their differences. Throughout my time here, this culture of community has only grown stronger. From fires to the loss of dear friends, our students and faculty understand the necessity of leaning on one another. Whether it’s daily hangouts with those I’m closest to or a simple coffee catch up, I know that my Pepperdine colleagues will always hold a very special place in my heart. I am confident that we go to school in a very special place. We have continued to grow outside of our personal boundaries and extended help to our L.A. neighbors in need and the greater community. The Sudreau Global Justice Institute fights for global human rights. Pepperdine University is on a mission to better its students’ lives as well as the lives of anyone who may need help. I am confident that God has His hand over this place and everyone apart of it.
Walden Hicks, Political Science
In my time at Pepperdine, I believe the university has changed significantly. Pepperdine has culturally shifted toward right-wing politics in a very tangible way that is obvious to anyone not in the club. Look no further than the top of the Pepperdine food chain with the President of Pepperdine and his President’s Speakers Series. My first President’s Speaker Series I attended in my freshman year highlighted authors writing to heal racial divides and my likely final President’s Speakers Series will highlight a misogynistic, transphobic, right-wing political commentator who works for one of the largest conservative media organizations in the entire country. This same speaker’s series has hosted Liz Truss and Kevin Stitt, political figures whose views would hardly be classified as moderate. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community at Pepperdine, I am frequently disheartened by President Gash’s open support for these figures who wish to see my community largely erased from American life. Pepperdine’s embrace of right-wing political thought feels like a despicable heel turn for a university I used to believe cared for all its students and its Christian heritage.
I worry for the future of Pepperdine. Our cultural shift toward right-wing politics will continue to shape our reputation outside of our immediate campus. I worry about the questions I will receive as an alumni. “Do you support the speakers your school hosts? Are you a Christian nationalist like some in your community? Do you care for marginalized people or fight for climate action?” As a future alumni, I hope to look back on my experience at Pepperdine as a wholeheartedly positive experience, and I know I will look back more fondly with time. But as a graduating student of this community, I hope to see concrete change from Pepperdine’s administration moving forward and an outcry from students who want that change.
Myers Mentzer, Business Administration
When I first came to college, I thought it was going to be a place of competition. I was expecting students to be competing against one another, but since being at Pepperdine, I have learned it is a place of collaboration rather than competition. While the thread of collaboration has always been present during my time, I don’t feel as though unity has always been present. However, in the last couple of years, during some of our darkest days at Pepperdine, I believe unity was brought forth. A cultural shift had happened, not just in trauma, but in hope. We had experienced loss together, and it was no longer about who was right or wrong, but rather the fact we were all in it together. Since these moments have passed, unity has superseded, and continues to grow amongst us. Our unity is not to be confused with uniformity. Our unity brings us together, accepting and acknowledging our differences that make us stronger, no matter what. To conclude, I’ve seen our students champion a spirit of unity that has allowed us to become greater collaborators and have hope in the future of Pepperdine.
