Art by Sacha Irick
Meet Sam. Sam is your average Pepperdine student. He is responsible, loves school and enjoys a good time. Sam’s problem is that like many other students, he has too much on his plate. Sam’s plate isn’t that sturdy and can’t hold too much stuff, and sometimes things tend to fall off. Sam hates it when this happens.
Meet Jane. Jane is also your average Pepperdine student. Jane is a wild spirit, but she also knows her priorities. The problem with Jane is there are times when there is just too much happening. Sometimes handling school, friends and Convocation can become a little bit overwhelming.
Jane and Sam are friends. They bump into each other on a cold Tuesday night outside of the Caf. “Hey Jane, you goin’ to Convo tomorrow?” asks Sam. “I don’t know, I’m pretty beat. Maybe in the afternoon,” she replies. Sam is visibly frustrated. “Ugh, I hate Wednesday afternoon Convos; they’re always packed. And the lines. Jane! The lines are so long that last time I think I saw two freshmen meet, go on a date, start a relationship and break up, all before they got in,” he says.
“Ugh, I know. The worst thing is I kinda like Convo. I mean, I feel like sometimes I want to go to the events, but I’m so busy that I can’t take the time to stand in line for an hour,” replies Jane.
Sam understands where Jane is coming from. “I feel you, sister. Last week, I went to this event in the Plaza Classrooms, the ones that hold, like, 50 people, and a lot of students couldn’t get in. What a shame. I think it’s because of the fire code that they can’t fit anyone else in, but still. I got there 40 minutes early and 10 students were already there,” Sam says as he starts to walk away.
It doesn’t take a brain surgeon or a rocket scientist to find out why some students at Pepperdine aren’t entirely comfortable with the way the Convocation Series is run. Not only because brain surgeons and rocket scientists are probably busy operating on brains and building rockets, but because it is an issue that can be evidenced by a simple Twitter search of the words “Pepperdine Convo.”
Students like Convo. The combination of culture and faith appeals to the Pepperdine community in different ways, ranging from Wednesday Chapel to Club Convos.
Overcrowded events, small classroom sizes and the usual end-of-the-semester rush repel students. Large incoming classes over the past few years certainly haven’t helped, either.
Convo is worth 14 credits per semester. Although it doesn’t count toward the required grauduation credits, it is factored into student GPAs.
We at the Graphic feel your pain. We’re students too and our schedules are just as busy. Thankfully, with the hours we’ve spent in line for Convos this year, we’ve come up with helpful suggestions that can make your Convocation experience that much better.
Stay informed about your options. The Convocation calendar online is a crucial asset to seeing how many Convo events are available. There are many convos that fly under the public radar, are hardly ever full and might work with your schedule, such as the language chapels in the SAC. For those of us with iPhones (sorry, Android users — the app isn’t available for you plebeians yet), there is an app dedicated to Pepperdine’s Convocation office that you can download for free. It lets you track your attendance, then peruse the calendar and more.
Accept the lines as reality and adapt. While the Graphic does not endorse skipping class to attend Convos, it does endorse good planning. Always expect a line and come early — by “early,” we mean 30 minutes early. Bring some homework to do.
Our time in line has not just been spent on realistic ways to make Convo better this year; we attend Pepperdine, and we’re idealists, darn it! From where we stand, the Convocation office could adapt to accommodate swelling student numbers while also enhancing the experience even further. Moving higher-profile convo events to larger rooms, televising Convos from Elkins in Plaza Classrooms and offering more Convos on weekends — or even online — would alleviate the horror of overcrowding. Partnering with the Volunteer Center to offer service projects for Convo credit would encourage students to live lives of “purpose, service and leadership” while also getting some credits out of the way. Other universities that share our Christian vision are good places to look for inspiration because, according to many students, our model seems flawed.
Students really do enjoy Convo. We promise; just ask Jane and Sam. What we don’t like is having an experience that’s supposed to teach us more about God, ourselves and others turn into a competition. Convo was never meant to be a race to the front of the line. The more that happens, the more the experience becomes trivialized. As the mystical voice whispers in Field of Dreams, “if you build it, they will come.” If the Convocation office builds it, we will come, with homework and IDs in hand.
As published in the Oct. 24, 2013 issue of the Pepperdine Graphic.
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