Art by Caitlin Roark
Unite Pepp started out this semester with another demonstration. For the second time since this group’s creation last semester, they took over the Freedom Wall to bring a message to the Pepperdine community: Even though the Good Samaritan Policy was rewritten, more steps need to be taken for students to use it confidently.
In order to keep all students safe, Pepperdine culture needs to change, and it’s up to students — not just faculty and administrators — to make that happen. Freshmen need to be able to make their own educated decisions, and Pepperdine student culture is getting in the way of that.
However, not all of the doubt is the result of the policy itself. Freshmen want to believe in the policy, but they are already jaded about it because of the attitude Pepperdine students have toward it.
Students need to encourage others to use the policy. According to the interviews in Unite Pepp’s Part 1 video, freshmen don’t trust the policy because upperclassmen told them not to use it. These new students are brought into a new environment with open minds, and the first thing they hear about the policy is to not use it because of events like the disbandment of DTD last semester, even though the policy did not cover organizations before the policy was changed. Many first years might not know as much as they think they do about these situations, and it’s affecting how they see the policy.
In the Graphic article published Oct. 4 about the Unite Pepp movement this semester, freshman Hannah Douglas said she wouldn’t use the policy and hadn’t gone to the NSO information session on it.
“I had already felt like I knew plenty about it from talking to people,” Douglas said.
The policy still needs administrative clarification, such as more specificity on what won’t be covered by the policy. Students need to have confidence in what will happen, and since the policy has a clause that says the associate dean of students for community standards can decide whether or not students are covered, students can’t be completely certain that they are covered until after they use it.
Even though it’s understandable that there is some vagueness involved, and the policy is applied on a case-by-case basis, students need to know explicitly how the Good Samaritan Policy works. The recent changes are a step in the right direction, but there is still doubt in the back of students’ minds, and this doubt needs to be completely resolved for students to be truly convinced to use the policy.
However, not all of the doubt is the result of the policy itself. Freshmen want to believe in the policy, but they are already jaded about it because of the attitude Pepperdine students have toward it.
Students should take the initiative to use the policy. That bit of uncertainty is not enough to risk someone’s life. No matter what the circumstances, the fear of risking reputation for oneself or the opinions other students say about oneself should not outweigh someone’s life. People’s safety matters above all else.
“Campus culture needs to change, students need to be looking out for other students and their own safety,” Elijah Zoarski, one of the founders of Unite Pepp, said in an interview.
Students can’t and don’t know what goes on in administration, but the faculty and staff truly care about students. Students need to create an atmosphere that can be receptive to these changes. Only through working together can Pepperdine work through these issues and create a safe and trustworthy environment for everyone.
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