Extremely strict colleges...your thoughts?

Your post sounds like a rebellious teenager.

It is prudent for a school to have some type of system in place to keep tract of the students that are under their care. Yes I did say under their care, the students that are living on campus, in a dorm are under their care. If and when a student pays to move off campus then he/she is no longer under their care.

 

That is a jump that a lot of people, especially college students, want to make jaigner, that

While most college students are over the age of 18 most are simply not capable of being considered adults at this point. Many aspects of our society affirm this. They can vote, but they cannot purchase alcohol. They can work full time, and serve in the military, but they cannot be licensed law enforcement officers or fire fighters. In my state they must purchase a license for hunting or fishing and they can purchase long guns and ammunition, but they cannot purchase hand guns.


Some college students may actually be responsible adults but many are not. Think of a college student and ask yourself these questions:

• Are they working and paying taxes?
• Are they paying their own way through school?
• Can someone else claim them as a dependent on their income taxes?
• Are they on someone else’s family health insurance plan?
• Are they driving a car that is registered to and insured by someone else?

Are they regularly receiving financial assistance from a family member?

Now you tell me jaigner, how many of them are adults? I know that there are plenty of parents out there that think something magical happens on their child’s 18th birthday and after that it’s not their problem anymore, but the truth is that for several years still they are growing into adulthood.

Some kids need more guidance and direction than others. Some kids need stricter schools than others. Ever hear of a judge telling a young man or woman they will drop charges if they enlist in the military? Within the armed forces they have structure and rules some kids need. Yea, after basic it gets easier, but they still have to show up for work or someone will come looking for them.

No one is ever forced to go to one of these strict schools, it is a personal choice; a choice that many would not make, but so what? They don’t have to. A close friend that used to work in the administration of one such school told me once he told each incoming student, “That door you came in swings both ways, if you don’t want to be here don’t stay. Your parents or no one else can make you attend here, if you say they are I can kick you out right now and we can fix that.”

 

One of the things that I do from time to time is church consulting for the Lawless Group. I've been in a number of those "up to date" churches. They are up to date for 1980, mostly. They are still working on being "cool" with a strummed guitar, and church staff in printed shirts... That has little to do with spreading the gospel. A church will only truly be "up to date" if they let their people drive their culture instead of their leaders. That can only happen if the leaders are secure enough to let that happen, and also if the leaders (notice the plural -- that eliminates the cult of the charismatic sole leader that is also so very prevalant) major -- just as you said -- on doing the work of ministry, including sharing the gospel and coaching people through the process with sound biblical counsel.

At our place, we are ever so free to try new things. We would freak out a lot of other church members and pastors, that's for sure. But we are also seeing the most amazing life changes as people are drawn to Jesus, justified, and begin their sanctification process.

Like I said, I've been in a ton of churches, and I've not experienced another anything like what we're doing -- for the most part -- save for a few exceptions across the nation that are noteworthy for doing similar things to us. Oh, we're also planting churches like crazy. We have 3 campuses that are united with us in various sections of Louisville, but have also sent out teams to many other cities across the nation. What we're doing here works everywhere, but may look radically different. Even in our 3 campuses in Louisville, the vibe from service to service (not to mention church to church) is different enough that changing times or places is like a whole new place, yet we are united together in Christ as one big family.

 

I hope after the reprimand you have stats and sources to prove this.

I did not say more leave than stay. You misrepresented my statement. Many hundreds, no doubt, stay and function as perfect little automatons and carbon copies of the staff of the "extremely strict" institution they attended.

And I am sure that a few actually maintain their individuality and do not become carbon copies.

But my experience, having attended one of these types of "institutions" and having been exposed to "fundamentalism" for better than two decades says that most are just little copies of whatever IFB hero that particular institution is fashioned after.

 

I concur. And BTW, John just gets a little touchy sometimes. He's a sensitive sort.:thumbs:

 

Very good. Once again, I concur!

 

I'm actually a responsible adult with a wife, dog, 2 jobs and close to 200 college credits. I think that qualifies me to say this stuff.

Schools have the responsibility to keep the campus safe. When I was at Baylor, we could leave any time we wanted, but we'd need our ID to get back into the dorm. That's a must for music students, who sometimes have to practice during the wee hours.

Heck, the library was open 24 hours.

Schools are not responsible for the behavior of legal adults who pay them to live on campus.

 

If a student is on Mom and Dad's dime, driving their car, etc., then they answer to Mom and Dad for how they use those things. My point is that parents shouldn't be worried about the school. Don't think your kid is ready to be on their own, don't send them away to college.

 

But that is the point people are making on this thread. Living in a dorm on a campus is not "being on their own". It is not unreasonable for a parent who pays for his/her teenager to live in a dorm to expect the school to have some involvement in that teens welfare. Your all or nothing, black or white line of thinking is too simplistic. Moving from home to a dorm is a progression preparing them for being on their own.

I am sure you were very independent as you have told us, but that does not change that fact that your view would be in the minority from what most parents would expect of a school where their child is living on their campus.

I even doubt most freshmen if asked would consider living in a dorm as "living on their own". Living away from home yes, but until they are paying for an apartment, and stop eating in a cafeteria, they are far from "own their own".

 

I take your point, but in my experience, "on my own" meant nobody was in charge of my whereabouts and behavior on a day-to-day basis except myself.

 

Thanks for clarifying. I didn't really think that you intended offense to my family, but the way you stated things that possibility was there.

It's very true that students who go to such colleges are usually already used to the strict culture the college represents. However, I can't recall off hand any case whatsoever where kids were sent to the colleges I know about because they couldn't handle life on their own and needed rigid rules. In the fundamentalist culture such kids are sent to a "home" of some kind to get their life in order.

 

The size of these schools is of public record, unlike your guesses. See www.collegeprowler.com.
BJU: 3903 undergrads (not counting the grad school)
Maranatha BBC: 908
Northland International U.: 617
Crown College: 1294
etc.

It certainly sounded like you thought more leave than stay. Here's your original statement, talking about 1000s who excape the conformity, but "many more become disillusioned." I hope you soon learn to state things more clearly.

So now it's only "a few" who maintain their individuality instead of 1000s? Keep working. I'm sure you can find more ways to be abrasive on this thread.

 

My parents kept a leash (it got yanked when we messed up. Otherwise, it wasn't kept tight) on my sister and me when we were growing up. They taught me responsibility in making decisions. When I left home I didn't need a hovering parent or school to watch over me. I had been equipped to make good decisions and to accept responsibility for the bad ones that I made. I am doing the same with my son. My wife and I are trying to teach him personal responsibility, self-discipline, responsible independence, and discernment. Our prayer is that when he leaves home he will be equipped to live on his own without us having to hover over him keeping tabs on his every move. If not, I'll be sure to do one of two things. I'll send him to Pensacola Christian College where there are rules galore and folks to keep tabs on him. Or better yet, send him to the Army or Marines and let a drill sergeant do what I failed to do.

 

But is it right and biblical to be legalistic moralists who care more about appearances than radical heart change? Because that's the experience most people have with fundies.

 

From Tennessee Temple Student Handbook 2010-2011:

I am puzzled why one is so critical at the OP school for its purported rule, yet have "no criticism" for "bright spot" Tennessee Temple.