and (over)committing them to our groups and causes, no one can convince the Pepperdine student to have a shred the name of this magazine).
of school spirit.
Pepperdine: What other people see is a beautiful
In fairness, I’ll use myself as an example. I generally
campus filled with beautiful people taking up torches for
spend just as much time working at the Graphic as I do
beautiful causes — social justice, microfinance and some
working on my classes in any given week, topped off with
equally beautiful third thing that Rick Perry can’t remember.
a dollop of internship. For years, I have literally poured
The Huffington Post thinks we’re “trendy,” GQ thinks we’re
my blood (if you count paper cuts), sweat and tears into
“douchy.” At the Pepperdine they see, we are all tanned
that newspaper. I have never known a Pepperdine without
socialites cruising down PCH in our Maseratis with a clean blue
the Graphic. For a long time, I planned to leave it in my
— no, “cerulean” — finish to match that cloudless California sky.
senior year to pursue other interests, but by that point it
At the Pepperdine I see, it would be considered far trendier
felt a bit like I would be improvising at the eleventh hour.
to drive a two-tone VW hippie van. Bonus points if you are
And let me tell you, I was not about to pull that off as well
barefoot or bearded.
as Napoleon Dynamite did. But even more than sticking
We know all the media jabs about us being shallow as
with what I knew well, I felt like I would be turning away
a glass of milk are in good fun, and I must remember that
from the people. I knew I would find myself up there on
there’s more than one grain of truth to the things they say.
deadline nights doing homework, tossing out headline
But perception is the architect of reality, so their lopsided
suggestions from the corner and going to dinner with
evaluations tend to stick. Maybe all the fumes from the
them. So I stayed and learned to balance it with new
Toyotas have clouded my mind, but I think Pepperdine is more
pursuits. I can’t help it: I care about our group. I want to
diverse than we get credit for in the media.
invest in its improvements.
That’s right — for all the campus chatter surrounding our
On the other hand, I can probably count the number
supposed lack of diversity, we are far less homogenous than
of sporting events I’ve been to on one hand, and not
even we give ourselves credit for.
just because journalists can only count on their hands.
There are so many faces and groups present at
Unless we’re playing Gonzaga or they’re doling out free
Pepperdine. We put so much emphasis on studying abroad
Snuggies for the first 350 students to arrive, the games
we forget that being at Pepperdine is studying abroad for so
are consistently under-attended. Compared to other
many students here. There is not a continent unrepresented,
schools, we’re less enthusiastic than Paula Deen at a
technically barring Antarctica, which only magnifies our need
salad bar. I don’t need to describe how collegiate athletics
for a penguin exhibit in the Caf.
is hallowed at other universities because we’ve all seen
Within our population, we have students from completely
it on TV, experienced it at other schools. I hate to say it,
different walks of life. We’ve got all the regional favorites,
but the last Pepperdine game I attended was giving away
from East Coast J. Crew worshippers to Southern belles, the
free In-N-Out, and to that I say: It’s In-N-Out! Can you
everything’s-better-in-Texas group, Seattle coffee-sippers and
blame me? Well, yes, I suppose you can (just barely). Our
West Coast beach bums. We come from diverse experiences,
athletes train day in and out, rain or shine, for half the
with many having to learn how much hurt a heart can hold
applause, and I showed up for a burger.
before they should have had to do so. We have some who
Where is our school spirit? Why must a free
chose to become Waves because this is their dream school
ShamWow be dangled in front of us to make us come
and others whose families nudged them here. Some chose
together? Maybe it’s our marketing of events that needs
Pepperdine for its location, its prestige, its drive to integrate
a change, or maybe it’s us.
faith and reason, its small class sizes, its fill-in-the-blank. Naturally, our majors divide us into neat groups. From there, we further classify ourselves into smaller subcultures:
Do we simply not care about our school? Do we ceaselessly proclaim how blessed we are to be here but offer nothing more than words in appreciation?
athletic kids, theater kids, Greek kids, band kids, broadcast kids,
Or do we care immensely, but only about our little
art kids, science kids, Graphic kids (hooray!) and a thousand
groups, our specific clubs, our circle of friends? Could we
more you will find on any campus. This doesn’t even factor in
really be as nearsighted as the Huffington Post and GQ
some of the most zealous Pepperdiners around, the perennial
suggest we are?
groups exclusive to Pepperdine: the Dance in Flight circle, the NSO leaders, the Songfest enthusiasts. But for all the time we put into neatly subdividing our lives
No, no, a thousand times no. It is true that we’re all thumbs with the ra-ra-ra kind of school spirit and we could be better about attending campus events that don’t feature Condoleezza Rice or dish out Hot Pockets. But to condemn Pepperdine for its “apathy” would do a grave
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