(BJU) I graduated from BJU in 1993

How this student rated the school

Educational Quality	F	Faculty Accessibility	B
Useful Schoolwork	D	Excess Competition	D
Academic Success	D	Creativity/ Innovation	F
Individual Value	C	University Resource Use	F
Campus Aesthetics/ Beauty	F	Friendliness	A
Campus Maintenance	A+	Social Life	D
Surrounding City	F	Extra Curriculars	B
Safety	A+

Describes the student body as: Broken Spirit, Snooty, Closeminded Describes the faculty as: Friendly, Helpful

Female

Average

Lowest Rating Educational Quality	F

Highest Rating Campus Maintenance	A+

She cares more about Campus Aesthetics/ Beauty than the average student.

Date: May 11 2009
Major: Business - Management and Administration (This Major's Salary over time)
I graduated from BJU in 1993. A few years later I graduated (second four-year degree) from the University of SC. So I am in the somewhat unique position of being able to compare BJU with a real school.

At the time of my graduation from BJU I was among those who say that whatever you may think of BJU's religous/political views and bizarre campus rules, BJU offers a good education. However after graduated from USC, my views have changed radicly (my spelling remains poor).

BJU is not an institution of higher learning. It is instead a high quality Bible School. There is no academic freedom here, no desire to persue scientific truth no matter what the outcome of that pursuit may be. The Univeristy is very straight forward about this. They openly say that the faculty is not chosen because of their academic excellence or achievements, but rather because of their "correct" political/religious views.

My teacher (yes, teacher not professor) of an advanced business class that I took in my senior year was a prime example of this. He had only a four year degree from BJU (with a C average by his own admission) and a few years of job experience at a small branch bank. That's right, gentle reader, that was the extent of his academic qualifications. So, consequently, every day after Chapel we had story time (the class met immediately after Chapel). The poor fellow, who genuinely was a nice enough guy but blazingly under qualified, would read to us from Orwells' Animal Farm. It was his way of communicating via the authority of the printed word the evils of the Democratic Party and Liberals in general (those evil communists!). This is touchingly pathetic in and of its self, but apparently he, as well as the whole University family, had forgotten that Bob Jones Sr. debated on the side of the Populist movement in the 1920s. But I digress.

The biggest differences I saw between BJU and USC where:

Enthusiasm among the students for the material being taught. At USC I was suprised at the interesting discussions that sprang up during the lectures. This was acedemic freedom in action and engaged students to boot. At BJU no one would dare to engage a professor in academic debate - unless they had a death wish or wanted to go home to see their parents earlier than expected.

Equality and friendship among students and faculty. The USC professors seemed to really enjoy student/teacher interaction, if the student was up to the challenge and could earn their respect in acedemic give and take. Again, BJU is very open about this. Part of my class instructions for my freshman research paper was: no thesis that challenged University policy on any subject. Academic debate was strictly forbidden.

Perparation for the business world. BJU excelled at this and USC did very poorly. When you graduate from BJU you will not only know how to dress like a member of senior corporate management but will feel comfortable doing it. The downside of this is: your four years of college will feel like four years at an insurance seminar. This may or may not be a disadvantage depending on your personality.

Language and Mathematics. BJU was very weak on math (pre-calc and calc) and very strong on foreign language and speech class. USC was just the opposite. You will sweat in USC math classes, but waltz through BJU's. And you can get A's in USC foriegn language classes with scariously any attempt at fluency.

In Conclusion:

BJU is great for what it is. And it is remarkable for what it is. What other fundy school stages grand opera? where you can hear one of the finest tenors in the operatic world sing an Italian aria celebrating the fickleness of women? And also see Bowderlized verzions of Shakespeare plays with the archaic cuss words hilariously (unintentional humor) excised? In a play where Falstaff celebrates debauchery. What other protestant fundy school has an art gallery full of Roman Catholic icons? BJU is a fascinating collision of eras, culture, politics, and outright huckterism. But be aware that this is not a real school by any definition. Exhibit A: All of its University presidents from its founding to the present day have had only honorary doctrate degrees. Come now ask yourself, "Is this really a real school?" I am digressing here, but "Dr" Bob Jones III's lack of intellectual horse power was embarrassing.

Responses

I know. I too went to USC after languishing at BJones. I could not believe the freedom of expression and the open , joyous discussion forums. I loved USC. I love discussion and give and take and questions and disagreements and hearing varied opinions. None of this was allowed at BJones. NONE of it.

Well, well… looks like you and I were in the same macroeconomics course taught by Carver! What does it say about the course that I got more out of his reading of Orwell than what he had to say about economic matters?

I'm also a 1993 grad (mathematics). As far as the math courses themselves were concerned, it's true that at the lower levels, the quality was hit-and-miss. However, the junior-level and senior-level courses ended up comparing favorably to what a student would experience at a reputable institution. To make a long story short, I ended up getting a Ph.D. in math from Clemson, but only because neither of my first two choices (Illinois and Michigan) wanted me, due primarily to the accreditation issue. During my career as a math professor, I demonstrated competence in both the teaching and research arenas, in spite of the fact that the first four years of my mathematics education were spent at Bob Jones.

All that being written, I will never fully recover from the deep psychological scars that Christian fundamentalism, and in particular BJU, inflicted upon me over the first thirty-plus years of my life. To this day, I have trouble interacting with people in various routine settings; what normally-reared people take for granted has often proved novel to me. I've had to work extremely hard to enjoy a full complement of normal life experiences, yet there is so much more that I have missed out on - things I might never, and in some cases never will, experience - and much of the responsibility for that lies squarely at the feet of fundamentalism, and Bob Jones University in particular. They'll never demonstrate such accountability for their actions, but that by no means negates their culpability.

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