Cedarville University

Date: May 22 2019
Major: History/Histories (art history/etc.) (This Major's Salary over time)
Cedarville. Hoo-boy. Where to start. I just finished my sophomore year in the international studies major; most of my professors have been anywhere between good to fantastic, truly caring about the students. Also, the campus is pretty, with a lake in the center. Beautiful flowers bloom on the trees whenever spring comes. Unfortunately, Cedarville often seems fake. Other students may try convincing you that they?re the perfect Christian or act like they can?t relate to you if you struggle with depression, like me. Cedarville requires 5-day-a-week-chapel-attendance. I have repeatedly heard (in chapel) the message that depression/anxiety are sinful/the result of lack of faith. One chapel condemned the use of medication for depression. In the past, certain chapel messages have also discouraged me in my faith. Some of the Cedarville administration is, in my humble opinion, sexist. When the university's current president began that role, all of the women professors in the Bible department were laid off, and the 25-member board of the university reduced its number of women members to one. According to a news article on this faculty shakeup, President Dr. White said ?Our position is that we don?t train women to be in the office of pastor, elder or bishop.? The idea that they shouldn?t be elders is insulting, as elders are often important voices in the church who vote on various church decisions and issues. The position that women should not be pastors does not surprise me, as it is common among baptists. Personally, I have no problem with women being pastors. (I am a woman, if you?re wondering). What bothers me is the hypocrisy: Cedarville encourages all students to join a local church, as their position is that university chapel does not count as church. Cedarville?s position is that women should not lead in the church, but leading in other areas of life is okay. The hypocrisy comes from the fact that Cedarville now will not allow women to ?lead? as professors at an academic institution, nor will they allow women to teach theology in chapel, which, by their own admission, is not church.

Officially, women who speak in chapel are only allowed to share ?testimonials? (personal stories), but they cannot teach theology because that is seen as exerting authority over the men in the chapel, which, in my humble opinion, is bull. I?ve encountered a fair amount of sexism in my interactions with certain male students, although that that could be a problem at any university. If you have any opinion that does not align with Cedarville?s particular brand of conservatism, chances are, you may be judged if you choose to share it. A couple chapels in the year were purely political messages, without referencing God, which bothered me, because the students were basically a captive audience for someone?s political agenda.

Although Cedarville frequently emphasizes that it ?is not legalistic,? I find that actions often do not support these words. Cedarville can be so overbearing that they treat the students like children rather than adults. Students are required to sign a contract that promises that they will not consume alcohol as long as they attend Cedarville, even if they are of age, off campus, or on break. There is a strict curfew (midnight during the school week and 1 o?clock during the weekend) that will result in a fine charged directly to your student account if violated. Women are not allowed into the mens? dorms and vice versa except at designated times. Cedarville monitors everyone?s internet activity, and several websites are blocked from access. Every computer in the Steven?s Student Center building has a little plaque on it to let you know that internet activity is being monitored, so ?do all that you do to the glory of God.? Good intentions, maybe, but a little Orwellian, in my humble opinion. Cedarville has what its students call a ?ring by spring? culture, meaning that everyone is seriously rushed to get married, for whatever reason. I am 20 years old and know many already-married-Cedarville-students my age/younger. The university has ?married housing? for them, so it?s not just a handful of people who get hitched ASAP. I considered transferring from Cedarville earlier in my sophomore year, but many of the credits would not transfer to another university. Cedarville requires everyone to get a Bible minor, too. I am almost done with that, so that would also be wasted. Cedarville also is very particular about accepting credits from high school AP classes. If you transfer to Cedarville and already have taken Gen-Ed science classes, you?ll still have to take science classes at Cedarville, because their courses are different in that they offer the evolutionary perspective and the creationist perspective. On the bright side, though, I have discovered that not everyone is the same there. If you look hard enough, you will find some pretty cool people, and people who think for themselves rather than blindly accepting everything that the university feeds them in chapel. I think critical thinking is an important part of faith. I say all this partially to vent, yes, but also because I would have liked to have known all this myself before I committed to Cedarville.