I
have had mixed feelings about Liberty University. I am a
student and I am employed as full-time staff so I
have had an opportunity to see things from both sides
of the fence. I have been impressed overall with the
academic portion of my time at Liberty. In my major,
I have been challenged and have enjoyed having the professors
available to discuss theory. They have truly been mentors, friends,
and excellent examples of how Christians should live and work.
The department is small but growing and this has helped
to build that sense of caring and family. I have
heard rumors of other academic departments not having as good
of fortune. I am purposely not mentioning my major
for fear that if I am discovered it will cause
the loss of my job which I need to support
my family while I am here at Liberty. That is
how it works here at Liberty. If show any hint
of independent thought or originality you are dismissed as a
trouble maker. You are expected to just keep your head
down and do what you are told. No questions asked.
It has been suggested that slavery is not dead but
rather has changed forms. A lot of the comments that
I have read show dissatisfaction with financial aid, LUO, and
other departments. This is due to the fact that there
are no real-world training programs in place and if there
are any it really doesn't matter because the turnover rate
is so high due to oppressive micro-management and unrealistic goals
for people who are paid only a few dollars above
minimum wage that there are not many people who have
experience. Those that do are supervisors and it is not
likely that you will get to speak to one.
I have also had experience with the athletics department and
I am not impressed. They lack integrity and will sacrifice
doing what is right just to maintain the charade of
Christian excellence. Rumors of football “keggers” are true and drug
issues are swept under the rug. At Liberty it is
all about the image. This is also shown at CFAW
(college for a weekend) where big name Christian bands and
extra-curricular activities abound. It is nothing more than a sales
pitch to lure those who are considering attending into thinking
that Liberty is one non-stop Christian party. It is marketing
at its finest and Liberty does it well.
That leads
into my next point. Money. Liberty, in my opinion and
from what I've seen, serves money. It is there god.
I cannot go into details but they steal money from
there employees through coercion. When a Christian university begins to
minimize its residential programs including its seminary programs in favor
of online classes you have to ask the question why?
It is because online programs make million whereas residential programs
often struggle to break even. The quality of the academics
are sure to suffer as teachers begin to leave to
go where they can shape the minds of young students
through real physical interaction. I have been greatly concerned as
to how long my degree will hold its value due
to this.
In closing, The faculty, generally, are excellent, caring
individuals. I have only had one professor that whom I
thought should reevaluate his choice to be an instructor. The
administration is a joke. It is an institution where the
“brother-in-law” syndrome is running rampant and non-spiritual people are attempting
to do spiritual things. People in leadership are prideful and
suspicious. Control and manipulation rule the day. It is an
oppressive environment where managers go on power trips and lord
their authority over their subordinates. The administration is not spiritually
healthy.
In short: It can be very difficult at
most times to identify what Liberty does that is different
from the world. Liberty needs to make a decision about
where they are heading. If it is going to go
the way of Harvard and Yale then do it. Stop
riding the fence. Liberty, you are the epitome of “luke-warm”
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