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Bob Jones University

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Bob Jones University

Bob Jones University Logo (Trademark of BJU)

MottoPetimus Credimus.
Established 1927
School type Private
President Stephen Jones
Location Greenville, SC, USA
Enrollment 3,592+ undergraduate
600+ graduate
Faculty/Staff 1,800
Campus Suburban
225 acres (911,000 m²)
Sports teams intramural
Website www.bju.edu

Bob Jones University (BJU) is a private, non-denominational, Christian liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1927 by Bob Jones, Sr., an evangelist and revival-preacher, it is the largest private liberal arts university in South Carolina.

The current president of the University is Stephen Jones, son of previous school president Bob Jones III and the first president of the University not named "Bob Jones." The university enrolls approximately 4,200 students with a staff of 1,800. It offers degrees in 126 majors, plus additional schools from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The University is currently a candidate for accreditation through the Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, allowing it to be listed as an accredited institution.

Its mission statement read as follows: Within the cultural and academic soil of liberal arts education, Bob Jones University exists to grow Christlike character that is Scripturally disciplined; others-serving; God-loving; Christ-proclaiming; and focused above.

The school is also known for its strong connection to the anti-Catholic movement in Ireland, and anti-Catholic movements in general.

Interracial relationships at the university were prohibited for many years, but the ban was lifted in 2000 after Dr. Bob Jones III announced its nullification on Larry King Live.

Creed

Students at BJU recite the University Creed at chapel services four days a week.

I believe in the inspiration of the Bible (both the Old and the New Testaments); the creation of man by the direct act of God; the incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; His identification as the Son of God; His vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind by the shedding of His blood on the cross; the resurrection of His body from the tomb; His power to save men from sin; the new birth through the regeneration by the Holy Spirit; and the gift of eternal life by the grace of God.

History

BJU was founded in 1927 by evangelist Bob Jones, Sr., in College Point, Florida. Jones was the son of an Alabama sharecropper. His stated purpose was to create a school where Christian students could receive a high-quality education in a strongly traditional Christian environment. The following is a direct quotation from the BJU homepage:

Established in 1927 by evangelist Bob Jones Sr., Bob Jones University is known as the citadel of biblical Christianity for its adherence to the Bible as mankind's only source of faith and Christian practice. Throughout his travels, Dr. Bob Jones Sr. saw students whose faith was shaken during college, and he recognized the need for a thoroughly Christian school to train America's youth. His vision was to establish a training center for Christians from around the world that would be distinguished by its academic excellence, refined standards of behavior, and opportunities to appreciate the performing and visual arts. At the same time, Dr. Jones's intent was to make a place where Christ would be the center of all thought and conduct.

The school moved to Cleveland, Tennessee in 1933, and to its present campus in Greenville, South Carolina in 1947.

From its 1927 founding to 1971, African American people were prohibited from enrolling. From 1971 to 1975, only unmarried black people were permitted to apply to the school. After the 1975 court decision of McCrary v. Runyon, which prohibited racial exclusion from private schools, the policy was changed. A person of any race could apply to the school, but the school adopted a disciplinary rule prohibiting interracial dating or marriage:

There is to be no interracial dating.
  1. Students who are partners in an interracial marriage will be expelled. [461 U.S. 574, 581]
  2. Students who are members of or affiliated with any group or organization which holds as one of its goals or advocates interracial marriage will be expelled.
  3. Students who date outside of their own race will be expelled.
  4. Students who espouse, promote, or encourage others to violate the University's dating rules and regulations will be expelled."

The former policies of Bob Jones University on interracial dating are indebted to the founder's view that the Bible forbids interracial dating and marriage; though today Bob Jones University sometimes claims that the policy is a product of a (1950s) legal threat on the part of the parents of a female Asian student who threatened legal action after learning that their daughter was dating a white student.

The school lost its Internal Revenue Service tax exemption in 1980 because of its anti-interracial dating policy. The school appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the school met the criteria for tax-exempt status on several counts, including that the school's racial discrimination was based on sincerely held religious beliefs. U.S. President Ronald Reagan supported the school's tax exempt status, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favour of the IRS in 1983 (see Bob Jones University v. United States, 461 U.S. 574) and the school does not intend to seek tax-exempt status again. In 2000, the policy was dropped entirely after some experimentation with a policy of parental consent for interracial dating, shortly after the State of South Carolina formally legalized interracial marriage.[1]

BJU announced in 1998 that it would arrest a homosexual graduate, Wayne Mouritzen, for trespassing if he visited the campus. [2]

Academics

The University is composed of six colleges and schools that offer over 125 undergraduate majors. Among these majors are fourteen "trade school" programs that range from aircraft management to cosmetology. Classes are also offered by correspondence and through the University's live, interactive satellite system.

BJU also operates Bob Jones University Press, one of the two major publishers of curriculum for K-12 Christian schools in America (the other being A Beka Books, which is affiliated with BJU's chief rival, Pensacola Christian College).

Extracurriculars

The University has intramural sports programs in many different fields including soccer, basketball, softball, track, volleyball, tennis, badminton, and table tennis. The highlight of the sports season is the Turkey Bowl, where the top two societies (the University's version of fraternities and sororities) compete in a soccer match usually during Thanksgiving.

The University also competes in intercollegiate debate in the National Educational Debate Association.

Achievements

Bob Jones, Jr., son of the founder, had an interest in art depicting scenes from the Bible, especially those which had a highly illustrative nature rather than those relying on symbols. He began collecting after World War II, and concentrated on Italian Baroque painters. This style was out of favor in the mid-20th century and the works were relatively inexpensive, and Jones built up an important collection. He donated his paintings to a museum at the University. The BJU Museum & Gallery now is considered the largest collection of religious art in the Western Hemisphere. In his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, Al Franken makes tongue in cheek allegations that some of BJU's art collection may have been confiscated from Jewish families - including possibly his own - by the Nazis, allegations which BJU denies.

Controversial national recognition

Largely due to the national attention received after the scuffle with the IRS and its ban on interracial dating, the school has been seen as a racist institution (especially outside of the southern United States). The school does however have a number of international students and has received recognition in intercollegiate debate competitions.

Graduate school controversy

Graduates have been accepted into medical schools at a rate that exceeds the national average. Graduates in other fields have been accepted into many law schools and graduate programs at other colleges and universities. According to some college rating sites, however, some graduates have said that they had difficulty getting into law schools.

Biology

The BJU biology department proclaims its support for creationism. Its Department of Biology's website states:

Although Bob Jones University is primarily a teaching institution, the members of the science faculty have a long tradition of speaking, writing, and doing research related to defending the Bible's account of creation.

Since many academic biologists consider the theory of evolution's explanation of biological diversity the foundation of their science, this embrace of creationism may be one of the major reasons that BJU has chosen to forego accreditation until recently. BJU is currently seeking accreditation as a Christian college; however, even should the university as a whole attain accredited status, it remains likely that a bachelor's degree in biology from BJU would not be recognized by any accredited Ph.D. program in the biological sciences as legitimately fulfilling the prerequisites for graduate study.

Rules for students

Bob Jones has a notably strict series of rules governing life while at the university. [3][4][5] As previously described, some of the rules have been retracted for various reasons throughout the schools history. The rules are consistent with several other Christian universities throughout the United States.

Commentators such as Christianity Today have argued that BJU focuses on rules rather than principles, noting that, "a recent BJU handbook prohibits students from promoting Calvinism or Arminianism, speaking in tongues, wearing beards, and listening to music recorded after 1960." BJU announced in 1998 that it will arrest a homosexual graduate for trespassing if he visits the campus. [6] According to the Boston Globe, BJU has a reputation for stringent rules even among other Christian colleges:

If you ask a student at non-fundamentalist evangelical schools like Wheaton in Illinois or Gordon in Wenham, Mass, what they think of Bob Jones, you will get looks of horror far worse than you'll get from secular kids — along with questions about whether Bob Jones really has separate pink and blue sidewalks for men and women. (It doesn't, though women are still forbidden to wear pants.)[7]

College administrators state with pride that their institution's unchanging ways are like "stroking the cat in the wrong direction." [8]

General rules

Work

  • Students are permitted to work until 10:25 pm on weekdays and 12 am on weekends. Freshmen are required to be accompanied by a prayer captain, assistant prayer captain, or upperclassman. Sophomores and upperclassmen are permitted to work without supervision.
  • Vehicles are not permitted to be used by freshmen and sophomores in order to commute to and from work.
  • If a student is employed as a server in a restaurant, they are forbidden from serving alcoholic beverages to patrons.
  • Solicitation by students in the Greenville area is forbidden. All students are required to have a retail license or permission from the Dean of Students to solicit services door to door.
  • Nightly, weekday prayer meetings are mandatory.

Male dress code

  • Men's hair is required to be traditionally styled with a conservative cut. Hair must not be colored or highlighted and is not permitted to be shaved, shelved, tangled or spiked.
  • Sideburns may not reach past the center of the ear. It is recommended that men be clean-shaven at all times.
  • Men may not wear earrings, necklaces, or bracelets of any kind.
  • No hats are allowed indoors except in the gymnasium.
  • Tattoos and body piercings are forbidden.
  • Due to hostility towards Christians and degenerate advertising, the Univeristy will not allow articles of any kind to display the logos of Abercrombie & Fitch and its subsidiary Hollister. These items may not be carried or displayed, even if they are hidden.
  • Morning dress consists of the following: dress shirt (no denim or chambray) with tie, dress or ironed casual pants (no jeans, cargo, carpenter, or sloppy pants), dress or leather casual shoes. Sweaters should show shirt collar and tie knot. No sweatshirts are allowed.
  • Afternoon dress will include a collared shirt (no crew necks), neat casual pants, dress or casual shoes (no slippers or sandals). Socks should be above the ankle, and sweatshirts or sweaters are permitted.
  • Sunday dress requires a coat, tie, dress shirt, dress shoes, dress or dressier casual pants.
  • Recreation and work dress may include jeans and t-shirts. Sleeveless athletic shirts may be worn during indoor activities only. Shorts may be worn at athletic facilities but not as spectators at sporting events. Socks are required at all times.

Female dress code

General and classroom dress for women consists of a dress or top and skirt. Pants are allowed for some recreational activities. Women may never wear shorts outside the residence halls and fitness center.

  • Tops
    • The middle area of the torso may never be exposed. Tops must be long enough to cover the female partition separating the abdominal and thoracic cavitities.
    • Sleeveless tops and dresses may be worn with a blouse, jacket, or sweater. In all other cases, sleeves are required and cloth must cover the arm.
    • Necklines are allowed to drop four fingers below the collarbone, but no more.
  • Skirts
    • Hemlines, slits or other openings may never be higher than the bottom of the knee.
    • Denim skirts are allowed for casual dress but not allowed in class or other professional events.
  • Pants
    • Baggy pants may be worn between female residence halls, for the purpose of athletic events, and to local area residences.
    • Loose-fitting jeans may be worn between women's residence halls and when participating in activities where such fabric is necessary, like ice-skating and skiing.
    • Low-riders are forbidden at all times.
  • Ease
    • All clothing, such as dresses, skirts, pants, and shirts, must be loose-fitting. There must be a minimum of three inches of "ease" at bust and hips.
    • There should be at least a 3/4-inch fold of fabric on both sides of the hips and bust. This "ease" may be measured by standing straight and pinching the loose fabric on both sides of the hips and bust line.
  • Other
    • Thin and transparent clothing is allowed only when the undergarment meets the normal dress code.
    • Hose are required for all professional activities, including church, recitals, and class.
    • Shoes like combat or hiking boots are not permitted.
    • Feminine, neat, and orderly hairstlyes are required. Masculine, fashionable, and/or short cuts should be avoided.
    • Tattoos are prohibited. Excessive makeup is forbidden. A maximum of two matched sets of earrings are allowed, and they must be worn in the lobe of the ear. Any other body piercings is prohibited.
    • The policy regarding Abercrombie & Fitch as described in the male dress code section also applies to women.

Political campaigns

Over the years many gubernatorial and presidential candidates have spoken at the school, including Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp, Bob Dole, and Alan Keyes. Democrats tend to avoid the school, and on a national level, it is mainly Republicans who appear there (see Southern strategy).

On February 2, 2000, George W. Bush, while campaigning to become U.S. President, addressed the school's chapel service. Many people disagreed with Bush's decision to speak at the controversial institution. Bush's speech did not include any mention of either the school's ban on interracial dating or its anti-Catholic teachings. Following a public outcry that many perceived as a mere political attack, the Bush campaign promptly released remarks declaring that Bush was neither anti-Catholic nor a racist, and that his brother Jeb Bush could not have dated his wife (who is Latina) if he had attended the school. Bush also appeared before the press to deny that he either knew or approved of what he regarded as the school's intolerant policies.

On February 26, after twenty-four days of considerable media pressure, Bush also wrote a formal letter of apology to Cardinal John O'Connor of New York for failing to denounce Bob Jones University's history of strongly anti-Catholic prejudice (among other things, the university's founder once called the Catholic Church a "satanic cult"). At a news conference following the letter's release, Bush stated: "I make no excuses. I had an opportunity and I missed it. I regret that." and "I wish I had gotten up then and seized the moment to set a tone, a tone that I had set in Texas, a positive and inclusive tone."

On March 3, the school issued a "Letter to the Nation" defending their position and arguing that the real issue of the media pressure was religious freedom. [9]

People associated with BJU

Famous graduates

Other alumni

  • Billy Graham, evangelist
  • John F. MacArthur, pastor, author, and radio preacher
  • Fred Phelps, pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, whose association with the school ended abruptly after two semesters there. Phelps claims he left in opposition to the school's racial policies; school employees told the Topeka Capital Journal newspaper in 1994 that Phelps was in essence expelled due to mental instability.

Famous honorary degree recipients

Mentions in Movies

  • The Ladykillers (2004) - The remake of the movie included a character who sent money to Bob Jones University on a regular basis. The joke was that she was an elderly African-American woman who was clearly oblivious to the school's racist tendencies.

News Stories

Commentary

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