#Make BJU Exist Again

[wutbju]

Professor Lonnie Polson posted his comments to the BJU Board of Trustees Executive Committee yesterday.

Now, Lonnie is logical and strategic. I don't think I worked with anyone in the BJU Speech dept who more clearly demonstrated the gift of administration as the Apostle Paul describes it. He's a problem-solver through and through.

So when Lonnie gives advice, honestly? You should listen. Just sayin'. And he told the Executive Committee:

I'm writing to petition the executive committee of the board to name Dr. Gary Weier (or another current administrator or senior faculty member) as interim president. It's been an incredibly stressful year for the BJU family. What the faculty and students need most is a season of stability and healing. My fear is that naming an interim from outside the current leadership would be counterproductive to meeting that need. I believe also that naming a current administrator or senior faculty member as interim would send a reassuring message to those who are considering attending BJU. We have so many potential applicants who have not yet "pulled the trigger" on full application because they're taking a wait-and-see approach. I can't blame them. We could do much to communicate stability and viability to our constituency by appointing a known entity from within the current leadership as the face of the school. Frankly, the primary existential threat to the university is low enrollment. Naming a current administrator or senior faculty member as interim would also allow the board adequate time to recruit and vet a new president without having to onboard a temporary one. I do not presume to speak for the entire faculty, but I'm convinced nearly all of us would give similar input. Thanks for listening.

The big takeaways here are, it seems to me:

The BJU students and employees are exhausted.

Applicants for the Class of 2027 are hesitant.

Low enrollment is imminent and would kill BJU.

A temporary/interim needs to be an internal hire.

Gary Weier would be the best choice.

Lonnie's right, of course. I can't say that loudly enough. When Lonnie gives advice, you should listen.

Will they?

[wutbju]

The people interviewing with the Board are not mincing words.

For instance, no BJU president ever has been an official member of a local church.

Right now you're thinking, "Wait. I know Dr. Bob was a member of [insert the church you attended]." Every BJU person has said that. Every one assumes that BJU's top man was a member at their own church. He can't be a member of Hampton Park, Mount Calvary, and Heritage at the same time.

That means, as candidates have been explaining to the Board, that BJU's top man is under no one's authority. He is at the top of the accountability food chain.

That's not good.

I remember when there was a push for the Administrators to finally join a local church. Only two had been members of a church. When Darren Lawson finally joined Heritage Bible, his son had to be baptized at age 17 in order to join.

Think of it -- a child of a BJU administrator had not received this very important Christian sacrament.

Many other BJU employees never attended any church outside the campus.

They never had communion. Their children or they themselves had not been baptized. That's bad.

This is really bad. No accountability. No baptism. No communion. Can you call yourself a Christian without these things?

[wutbju]

May 16. That's what the +++Positives+++ are saying at least. The BJU Board of Trustees will meet on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 to vote on the next President -- at least the interim president.

[wutbju]

Here's a clue.

If you look at the BJU University Leadership listing, a few things become obvious. Look at the list of BJU employees. Let's cross off the ones that signed that big ultimatum letter to the Board.

Gary Weier, PhD

Alan Benson, DMin

John Matthews, MBA

Bobby Wood, PhD

Steve Dickinson, BS

Carol Keirstead, MS

David Fisher, PhD

Beverly Cormican, EdD

Kevin Taylor, MS

David Lovegrove, BS

Renton Rathbun, PhD

Renae Wentworth, EdD

Darren Lawson, PhD

Brian Carruthers, EdD

Richard Stratton, PhD

Jessica Minor, PhD

Kevin Oberlin, PhD

Neal Cushman, PhD

Pattye Casarow, DMA

Brian Trainer, MDiv

Daniel Smith, EdD

Brian Burch, MBA

Susan Wise, BS

Phillip Gerard, MA

Doug Garland, EdD

Jonathan Daulton, MDiv

Deneen Lawson, BAPCT

Neal Ring, EdD

Let's keep going. Here's who's left. Now there are some folks that are out of the running right off: those with ladybits and those who are behind-the-scenes folks.

Carol Keirstead, MS

Kevin Taylor, MS

David Lovegrove, BS

Renton Rathbun, PhD

Pattye Casarow, DMA

Brian Trainer, MDiv

Daniel Smith, EdD

Brian Burch, MBA

Susan Wise, BS

Jonathan Daulton, MDiv

Deneen Lawson, BAPCT

Neal Ring, EdD

Now who's left?

Renton Rathbun, PhD

Brian Trainer, MDiv

Jonathan Daulton, MDiv

Are these three of the candidates for the next president of BJU? They could be considered "pastors" of some variety.

[wutbju]

When the BJU Board of Trustees purged the recent members, they just so happened to purge a very generous and wealthy donor.

That's gonna be a problem. Did you think of that, +++Positives+++?

[wutbju]

Ten.

As of last week, the BJU Board of Trustees has narrowed the pool of candidates to a whopping total of ten.

WutBJU is in contact with one of the interviewees, btw.

They've had months, and they only are now narrowed to ten people?

Maybe they've whittled things down further since last week, but that's a lot of people.

[wutbju]

I sincerely regret ever attending Bob Jones University. I survived two years. It has been five years since I last stepped foot on this campus. I thank God that I got out before things got worse for me. I highly recommend to anyone looking at this school to read the comments on PCC, as I found that the in the candid critiques of PCC there are identical occurrences and traits that they share. Here is a sampling of what I experienced at BJU. I encourage anyone that is interested or who has had similar experiences to contact me at (My name is Andrea. I was a fine arts major there in 1998/99 and 99/2000.)

1. I was woken up in the middle of the night for interrogations. No one can think properly when woken up in the middle of the night. But anything the institution can do to wear you down and control you, and eventually purge you from their institution, they will do.

2. I was threatened expulsion by the Dean of Women for "not fitting into the spirit of the institution." This is a broad statement, meant to be a broad statement. They can and will use this against you if you think for yourself. I was "encouraged" (forced) to sign a statement with ultimatums to continue attending school there. I should have packed up my things that night and hitchiked to parts unknown. Anything would have been better than staying there, but i was young and scared, and only had an abusive home to return to. I still wanted to please others and do what was right. so I signed.

3. Situations DO EXIST in which students are called into the dorm mother's office (cant remember the specific title,but "dorm mother will have to suffice)… to identify other students in PICTURE LINE-UPS for suspected activities. You ARE guilty until proven innocent, and they will use any measure possible to collect information on your personal life, whereabouts, attitudes, habits, associates, reading material, interests, etc. WHen they have sufficiently surveilled you, you will be called in for questioning. I was SEVENTEEN years old when this happened to me. And I mourn that time in my life. It is very hard to speak about, and I have tried to find others since my time in that institution who have had similar things happen to them. A few of my friends from that time experienced the same, as well as my brother in law who was eventually expelled. He is now a missionary in Thailand. If you were thinking he is a horrible reprobate, think again.

4. I believe that my innate sense of personal freedom to think and imagine and dream and entertain new and interdisciplinary ideas was violated. Every night as I went to bed, I imagined things like packing my bags and running away, simply floating away, or being chased. I have heard of others who have survived this institution using the SAME phrases and metaphors. There is no coincidence. See the movie called the Magdalene Sisters. If you are a survivor of Bob Jones University, you will relate and be a bit upset after seeing it, but you will feel less alone.

5. I did meet TWO genuine Christians at BJU. Sometimes, besides my own MIRACULOUS salvation experience there (the only reason i'm glad i went), they are my only lasting "proof" that the idea of a genuine Christian walk with God is possible and still exists in our world today. Thank you Amber and Becky M., wherever you are. Your hugs were real, your concern genuine, and your prayers for me non-compulsory.

6. If you are victimized by the administration (who trains students well to help them surveil and rat on others), it will take you years to heal. THere are many, many students who do not fall victim to this, who make it all four years and do not believe it exists, who have happy, positive experiences, who grow in the Lord there, and move on to become lifelong supporters of this institution. Their experiences are every bit as valid as mine. I believe you need to know about experiences like mine, however, before going there.

7. It was not until long after I was gone from there, that I began to understand the nature of the psychological oppression that I was a victim of. If you are interested, please read The Captive Mind, a book by Polish expatriot writer Czeslaw Milosz. The first chapter, you will find most interesting, if you only read that. The chapter is called "The Pill of Murti-Bing." It is the happiness pill that so many students willingly swallow. Those who do not swallow are miserable… and eventually found… eventually "caught" for some infraction, and then expelled or scared so badly that they never return… which is what happened to me. I came across this reading in art school in later years, and responded in tears and sobs, to my dismay, in front of the whole class. I couldn't hold it in any longer. The pain punched me years later in this public reading. My teacher stopped the class, and I explained between sobs. I consider myself a survivor.

8. Do you want to or do you want your children to go through something like this? After my last days there, I would still, for a few months, wake up in the middle of the night shaking. During my final questioning while there, late at night, a while after the light bell, I was summoned by a hall leader to see the "dorm mother." I was shaking so badly that my roommate had to help me find and put on my shoes, and help me walk down the hall because my whole body was literally RATTLING. I threw up.

I have since forgiven myself for allowing myself to stay there and be hurt for that long. But the pain does not go away. Please, please read comments about PCC, as they are similar. I suspect that a lot of these postings for Bob Jones are censored. They are very good at covering their butts and denying the validity of these sometimes negative experiences.

Please contact me, and I can tell you more.