ORU, birthplace of Teen Mania in so many ways, announced a new written Amnesty and Restoration policy for students who have violated the Honor Code.
Clarence Boyd, dean of spiritual formation, explained that fear of the consequences of confession used to prevent students from ever seeking help with their private struggles.
“The perception was that if you say something, you get kicked out of school,” he said.
No longer.
He said he wants students to realize that amnesty has always been available.
Students need not fear having to leave ORU if they come forward seeking help.
And further on down the press release:
President Rutland said this positive response from students only underscores the need for second chances and healing on campus.
“There’s a need for grace everywhere,” he said.
“[This policy] is reflective of the new spirit of grace that is on the campus.”
It is the hope of the president and faculty that this atmosphere of honesty and transparency will strip off the masks of pretense sometimes sported at Christian schools.
Dean Olsen said this is what is at the heart of the policy.
“Too much of the time, students can fake it without being ‘whole.’ This policy comes from a genuine desire to see [students] get whole.”
I applaud this effort to apply grace and transparency in the Christian community. Threats or fears of being kicked out have no place in the Christian family. I can only hope that one day Teen Mania will realize that.
14 comments:
Maybe TM will follow suit? If so, would you be more inclined about supporting the HA?
This change alone would not be enough for me to support the HA. It does nothing to end the physical, verbal and psychological abuse.
I think for me to want to send my own child there (that’s the measure I would use to use the word “support”) I’d want to see that there is no more ESOAL or other LTE’s that are emotionally abusive and physically abusive. I’d also want to see some additional accountability with the breakdown of leadership so instances such as what Eliza’s Story describes never, ever, happen. I want my daughter to know she can be real, not faking being “on fire” all the time, not be afraid to say she’s ill or tired, not be afraid to be herself.
If only they could have heard Gods voice about this when Keith Green was there! But I do say I love the changes going on at ORU.
Yeah, I love Keith Green. But he was pretty cut and dry sometimes when it came to grace toward other Christians. I watched the documentary on his life and his best friend said Keith was so passionate it sometimes drove him and others crazy. But I believe that zealous passion came from a deep love for Jesus and how he can change a life.
I’m glad ORU is really emphasizing this. I went to a different Christian college where pre-marital sex was forbidden by the Honor Code and was immediately a dismissal–so girls who got pregnant were forced to choose between being expelled or having an abortion. Not surprisingly, guys were rarely punished under this rule since it was nearly impossible to prove unless they were caught in the act. And the girls would never give up the guy’s name. It was the sickiest, opposite of Christianity and made me lose respect for my school. I know this is a common scenario at many Christian colleges. Instead of emphasizing zero tolerance for immoral behavior, wouldn’t it be more Christ like to focus on grace, forgiveness, and redemption? I hope TM does take notice of this and really think about it.
I went to school in Tulsa (not ORU), and many of my friends attended ORU. I took more than a handful friends to Planned Parenthood to get a morning-after pill, and one to get an abortion. Even though none of these girls believed in those options, they would rather do that than suffer the shame of having a baby and getting kicked out of school. The friend who had an abortion made it very clear that she would take her own life if she was found out, and the consequences were just too great to bear. I also helped a couple of friends pack up their stuff when they got expelled for getting pregnant, while their boyfriends/baby-daddies were able to remain enrolled classes and went completely unscathed.
I hope that this is for real, and not just a token thing on ORU’s part. They’ve already damaged thousands of young people with their archaic and misguided moral code.
ORU rocks! love the school 🙂
I wonder how many abortions happened in Christian Schools around the nation so that girls could stay in school. Out of sight, out of mind. To those children lost – I am sorry.
FCL,
It is sad. I went to a Christian University, but it is was NO WHERE near as strict. I knew someone who got pregnant and her “consequence” was that she couldn’t live on campus, but she was still able to attend the school.
FCL at one of the Christian Colleges several friends went to a girl got pregnant and the leadership talked to her and her partner about what they wanted to do giving them the options of Getting married on campus during chapel and moving them into married student housing, allowing her to keep paying them as if she was living on campus and moving her to the apartments directly off campus and helping her adopt the child out to one of the staff that was infertile anything that she could want they would help with as long as she didn’t abort. Because the couple were both on campus and actually loved each other they got married at chapel before she was showing and they never talked badly about it even some of the professors helped with babysitting so the couple could finish. When they told me about this they made sure to point out that infinite grace was used in that ANY situation the two of them could chose marriage adoption or her keeping the child and them not getting married right away would have been supported by the college as long as the couple came to them. So I don’t think it’s correct to assume all christian schools would have such an air of silence that people would abort.
Good points heartsfire – I’m just not used to Christians being sane and loving. So it can come as a surprise when they do make good choices.
FCL I get that I do and seriously I love that College for what it did for my church camp friends who went there. Because they chose to do the wedding during chapel the college footed the bill for all but their reception so yea this is why you will often hear me saying PLEASE skip the HA and find a Christian College to go to for a year or two. Most Christian colleges allow for an Associates that can then transfer to any 4 year institution for any degree you may want, you don’t lose the academic time and you still get the biblical foundation. THAT is my suggestion to ANY person thinking about going to the HA to seriously consider getting the Associates at a CC instead.
FYI – I know you mentioned the Guts Fight Night because at least 2 former interns worked there.
Dean Olsen used to work at Teen Mania and was an intern too, I believe. He went on many mission trips with them as well.
Not all intern grads who are in leadership now are out of line!