The Pilgrim’s Protest

By the original Editorial Board of TPP

Pilgrim (pil΄grəm), n. a person who goes on a journey to a sacred or holy place as an act of religious devotion.

Protest (prō΄test), v. making a solemn declaration or affirmation.

Who are we? Why are we “The Pilgrim’s Protest”? We desire to be a student publication dedicated to the free and scholarly exchange of ideas among students and staff. The need for a university, especially a Christian one, to promote, sponsor, and freely publish the many diversified ideas of the people which make up its community is clear. In fact, the word “university” comes from the fusion of two words—“unity” and “diversity.” The very fact that we call ourselves a university should necessitate the call to hear diverse and varied opinions from the community about various ideas of Christian theology, ethics, and politics, as well as everyday CIU affairs.
By not providing the proper forum to speak our minds freely, we only hurt ourselves by making the CIU community weaker and less capable to handle the issues that Christians face on and off the campus. We also lose a vital part of our mission to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.
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Table 1: Top Reasons to Stay at CIU Until Graduation (all respondents, weighted endorsements)

Rank SPRING 2001 FA 2005
1 Atmosphere to grow into a godly person Atmosphere to grow into a godly person
2 Field of study offered from Christian perspective Field of study offered from Christian perspective
3 Close, mentoring relationships with godly professors Close, mentoring relationships with godly professors
4 CIU’s missions vision CIU’s missions vision
5 Like-minded people & life-long relationships Like-minded people & life-long relationships
6 High quality classroom instruction Desire training academic program provides

Table 4: Top Reasons to Leave CIU Before Graduation (all respondents, weighted endorsements)

Rank SPRING 2001 FA 2005
1 Adequate financial aid not available Adequate financial aid not available
2 Mounting debt Mounting debt
3 Standards too strict Standards too strict
4 Too many requirements outside of classroom First choice of field of study not offered
5 Not enough/right kind social / athletic opportunities Assignments are busywork
6 Difficulty of assignments Lack of physical fitness, sport facilities and opportunities
7 Assignments are busywork Too many requirements outside of the classroom

Subject: Student Retention & Ideas for Improvement

- Patterns of retention – is there a particular advisor/major that is losing students? Dean Blewett wants feedback about improvement/retention, critiques, comments, etc. (What are the reasons for students leaving?)

- I see good relationships between students and professors, but not so good relationships between Deans/Administration and students (the students are frowned upon for struggling with certain issues, trying to reach perfection, condemned for not doing well enough) Accountability sheets – the way it’s done feels condemning (blurs lines between faith and institution); Certain rules/things set in place make us feel guilty for things that might not be biblical. Students don’t know how to deal with themselves and don’t know how to function with others or as believers. (standards send mixed signals – the literature we read, the chapels we attend do not show us that grace is a process or that life is a process, we hear a lot about living the victorious life and being “normal” Christians, but we are spoken to as though we should already be there and should have arrived already. We aren’t there yet!) There’s a standard set and it’s discouraging to try to attain perfection and never reach it. You can’t hear the Holy Spirit clearly on issues about the Sabbath, or about when to do homework, etc. We are required to keep track of daily devotions, which send mixed signals to us.
*Dr. Blewett – Are we conveying an attitude of grace in those kind of areas? Are we acting like we have our act together or do you see how we grapple with issues? If you could see how we grapple and learn, are we letting the veil back far enough that you can see our life in process or do we keep you at a distance?*
No…we’re not taught what to do when we fail/mess up. I knew better how to do that before I got here. We are taught to keep it [our problems] a secret! What’s required in non-disciplinary action – meeting with mentors, committing to ongoing counseling at your expense, signing a waiver to allow monitoring of attendance, all for things that are not a sin – depression, etc.). Do they have a right to counseling information?? Read the rest of this entry »

TOTAL SURVEYS RECORDED: 106
HIGHEST TOTAL AVERAGE: TEACHERS/PROFESSORS-4.5
LOWEST TOTAL AVERAGE: STANDARDS-3

On Tuesday March 6th 2007 The Pilgrim’s Protest released a Student Input Survey. The last question on this survey asked the student, “If you could change one thing about your college experience here at CIU, what would it be”?

•Encourage Discipleship

•Some of the standards inspire guilt where God does not intend guilt to be, feeding a false spirituality and sense of morals.

•Be trusted to carry out FED/standards requirements. If I can’t have personal integrity, I shouldn’t be here.

•I wish that girls had the same sense of honest camaraderie as guys.
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