Where Faith Meets Understanding

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It is no secret that the past year has been a tumultuous one in higher education. Protests raged on many college campuses and interfered with university life. As tensions flared, legitimate questions were raised about the ability of academic institutions to foster true viewpoint diversity and protect the safety and well-being of their students—and of Jewish students, in particular.

In many ways, the university is the cradle of society. The values instilled in students today will shape the worlds of business, science, culture, and public life tomorrow. This is why student experiences within our universities carry such weight. And it’s part of the reason why the events that have unfolded on many university campuses over this past year have been so troubling.

I think Martin Buber was prescient, and even prophetic, when he said that “the real struggle” in society is the struggle “between education and propaganda.” His words ring as poignant today as they did in his own day. The scenes unfolding on many campuses last year suggest that propaganda has been winning the day for much longer than we would like to think. America’s universities must face an uncomfortable fact: something must have gone profoundly wrong to lead us to where we are.

Buber’s statement raises the question: “What is the difference between education and propaganda?” It would take a longer piece than this one to address that question fully. But at heart, the difference is that real education aims to teach students how to think, whereas propaganda aims to tell students what to think.

Education acknowledges and embraces the complexity of societal and geopolitical issues; propaganda oversimplifies, calls names, and shouts down dissenters. Education leads to respectful, civil discourse—even on matters of great significance; propaganda leads to groupthink, intimidation, and threats of violence. Education keeps a wide-eyed view of evils like antisemitism and avoids them with vigilance; propaganda plunges headlong into such obvious evils, if doing so aligns with popular political orthodoxy.

I do not need to inform you that Jewish students are feeling unwelcome and unsafe—for good reason— on many American college campuses. This is a great tragedy. It is a tragedy for the students, who should, without question or reservation, be able to expect their campuses to be places where they can study and live without threat of physical harm or intimidation. It is nothing short of a tragedy that the administrators at many universities betrayed their own values and alienated some of their best and brightest students from their communities. It is an even greater tragedy for American society, as we see antisemitism growing to an unimaginable level in this modern age.

Pepperdine is different. We are a place where antisemitism is given no quarter. We are a place that is honored by the presence of our Jewish students and faculty—where every year, we have a Sukkah constructed on campus so our observant students can have a place to eat and fellowship on Sukkot; where a Menorah is lit to celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah; and where Jewish students gather together over lunch to discuss the weekly Torah portion. We are a place where the Judeo-Christian values that form the bedrock of our free society are celebrated rather than denigrated. And we are a place of education, not a place of propaganda.

All universities educate from one perspective or another, whether they are honest about it or not. At Pepperdine, we are honest and unashamed of the fact that we are a Christian university—that is, we approach the work of education from a Christian perspective. We believe, as the Proverbs teach, that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” And it is actually because of our Christian perspective that we so greatly value the presence of our Jewish students on campus.

Some of the points of connection between our Christian perspective and that of our Jewish students are obvious—shared values, shared traditions, a shared understanding of human purpose and of the character of God. These are fundamental and invaluable. We also value the distinct beliefs, perspectives, traditions, and experiences our Jewish students contribute to the Pepperdine community.

Because we believe in education rather than indoctrination, we want all of our students to interact with people of different perspectives; this is an integral part of the educational process. We believe that truth has nothing to fear from investigation. We believe that it is possible to disagree, even on matters of great importance, and remain friends afterward. We believe that there is value in sitting across the table from people who are different—who think differently, who have different backgrounds and experiences.

Civil dialogue between people of different faiths and traditions is a fundamental part of American public life. At Pepperdine, it is also a fundamental part of university life. The presence, wisdom, and insight of our Jewish students are integral parts of the thriving intellectual and community life that takes place on Pepperdine’s campus. The incoming class of the Caruso School of Law, for example, is made up of nearly 20 percent Jewish students—and the class is the better for it.

The events of the past year have shown us that American higher education is in desperate need of rejuvenation. The civility, intellectual diversity, and academic freedom that should be mainstays of the academy appear to be sadly absent from many institutions. At Pepperdine, we are unafraid to be among those leading the way in pursuing these fundamental values, even if doing so may earn us criticism from ideologues who would rather propagandize than educate. I believe that there is hope for a new dawn in higher education, but only if those who believe in its mission have the courage to pursue it with purpose and conviction.

Martin Luther King Jr. said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This is a powerful and a hopeful statement. But the arc of the moral universe does not move of its own volition. It is moved only, with the help of God’s providence, by the courage of those who—like Dr. King and his dear friend Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel z’l—are willing to boldly pursue justice even when doing so is not popular and even costly.

This is the kind of work that we are engaged in together. I am reminded of a saying from the Pirkei Avot: “The day is short, and the work is great [. . .] It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.”

The struggle our country faces—for justice, for real education, for the preservation of the Judeo-Christian ethic, for the values our free society was built upon—has no more important battleground than the university campus. At Pepperdine, we could not be more grateful for the ongoing friendship and dedication of our Jewish brothers and sisters as we continue in that fight.

Jim Gash
President and CEO

Pepperdine University