By Neil Jones, Class of 1985

Okay folks, this has probably been too long in coming, but let me finally publicly come out and present what I believe has gone on here, what is going on here, and what is likely to go on here in the future.  First, for those of you that don’t know me, I am a 1985 graduate of our beloved Erskine.  I came to Erskine as the first person from my family who had ever heard of Erskine (in fact, I was the first 4-year college graduate in the Jones and Walden families).  I was not an ARP.  I was a Christian and thought everybody else was (except the one Jewish family in Batesburg that ran the local department store).  I came from nothing except a wonderful father and mother who promised me that I could go anywhere I wanted to go for college.  Luckily, through the loving generosity of the W.H. Stuart family, I was able to attend a small, Christian, liberal arts school in Due West, SC as an EBK scholar.  I didn’t have a clue what college would be like.  I only knew that the people I had met (Roddy Gray, Howard Thomas, Harriet Brawley, Dot Carter, the Stuart family, Drew Calcutt, Ralph Moore, and the list goes on) were the most wonderful people in the world.  They demonstrated a sense of community, of education, of oneness, and of Godliness.

When I arrived at Erskine and began the process of growing as a person I freely partook in all Erskine had to offer.  By the time I graduated, I had seen and I had done most things that could be seen and could be done at Erskine.  I had been taught by some of the greatest educators on the planet and I was taught in a way that allowed me to learn who I was and what I wanted to become.  I was taught to inquire, to question, to doubt, and to have faith.  But, there was no indoctrination.  There was room for me to learn and grow, whether it was from a Jewish art professor, an evolution-advocating biology professor, or an inquisitive and thought-provoking English professor.  I was free to get in trouble and get out of trouble.  I learned what “getting caught” meant and why sometimes life (and its accompanying “systems” are not fair and not always right).  But, at no time was there ill will between the polar opposite groups we referred to as “the partiers” and the “God-squad”.  We shared together in the classroom, at social events, and in life.  Because of our experience at Erskine, some of my best life-long friends have come from both groups (I was officially not classified into either group, or at least not until my last semester on campus).  Most importantly, (and even though you would not know it today because we have reversed roles), I was able to fall in love (and have remained in love ever since) with the most beautiful, common-sense-filled, and fun girl who, unlike me, came to college with the most pristine Erskine pedigree you could imagine.  Unfortunately, our wonderful children will never be able to experience the Erskine that once was because it is now likely gone forever.   

As a result of my time at Erskine, I have been able to be successful at what I do for a living.  While it was not apparent to me the first day I showed up in a DC classroom and was literally surrounded by graduates of Harvard, Yale, Michigan, and Penn (all of whom would become some of my best friends from law school) and a greater than 50% Jewish student population, Erskine had prepared me for law school and life better than ANYONE else had been prepared.   

Today, like all Erskine alumni, I am who I am because of Erskine.  Erskine is about people, about experiences, about learning, and about being in a place that is somewhat sheltered from the “real world”, but amazingly prepares one for that “real world”.  That has been Erskine’s formula for decades.   

All of that, in my opinion, began to change in the 1990’s and early 2000’s with the election of John Carson as Erskine’s President.  For whatever reason, the student body at Erskine began to change during his term.  I saw the change because I was on campus every January for four glorious days interviewing for EBK scholarships.  I saw the change because I was a member of the Board of Trustees for five years and nine months (more on that later).  The change brought about what I called “clones” onto campus.  You can see the effects of their influence with what is going on today.  In fact, if you will go back and look at history, this “Erskine has fallen by the wayside in Christianity and in its teachings” movement can be directly traced to several of those students.  Unfortunately, the momentum was too great and, during the Ruble years, more of these “clones” have found refuge and protection, as well as a podium and an audience, at our beloved Erskine. 

The audience for this type of movement had always been there.  For years, the ARP church (and, yes, I was an ARP for over 10 years – including being both an Elder and a Deacon) had always had a minority group of what I will call the “right-wing zealots”.  They were a distinct minority in Synod and on the Board of Erskine but they really did not have an eloquent and polished leader and, most importantly, they did not have the one thing that, even at Erskine, gives you power – money.  Instead, the zealots would moan and groan at every board meeting about something, while always hiding behind the Bible in their accusations.  However, the adept chairmen of the time were able to control them and to convey to Synod the truth – which was that Erskine, like every small college, was always in financial straits but, as a whole, it was still a wonderful place to spend four years or a lifetime.  And, for anyone who believes that the minority zealots were a new invention of the last decade, you are wrong.  They were around when I was in school in the early 80s and they were around during the late 80’s/early 90’s when my dear departed mentor, Judge Jean Galloway Bissell, was dealing with them as chairman of the Board.   

All of that changed in the past few years when a “new” ARP minority rose to power and empowered the minority “right-wing zealots”.  The “new ARP minority” is composed of people who, prior to entering this feud, had almost no connection with the ARP denomination and, particularly, no connection with Erskine College.  In fact, at the recent meeting of Synod, a long-time ARP minister with 41 years of service in the ARP looked at the composition of the great Commission and realized that the whole group of seven of them did not have 41 years of ARP service among them.  That is what has happened to Erskine College and that is where she is today.  The “new ARP minority” raised its ugly head when I was on the Executive Committee of the Board.  The most forthright act of the “new ARP minority” was their submarine attack of the first Presidential Search Committee’s proposed candidate for the Erskine College position before Dr. Ruble was named President.  That search committee was composed of a who’s who listing of ARP and Erskine College supporters.  John Moore (Chairman) and his committee were completed subverted in their efforts after months and years of searching.  (Frankly, they had to bypass the most qualified candidate during the search – an Erskine College alum who happens to be on a short track for a Presidency at a much larger school very soon – because they knew the “zealots” and the “new ARP minority” would never allow him to take control of Erskine.)  

The Board at the time turned to a new Presidential Search Committee (of which I was a member) and we did the only thing we could do at the time – find Randy Ruble who was willing to hold down the fort until the entire mess could be straightened out.  Randy has done an outstanding job doing just that, but he is tired and exhausted.  He has held on as long as he could and this last uprising of the “new ARP minority” has sucked the life right out of him.

   
Then, after Randy was named President, the “new ARP minority” and the “right-wing zealots” wanted to look at Erskine’s mission statement.  Again, this was a committee of the Board on which I served and I spent many an hour pursuing my layman’s view of the mission statement.  My bottom line was that Erskine’s mission had been clearly defined for 150 years and I saw absolutely no need to change it.  It needed to remain attached to its motto:  Knowledge Combined with Morals.  That is why I and thousands of others have gone to Erskine – because we knew it was a Christian liberal arts school that would prepare us for the world while making certain that we had the opportunity to explore our moral code and grow in the knowledge available to us.  Despite fighting the gallant fight for several months over the “new” Mission Statement, I had had enough.  I realized that I was fighting an uphill battle that could never be won in this “new” Erskine environment.  Therefore, with only 3 months remaining on my term, I turned in my resignation to Chairman Chip Smith because of fundamental differences with the direction of the Board.  Prior to that time, my family and I had been extremely generous contributors to the Erskine College fund and we had given untold of numbers of hours of our time to the college (in fact, I was and still am the intellectual property attorney for the college’s patents, trademarks, and copyrights and I have given all of that time for free).  That all ended with my realization that this was a losing battle. 

As for the situation today, I am certainly on the side of Drs. Taylor and Young and the Alumni Association.  The injunction is proper and the current board should be allowed to continue to govern the College.  However, we have to be realistic – the “new ARP minority” and the “right-wing zealots” will win in the long run unless they are exposed to the ARP Synod mass.  The difference this time is that, somewhere, the “new ARP minority” has financial backing.  I have an idea of where it is coming from, but I do not want to expose it until I am sure.  Their desire appears to be to create an experimental substation where they can insert their indoctrination principles upon young minds.  Why they want to do this is beyond me.  Power – maybe?  A belief that they are “spreading God’s word” – hardly.  A chance to have things their way and leave a “mark” – probably. 

The bottom line is that Synod controls the Board of Trustees and will be able to eventually put who they want to on the Board.  The Board has 34 voting members.  Thirty of the Board members are appointed on a 5-member rotating basis (5 new members are appointed each year and they serve 6-year terms).  Of those 30, at least 40% of them must be, according to the Synod’s rules, ARP ministers.  That means that of the 34 members of the Board, at least 12 will always be ARP ministers, leaving a total of a maximum 22 trustees who would not be ministers.  In addition, it is my understanding that a 2/3 vote of the Board is required in order to change the by-laws.  Therefore, in order to change the by-laws and pull Erskine out of its association with the ARP Church (which is what should be the goal of all of us), at least 22 trustees (of the voting 34) must vote for it.  If we assume that the ARP ministers on the Board would never vote against Synod (maybe that is not true), then every single non-minister member of the Board would need to vote in favor of a pull-out.  The only time that a pull-out is going to be possible is NOW.  If we wait until the new 5 members appointed by Synod come on Board, it will never happen.  However, I realize that there is simply no way that all 22 non-ministers on the Board will vote in favor of a pull-out.   

So, my friends, my point is that Erskine was a great place.  We all knew what it was and we loved it.  Today, that Erskine no longer exists and, despite the brilliant efforts of some (and I am part of that), it will never be the Erskine that we knew and loved.  The only possibly way that this will be corrected is if the “new” ARP minority right-wing zealots are exposed and the entire ARP Synod realizes what is going on.  Maybe then, Erskine can be Erskine again.  This fight will not be fought in the Courts of law but instead in the courts of the ARP and the court of public opinion.