By H. Paul Dove, Jr., Class of 1966

Dear Friends,

Please know that I deeply appreciate your continuing to fight the good fight for the Erskine we know and love. As a 1966 alumnus and 1969-1974 member of the faculty (I was head librarian), I saw firsthand the strong leadership and devotion trustees provided to our college. I remember working with Chap Lauderdale to present the McCain Library addition idea to Trustee Ned Sloan and how that materialized. I remember the strong leadership Bill Stuart, Emmett Davis and many others brought to the board during these years.

I remember influential teachers such as Bill Kuykendall, Dr. Parkinson, Dr. Sloan, Mr. T. D. Brown, Bill Ellison, Dr. E. G. Boyce and Mrs. Marie Boyce (my library mentor), Felix Bauer, Margaret Cubine, Clyde McCants, Martha Long, Mr. Pressley, Cal Koonts, Jim Knight, Jim Gettys, Dr. Allison, Dr. Ruble, Dr. Morris, Dr. King, Dr. and Mrs. John Miller Grier (my major professors), Miss Frances Cardwell, Dr. Lesesne, Dr. Wightman, Dr. Ware, Bob Ackerman, Dr. Romein, Luther Mundy, Paul Watson, Zelda.Oates, Miss McClure, the Owens, Shirley Lampton, Mr. Smith, Bill Baker (for whom I worked for three upper-class years as a biology lab assistant), Miss McDill, Red Myers, Coach Stille, Joe Stukes, and many more whose examples have been lifelong role models for thousands who have passed through Erskine’s portals.

During my student years the Due West ARP Church was strongly supportive of us ARP students, and there are also fond memories of Sunday School and choir there. As returnees to Due West, we served as advisors to the YPCU there during the early seventies. I was even elected a deacon in that church.

You have a formidable role ahead of you, and I pray that you find the courage and strength to uphold for future generations what Erskine has been for so many past generations, my own included. As a 35 year veteran of SACS teams across the southeastern United States, I am only too aware of what Synod’s misguided actions will do to accreditation and the very future of our school.

Please do not hesitate to let me know any ways in which I can be of assistance. I will keep you and our college in my thoughts and prayers and depend on you to “hold in trust” the institution that I believe has served our God and our faith so nobly and effectively for these many years, since 1839.

Sincerely,

H. Paul Dove, Jr.,
Professor Emeritus and Dean of the Library (retired), Francis Marion University

by Harris Murray, Class of 1977

Dear Members of the Board of Trustees,

Yes, I am one of the “sleeping giants” of Erskine alumni that has been awakened by the current crisis facing the College and Seminary due to the actions of the Moderator’s Commission of the ARP Synod. Since I first heard of the crisis, I have followed it through the news, a Facebook page “Alumni for Erskine,” and through web alerts via Google, which have alerted me to news of this situation from a variety of sources, including newspapers, higher education websites, etc. Since I first heard of the crisis, I have lifted Erskine College, its faculty, staff, students, board members and alumni in prayer: “Thy will be done.”

I do not presume to know God’s will in this situation, although I sincerely pray that His will is in line with my own. I attended Erskine College in the mid to late 1970’s by default. I had been accepted at the University of Alabama, had a roommate and was ready to depart. Erskine was the only other college to which I had applied, primarily because my family drove through Due West on a regular basis to visit my grandmother in Ware Shoals, but also because my uncle attended Erskine and two of my father’s cousins met and married at Erskine years before my time. Due West seemed a quaint town, and its nearness to Ware Shoals pulled at my heart – I was very close to my grandmother. Circumstances changed my heart and mind about the University of Alabama………..

I ARRIVED AT ERSKINE BY DEFAULT, BUT I NOW KNOW IT WAS GOD’S PROVIDENCE WORKING IN MY LIFE BEFORE I EVEN REALIZED IT THAT BROUGHT ME TO DUE WEST.

God’s providence is a deep theological issue. I think perhaps we can only understand and grasp it in hindsight as we experience it in our lives. Let me share with you what happened in my life at Erskine:

1. I met the dearest six friends of my entire life. Thirty-three years after our graduation, we gather yearly for a reunion and remain in touch with each other throughout the year by email and phone calls. We call ourselves the “Seven Sisters.” Each of us is a committed Christian, nurtured in part by our shared experiences at Erskine College and through the love and care of faculty and staff that embraced us, allowed us the opportunity to grow through learning and fellowship, and encouraged us to THINK abour our lives and how we might use them post-Erskine. GOD’S PROVIDENCE brought us together at that time in that place.
2. I learned to think, to grapple with personal issues and challenges, to question my life and faith: all of these were accomplished within the realm of a community of educators who were always available. Of particular importance to me was the College chaplain, Lee Kennerly, for whom I worked as work-study student. Lee and I remain in touch with each other to this day. GOD’S PROVIDENCE brought me among people who allowed me to question, to think, to grapple.
3. I learned to embrace people who were different from me. Yes, I tended to hang out with people most like me, but Erskine College brought me in contact with people from different cultures, different races, different social/cultural/economic backgrounds. I learned to “meet the world” in a small microcosm called Due West. GOD’S PROVIDENCE introduced me to a larger world than I had previously experience. That prepared me for every job I have ever had, all of which have involved meeting and working for and with people from a variety of backgrounds.
4. I had the blessing of being allowed to begin the journey toward adulthood and self-sufficiency under the direction and guidance of genuine and committed people like Dr. James Knight, Miss Frances Caldwell; Rev. Lee Kennerly, Professor Zelda Oates, Reba Stille, Doug and Glenda Cotton (former houseparents in Carnegie), Bill Kuykendall, Paul Watson, and so, so many others. GOD’S PROVIDENCE brought those people into my life.

Those are just a few of the blessings I received by my attendance at Erskine College. My life today is what is in in large part because of the years I spent in Due West, learning to love and to be loved, learning to think and to explore, learning to grow and change. GOD’S PROVIDENCE and nothing else brought me to Erskine College and I remain ever thankful for His plan, which in retrospect was far better than my own.

I fully support the actions of the board members and the Alumni Association in response to the actions of the Moderator’s Commission of the ARP Church. I deeply regret that events caused this rift, but I believe that Erskine College is a strong academic institution that promotes Christian values while allowing students the grace they need to develop and claim their own faith. My prayers will continue to be with the Board of Trustees and all members of the Erskine family that value the environment under which so many alumni have thrived.

May God, IN HIS PROVIDENCE, shine His grace and wisdom upon you as you move forward in the challenges ahead. May the LIGHT OF HIS TRUTH come shining forth with unquestioned and unquestionable brilliance as you deliberate and discern the direction He is leading you. May GOD GIVE YOU GRACE AND STRENGTH to bear up under pressure and to fight the good fight, run the race, and remain faithful to Him in and through all things.

I remind you, in closing, of David’s words when he faced a giant: “For the battle is the Lord’s.” David’s complete and utter allegiance to God’s will, in my studying, is based on his experience of GOD’S PROVIDENCE in his life prior to this epic moment.

“May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Sincerely,
Harris (Cheatham) Murray
Class of 1977

4.9.10 Update: Order Granting Temporary Injunction

Documents filed at the Abbeville County Courthouse relating to Erskine College Alumni Association lawsuit:

Also read How You Can Help if you are interested in supporting the Alumni cause.

By Allison Read, Class of ‘07

Dr. Crenshaw had a profound effect on my time at Erskine and, therefore, my life.  Before I go into any detail, I will say that I took seven classes with Dr. Crenshaw during my four years at EC… so basically, he was a constant in my Erskine experience.  I was not at all required to take so many of his classes.  I was an English major, yes, but every class I took with him was my choice.

As a first semester freshman, I did not at all expect a professor like Dr. Crenshaw (or, as some of us later came to call him, the Captain).  He seemed a little raw on the edges, a bit gruff… not really my idea of someone who would be at Erskine. During that semester, Dr. Crenshaw consistently challenged me to think.  Interestingly enough, before meeting the Captain, I was sure that I was a thinker.  In the course of one semester (13 weeks!), I learned the classic Crenshaw lessons: thinking for myself, getting vs. taking my education, and challenging authority.

One of the first things Dr. Crenshaw told us freshman was to drop out of school, and that we shouldn’t be getting an education.  This caused an unforgettable uproar!  To be at Erskine College, most of us had worked very hard in high school for our grades, and searched high and low for any scholarship to make college affordable.  To be told by our own professor that we were wrong was shocking and seemed disheartening.  However, there was method to his madness.  He was very simply explaining to us that college students straight out of high school do not typically appreciate what they have.  And you know what?  It’s true.  Now that I’m out in the real world, away from the so-called “Erskine Bubble,” I understand more than ever than I did not appreciate my time at Erskine (or in graduate school at USC, for that matter) as much as I could or should have.  Dr. Crenshaw knew that none of us – especially freshmen – were fully able to grasp the idea, but he introduced it to us nevertheless.

That right there is the key: “He introduced it to us nevertheless.”

Many students have said that Dr. Crenshaw just likes to start arguments.  Well, that is true in a sense – but he always has a reason for it.  When he hears a student say something out of ignorance, close-mindedness, or misinformation, he challenges that idea.  Not just to be mean, but to bring awareness to that student and the rest of the class.  He introduces a concept that may be different from another concept to incite critical thinking, not anger.  He just wants his students to think for themselves, and not accept what they’re told without question.

It is true that Dr. Crenshaw debates with his students about the Bible.  Sometimes the discussion is calm, and sometimes it can get quite heated.  If a student loses his faith over these discussions, this certainly cannot be blamed on Dr. Crenshaw.  I say this because, outside the Erskine Bubble in the real world, people ask questions about God all the time.  If Erskine College promotes evangelical Christianity, should her students not be able to deal with questions of faith and the Bible?  Billions of people worldwide want to know why we believe what we believe.  If we cannot answer a simple question in a classroom without losing faith, how can we be expected to face the world?

Everybody’s got an Erskine story. Here’s mine.

Dear Dr. Ruble, Erskine administration, and Board of Trustees,

It has come to my attention that there is much controversy going on in Due West about my alma mater. I am writing this letter in defense of Erskine College. I graduated from Erskine four years ago with a little over 150 members of the class of 2005. Many of the professors I had are no longer there. All of the students who were freshmen when I was a senior have graduated and moved on. I can not name one student there at this time. However, my heart is still with Erskine and with that passion, I ask that you take my letter into consideration.

First of all, I hear of many (or at least one person through a posted YouTube video) who wish Erskine would not admit as many non-Christians, as it is felt that this makes Erskine more secular. I could not disagree more. While I was a student at Erskine, I had several friends who found Christ and knew many, so many whose faith became so much stronger and so much deeper through Christian outreach on campus. Who is to say that since these students were non-Christians they should not have had the opportunity to attend Erskine and later find Christ? Did Jesus only preach and reach out to those who were already believers? We are to be witnesses to others, and we know God has a plan for each individual. If God’s plan places a non-believing student at Erskine, it is without a doubt for a purpose. Our place should not be to exclude him or her but to be a witness. It’s like an old quote my grandfather (Erskine ’58) used to tell me: We may be the only Bible he or she ever reads.

Secondly, I also read on a site’s post where someone actually documented notes from a history class where comments were made about religion. I am a teacher in a public school, and while I can not preach and I can not spread God’s word in certain ways by law, my students know I love God. They see me pray every morning and before every meal. They hear me talk about what I did at church. Just because I’m not quoting scripture does not make me a lesser Christian and I don’t believe it makes Erskine professors into lesser Christians or lesser educators. While I loved the fact that Erskine focused on Christian commitment and academic excellence, every class I took at Erskine was not taught with a mention of Jesus every single day. I don’t think it needed to. Erskine was a Christian environment that supported my every need and guided me on my faithful path. It was also a highly academic environment which focused on teaching me what I needed to know in order to be successful in my future career and taught me, not only how to be a student, but to be a thinker.

This group has also taken shots at Erskine’s faculty and administration. In the arena of personal attacks, certain faculty members have been targeted. Let me take the time to discuss one such professor who helped guide me on my academic path and simultaneously helped me develop my faith. There were many debates in Dr. Crenshaw’s classroom and he tended to fuel them by making you think (i.e. taking the opposite point of view for discussion). I will be honest: during my first class with this professor, I was frustrated; however after my second class, it clicked. I got it; I understood his purpose in teaching this way. He didn’t teach his students to have his opinion. Dr. Crenshaw taught his students to HAVE an opinion. He wanted to make us think and make us defend what we thought by articulating our position. In part to his teaching, it is not at all surprising to me that as of this very moment, there is a Facebook group of over 380 Erskine alumni (and growing) who are voicing their opinions. This group of alumni believes in Erskine and not just in the romanticized visions we have of our college days. This group of alumni is coming together to defend Erskine, what it stands for, how it helped shape our lives, and how we hope it will remain for students to come. We have opinions, we know what we believe, and how to articulate it. We believe in Erskine.

Finally, I get the feeling that a lot of this fight started when Erskine developed the slogan “Forever Connected Through Christ, Learning, and Life.” Many felt this took away from Erskine’s Christian commitment, and I strongly disagree. I think it makes Erskine seem more like a family, which is exactly how it felt to me. David Dangerfield once rephrased a saying that I know resonates with so many: “Due West isn’t where I’m from. But the first time I ever knew myself, that is where I was living.” I do feel forever connected to Erskine, and for you to understand that I need to tell you my Erskine story.

As a senior in high school, I applied to both large public colleges in SC, a couple in between, and then I had to pick one closer to home. I got in to all six places I applied but ended up choosing Erskine. At the time it felt a bit more like luck of the draw and it was closest to home for someone who was a mama’s girl like me.

Luck of the draw… how wrong I was.

Erskine ended up being a God-send. I didn’t fit inside the big “Erskine bubble.” While at Erskine, I was outside the bubble and inside several small ones. I am not a member of the ARP church; I am of the United Methodist denomination. At the same time, I was an Athenian, an ed major, a student senate member, dated a baseball player, played intramurals, etc. When I think of Erskine, I think of places. Carnegie’s lobby is where we watched the news on the morning of September 11, 2001. Carnegie is where I met some of the girls who would become my best friends. Bonner’s second floor is where my hair was teased and bottles of hairspray were used for big hair night when I rushed Athenian. Euphie Hall is where I later would sit as Athenian president. The circle is where I ran around like a little kid in a huge snowball fight, and the hill by the baseball field is where I went sledding on lunch trays when it snowed during my junior year. Moffatt is where I ate sizzlin’ salads with my friends on Thursdays after convo, and Watkins is where I always studied for history and Bible. The Erskine building is where I spent most of my days as an education major. The library is where we played hide-and-seek after hours one time when a friend was closing the library, and the baseball field is where I watched my boyfriend pitch for the Flying Fleet.

Four years later, several of those friends I made were bridesmaids at my wedding. Those hours in the Erskine Building paid off as I just finished my fourth year as an elementary school teacher. The fact that I was in the library back then was a small miracle, but a couple summers ago I used that library again – to work on a major research project for my Masters work while attending Clemson University. The boyfriend I watched as he played for Erskine is now a teacher and coaches baseball at the high school level. He’s also my husband of two years and the father of our two-month-old son.

I loved Erskine and I know things change. I often say I would love to go back to Erskine but I would literally have to go back because I would only want to go if it were with the exact same people at the exact same time. I grew so much as a person there. My understanding and kindness were enriched through relationships with others. My faith became so much stronger. My life became so much richer. It hurts me to think that the place I loved and the place that made such an impact on my life is both changing and trying to be changed even more by others.

I am proud to say that four years after Erskine, I am a Christian girl who loves and serves her church. I am the wife of a wonderful husband whom I met at Erskine. I am the mother of a precious baby boy who can expect to hear many of these Erskine stories. I am the granddaughter of a man who was also an alumnus of Erskine but sadly did not live to see me graduate from his alma mater. I am the daughter of a man who watched the first person in his family graduate from college when I walked across that stage under the towers. I am the sister of a boy who used to visit me in my dorm. I am the teacher of a classroom of 20 six-year-olds each year who are better prepared because their teacher learned from Dr. Emery and Dr. Jumper. I am a friend to those whom I met through my Erskine experience and to those who are still connected to me even though distance parts us. I am so blessed that I am an Erskine alumna and will defend her as she deserves.

If I can be of any service to my alma mater, please let me know.

With deepest support and appreciation,

Jennifer Boggs Baker
(Class of 2005)

By Anthony Wotring, Class of ‘08

The biggest thing to me is that I see people saying (sometimes complaining – I wish there was a word to express this action without the extremely negative connotation) that they wish their four years at Erskine could have gone differently than it did. But when I look back on my time there, I don’t wish that anything would have changed except for me. I wish I could have taken advantage of all that Erskine offered to me. Most of all, I wish I would have learned more. But not once, do I ever feel bad at all towards the faculty. Everyone knows that all of the professors are different. The way I saw it, no one took Crenshaw unless they were spoiling for a fight (he is the “professor” I think most people are mentioning). From what I can tell, most of the people I really respect came out of his class loving him. Just because they got something from him that was totally different from all of the other teachers. He wasn’t someone who was just going to let you sit back and say “yea, I’m a Christian,” without challenging that lackadaisical attitude that most of America takes towards our God. (again, I say that this is what I’ve gleaned from other students – not firsthand).

But back to the bigger question, the biggest complaint is that the students feel Erskine is headed in the wrong direction. The idea to me seems that those who feel this way want the Bible to be put into every single class. The way I understood it, the idea of integrating faith into a student’s education was by making Bible classes mandatory. The science classes seem to be the most under attack. During my last year, I was seeing the physical signs of this thought taken to it’s logical procession – to the frustration of one of my history professors. If you want Biblical truth put into every class, it’s going to make learning about post-WWII Europe a little disjointed. I also can’t see Dr. Thomas easily integrating Bible verses into Instrumental. It’s just honestly not easy to do. That’s why we take Bible courses and courses in other things.

I know that the last argument may seem a little extreme. But, this is what is being proposed for the Biology classes. And with my experience with Erskine, if you had a disagreement, there isn’t a single prof that wouldn’t be willing to work through your idea – and more importantly, they would allow you to hold onto your idea even if it ran in the face of theirs. My biggest challenge actually came with the Bible department. There was a seminary professor that I had and I sat through classes taking two sets of notes – what he taught and what I thought was wrong with what he saying. At the time, I hated the class. I even came to a point of wavering in my faith one really lonely night. But I realized something that I wouldn’t have because of that class. There is a world of information that I will never fully understand, but faith is something that you choose, not something you learn. I know that as humans we can learn and discover an infinite amount of information, but I believe that there is someone higher than me who created it. This was something I realized about my faith because of Erskine not in spite of Erskine.

So…I come back to my point (if there is one). Erskine is a place where you should be allowed to learn all that you can. It should be left up to the individual what to except and what to disregard. As much as we Christians, we cannot force the world to believe us – even though we are right. Our call is to love all the best we can. I don’t see how Christians tearing down (or threating to close the doors) of a place that should be safe for everyone to find their own beliefs is showing the love of Christ.

Dear Dr. Ruble, Chairman-Elect Mitchell, Board of Trustees, Erskine alumni, and current students,

—If men used as much care in uprooting vices and implanting virtues as they do in discussing problems, there wouldn’t be so much evil and scandal in the world, or such laxity in religious organizations. On the day of judgment, surely, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done; not how well we have spoken, but how well we have lived.—
“Come now, and let us reason together,”Says the LORD, (Isaiah 1:18a)

Unlike most of the other people writing letters, I’m not an alumni, however I have grown to love and care for Erskine. This school surely has its problems, like every place and every person, and there needs to be some change in order to make the school a better place. I’m friends with some of the people in the SAFE group, I share a lot of their beliefs, but I don’t agree with what they consider the problems. I haven’t had Dr. Crenshaw, yet, so it wouldn’t be fair for me to talk about him simply based off what I’ve overheard. However, I have had Dr. Chaney, she is a great professor and one of the academic reasons why I want to continue to attend Erskine. I hear Dr. Grier is similar and is also great, hopefully being a history major, I will get to experience a few Grier classes too .

A lot of their (SAFE group members) criticisms of Dr. Chaney are silly, some of them are that she uses C.E. and B.C.E opposed to A.D. and B.C., it’s not like she’s saying the year is 1430 A.H. (Muslim calendar). Even Dr. Bond, an ARP pastor, Bible professor, and the moderator at the recent ARP synod meeting, used C.E. in his Bible class; those same students wouldn’t criticize Dr. Bond for using them (nor should they). However, I don’t understand why it’s a big deal, I use B.C. and A.D. Jared Diamond uses B.C. and A.D. as well, and he’s the ‘authority’ in scientific history (and an evolutionist). They’ve also complained how Dr. Chaney mentioned Judaism being henotheistic, which is inaccurate, but that is besides the point; instead of going to her and talking about it (which might bring about change) they write a letter for ‘ARPTalk’ & send a letter to ARP pastors. After reading this letter, I sent her an email about how her classes have been my favorite, and what I think and feel about the different issues, which seemed to be more effective and encouraging.

She’s also been criticized for being a ‘liberal’ (which is relative, maybe compared to Dr. Evans…but if she went to a secular public school like CofC, she’d probably be seen as a conservative amongst the other professors) and for being a ‘feminist’ (I don’t really know about that, nothing she’s done, besides being a woman, lol, has shown that she is a feminist. Anyways, a ‘feminist’ is a word that can mean a wide range of things from political, social, and economic equality to men to maybe an extremist view to maybe just a Christian women’s worldview that wants to encourage women to be more). I don’t think she should be attacked like she is, but commended. She is a great professor who is committed to academic excellence as well as integrating faith into the class (after all we had to read a good amount of the Bible for her World Civilization classes, where she didn’t force beliefs down anybody’s throats, but she accepted people’s opinions and told us what she thought. With all the reading for the World Civilization classes, the students were expected to analyze for themselves opposed to being spoon-fed the answers by her or Sparknotes.

She encouraged us to analyze for ourselves, which lines up with the missions statement. The missions statement doesn’t say ‘force Christian beliefs down people’s throats’, however it is ‘“The mission of Erskine College is to equip students to flourish by providing an excellent liberal arts education in a Christ-centered environment where learning and biblical truth are integrated to develop the whole person.”’ By learning to analyze things for ourselves, we are equipped to flourish and we learn skills necessary to interpret anything we read, and most vitally, the Bible.

On a further note, unlike what seems to be what SAFE wants, I don’t want Erskine to become a Bob Jones (most people in that group would probably say they would hate Erskine to become Bob Jones. Little do they know, the school could possibly go in that direction, and that’d just be terrible. Bob Jones is the last school I’d ever want to go to.). Students should be given more freedom, not less. Erskine should become a wet campus, have 24/7 visitation hours (keep the sign-in system though, but make all non-Erskine guests of the same gender and opposite gender people have to get signed in. Sounds kind of crazy, but the reason is liability. Anyways, it’s not like the current visitation system is based on either morality (the school cares less what you do, as long as you do it in the confines of the alloted time. It’s not like there will be trouble if you’re misbehaving.) or liability (we don’t have to sign in guests of the same gender, from different schools, who could be a liablity)).

After all, Erskine students are adults and they should be allowed to make decisions for themselves as to whether or not they drink (anyways, the students that do drink often are drinking both on campus and off campus. Obviously, underage students shouldn’t have alcohol in their dorms and no under the influence student should be driving.). And as far as the visitation hours go, as adults, being prepared for the ‘real world,’ we should be taught to make decisions for ourselves. Just like students that drink on campus, I am sure there are students who have un-Biblical and unchaste relationships. However, even if visitation hours got taken away, would that eliminate sin? Would that eliminate immorality? NO! (Being a dry campus hasn’t eliminated on-campus drinking and off campus partying). That might make the college appear ‘less bad,’ but I’m afraid that would just be a facade. Just because Bob Jones University has all these strict rules doesn’t mean anything about the secret lives of its students. Under the current visitation system, the only difference between the 12-hour visitation period and the 12-hour non-visitation period is just the time of day. I have often heard, ‘nothing good happens after 11 pm,’ but as sinful humans, we are sinning 24/7. Some students may spend their visitation hours sinning, but some students may spend their visitation hours glorifying God. Erskine students need inner transformation from the Holy Spirit, if they are drinking alcohol, they need to be doing so responsibly; if they have the opposite gender in their rooms, they need to know to love instead of lust.

‘Only one life, ’twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.’ May be my ideal motto, I often fail to make Christ preeminent in everything; it is hard as an imperfect school, with imperfect people, to provide, as the missions statement says, ‘a Christ-centered environment.’ The only Christ-centered environment, that is truly Christ-centered, is heaven and no matter how hard we try, we cannot recreate that perfection here on earth. We can only seek to provide a place that strengthens students to grow in and towards faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In order to develop the whole person where learning and Biblical truth are integrated, you need to challenge them; most colleges are a sort of testing-grounds. The SAFE group seems to want to make Erskine a challenge-less school, like BJU, where as Christians, they should want the challenge. Why? “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ” (James 1:2-4). As Christians, we should want to be tested, why? Because this testing of our faith produces endurance and we are told to let endurance have its perfect result, so that we may be perfect and complete. Sound like the Erskine Missions statement?

Erskine college attracted me because it was NOT Bob Jones, I wanted a Christian school because I want to double major in Bible. I liked how the school seemed xenophilic (loving of strangers), it didn’t seem to be legalistic, people seemed freer than other Christian schools. I wanted a Christian school that wasn’t run by idolatrous rules, not just a Christian school run by false gods, but also not being run by false devils (which is also idolatry). Just as money isn’t god, professors who believe in macro-evolution aren’t devils, drugs aren’t the devil, alcohol isn’t the devil, nor is music the devil; admissions and the administration may be wrong in some ways (we all are though) but they are not the devil either.

Anyways, even if Erskine changed to how SAFE members wanted, as Christians, they cannot believe that if such and such reform were made that a heaven on earth, at Erskine, would follow; maybe a religious ghetto, which some might be disillusioned as heaven though.

I do not want to go to a school that is a religious ghetto, I would leave immediately. Our Father refreshes us on our journey with some pleasant inns, but He will not encourage us to mistake them for home. The Christians in the SAFE group should be glad to have a God given opportunity to make friends with others; some Erskine students are not Christian, but instead of showing Christ’s great love, we often are just another social activist group.

VDMA,

Matt Diaz, class of 2012

Cross Country, SCA

Greetings Dr. Ruble,

My name is Greg Guzauskas, class of 2001. You are no doubt being inundated with letters of concern from alumni that are upset about the actions of this SAFE group. I wish to add my name to that list.

I may be remembered by faculty and staff at Erskine as having one of the more ‘colorful’ personalities they have had to deal with. I was not then and am not now a spiritual and/or religious person. From this statement you can imagine I am deeply disturbed by the direction this misguided group wants to take the school.

As a biology major and philosophy minor at Erskine, I easily embraced the concepts taught to me by my professors David Ritland, Mary Lang Edwards, and Benjamin Farley (though they will doubtless remember I did not embrace my studies!), including evolution and its mechanism, genetics. Even then, a number of my classmates were resistant to the facts they were presented, but nonetheless performed admirably in the classroom while maintaining a respectful relationship with their instructors. I never understood how anyone could disregard the theory of evolution while desiring a career in the sciences, but anyone that undertakes that path is at least prepared to interact intelligently with the near complete majority of practicing scientists that share this rigorously tested and applied worldview.

These topics are the fundamental essences of biological science, and any serious inquiry into the basis of them will uncover mountains of data, analyses, and discarded notions that did not survive scientific scrutiny.

This SAFE group has the nerve to claim they desire a school where they can experience the ‘academic’ pursuit of knowledge, all within an underdeveloped notion of an ideal Christian environment. They do not realize that the nature of academia, as it has been practiced for centuries, is to rigorously question preconceptions of truth to expose falsehoods and refine our understanding. It’s not taking a break in science class to have a baseless, misplaced theological discussion when the facts being presented don’t sit well.

Science isn’t made up out of thin air, as they might wish to think. Science is also not the plot of secularists or Satan himself to undermine the teachings of Jesus. If God exists, he has evidently blessed us with the tools, ability, and desire to uncover the mysteries of the universe he has created. But he did not make it easy. If any of these agitators saw what goes on at serious institutions, among professional geneticists, biophysicists, anthropologists, etc, they would be stunned by the level of complexity and the amount of evidence that is necessary to back up a scientific finding. If evidence is lacking, a scientist can and will be skewered by his/her colleagues. If only they knew how naive they sound.

Anyone with a ‘mature’ faith in any religion should know how to separate their faith from the logic and reason purportedly against it. One’s faith does not exist if there is a need to prove it, or if it is rattled by the world in which one lives. I would argue that faith and scientific reason are two completely different sides of the same coin, and mixing the two accomplishes little and fouls up a lot. That said, they are perfectly capable of coexistence. Anyone that doubts that sentiment should be encouraged to read Francis Collins’s book “The Language of God”; most should know Dr. Collins as the Christian principal investigator of the Human Genome Project.

I wish to make one last comment. I am currently a doctoral student at the University of Washington studying public health genetics. Prior to this I received a master’s degree in health policy from the University of North Carolina. These institutions naturally play a more prominent role in my professional credentials than my undergraduate studies, but I recoil at the thought of having to explain to anyone that I went to a school that openly disavows accepted knowledge for a preferred version of history/reality that imparts impractical and antiquated skill sets to its students. I do not state this as an accusation–none of this has yet come to pass–but I do warn against it. Please do not give undue credence to this silly group of students.

Thank you, and please feel free to pass this along to the Board.

Gregory F. Guzauskas, MSPH
Doctoral Student
Institute for Public Health Genetics
University of Washington
Seattle, WA

Dear President Ruble, Chairman-Elect Mitchell, and Board of Trustees,

I am disappointed and frustrated with the recent attacks on Erskine and the way in which they are being conducted.  The Erskine that I see described by these students in no way reflects the Erskine I loved and cherished for four years, nor an institution that I would have chosen to attend.  When I began my college search in my sophomore year of high school, I made sure to visit all types of schools, public and private, large and small.  What I found at Erskine was unique, and so I chose to make this my college home.

During my time at Erskine, I found my faith and beliefs to be challenged and strengthened in the classroom and in my daily life.  Erskine gave me opportunities for my faith to flourish that I had not previously experienced.  Small groups, working with SCA and Project SMILE, attending church and growing to love the Due West ARP family, and discussions in my classes were all regular occurrences for me.  I feel strongly that if a student is open to these types of interactions and willing to take the initiative to make them happen (just as would be necessary on any other campus) there is no reason for a commitment to Christ to fall by the wayside at Erskine.

I find it difficult to understand how one can determine a student or professor is not a Christian based on merely opinion without engaging the person in discussion or interaction. In direct opposition to this, I found my classes to provide a highly integrative view of the Scriptures and their application to daily life.  The education department (from which I graduated with a double major) uses Romans 12:2 as a cornerstone of the program. The verse reads:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  This is an interesting choice for a department that is responsible for preparing Christian teachers for a decidedly secular public school system.  However, I found the choice to extremely appropriate.  Christians are not to live by the patterns of the world, but this doesn’t mean isolation.  Throughout my years we regularly discussed in class how we could show the love of Christ and His grace to our students, even when our words or actions must be limited.  In my mind, the need is greatest for Christians not in a separate community, but in the world at large.  Are we not to reach out to others? My time at Erskine and interactions with people of different faiths and viewpoints was invaluable in preparing me for the workforce, all the while providing me the resources to further and strengthen my faith.

Additionally, I am quite certain that the students who are upset with the administration and faculty would be hard pressed to find a campus that better emulates a love of Christ balanced with acceptance and mercy for others. I certainly didn’t while searching for a college.  Just a few examples of the types of interactions I experienced while at Erskine include professors opening their homes to me, and providing me with home and cell phone numbers in case I had a question.  Professors attended student events, both service and performance based, and in several of my small groups Erskine faculty were active participants.  I went to church weekly with professors and faculty. I took courses with a wide variety of professors and departments, and was always encouraged to speak up in class.  I never felt as if I was denied the right to defend my beliefs, but I did learn to be sure of what I believe and more confident in sharing that with others. I saw Erskine administration, particularly Dr. Ruble, get involved in students’ lives in a way that was traditional of the presidents that came before him.  He worked out in the gym with students, he attended every Erskine wedding, concert, and student performance and he daily came to the cafeteria just to check in with students.  I feel Dr. Ruble does an incredible job trying to meet the needs of students while being open to suggestions and comments.  From what I have observed his commitment to Erskine is unparalleled.

I am proud to be an Erskine graduate.  For four years while I was a student, I volunteered with Admissions to host prospective students, lead tours, and speak at events, not because I had a ton of free time, but because I believed in Erskine and wanted others to find the same joy I found there.  I found opportunities there that I did my best to soak up, and through my involvement with different organizations and my time spent in class, I have emerged a person who is far more confident and prepared to exist as a Christian in our culture than when I entered. As a young alumni, I made a point to begin as soon as possible to give to Erskine, because I want to repay in some small part the scholarships that allowed myself, my brother and so many of my friends and peers to become Erskine students, and to contribute to the positives resources that made my time at Erskine wonderful.  However, the Erskine I love so dearly does not include a focus on exclusion and separation.  Individual students, faculty, and staff may change, but I firmly believe Erskine still has the tools and commitment to remain exactly what she says she is, an institution based on Christian commitment and excellence in learning.

Sincerely,

Megan Ferguson, class of 2009

EBK, SCA, Judicial Council, ODK, Project SMILE

Dr. Ruble,
My name is Rockel Bower, formally Rockel (Rocky) Cole. I was an EB Kennedy scholar for the class of 2005 before I (quite abruptly) quit Erskine College in the spring of 2007. I left Erskine after just over a year and a half. Early in my freshman year Robyn Agnew recognized I needed help at a time when I was unwilling to battle the depression and bulimia I had struggled with since I was a preteen. I left because I knew I needed that help, and that was all I could focus on at the time. I never shared this reasoning with anyone at Erskine, or with Crosland Stuart when she came to check on me. Most people assume I was unhappy at Erskine, and I left for that reason, and I allowed them to believe that because of my own embarrassment. I learned more in my short time at Erskine, than I did in the 17+ years prior and have in the 2 years since about becoming a well reasoned adult.

I was a student who came from a non-Christian home, I however was a Christian. I believed in the fundamentals of the Christian Faith. The summer after my graduation from high school, I went through several personal traumas and almost didn’t come to Erskine in the fall. At the urging of my fiance (who is now my loving husband and adoring father), I reluctantly started college. That first day at Erskine, without my fiancee or my best friend, who had become the rocks I leaned on, was absolutely miserable. I felt like a duck in a sea of swans. I had lost most of my faith, and felt like a fraud. My second day, that feeling changed. During freshman orientation, I remembered why I had fallen in love with Erskine and with Christianity to begin with. There were no ducks and no swans. There were people, of all kinds, who harbored no judgement towards each other no matter the differences in faith or background. I made some amazing friends, and met people who have forever changed my life. More importantly, the renewed faith in God I found during my freshman year was invigorating. This faith was not because anyone told me I had to believe, or I was wrong not to. It was also not because every faculty member agreed with it, or reminded me of it. It was because the faculty, and the students following the example of those faculty, showed me in their actions that God is forgiving and loves us unconditionally. Christian faith is not an exclusive club, and it is not an all or nothing choice. The passion for the Lord I felt in every aspect of my life at Erskine, resonating from every faculty member, regardless of their demeanor, was the thing that helped to pull me back to the Lord.

Every faculty member I encountered, whether in a course or just in passing, had a strong desire to instill in their students more than just academic material. We were challenged to become free thinkers, capable of reasoning and intelligent argument. In the real world you must be able to defend your point of view, not just declare it. I was challenged to defend my faith several times while at Erskine by faculty. This was not meant to discourage that faith, but rather to encourage me to know enough about my faith to be able to defend it when asked. Prior to Erskine, I had been told about Christianity and the Bible. I had never been taught. When I took Old Testament, I learned more than just what books are included and what passages are written on their pages. I learned what they meant, and how they applied to me. I learned how to understand the Old Testament in the way the Lord meant for me to understand it.

I took two history classes in my time at Erskine. Neither of those classes were bible based; neither of them were taught from the ignorant mindset that unless you are talking about the Bible, you are not teaching Christianity. I do not recall ever hearing Dr. Grier speak about his faith or the Lord directly. What I do remember is the passion with which he taught. I remember knowing that I was going to learn more than just a date each time I walked into his classroom. I was going to learn about something that happened to shape the world I live in. I was going to learn the implications and the effects, and how to think about that event critically, and in turn, how to think about any event in the same way. By the time I finished with my first history class, I had learned how to understand history in a way that I had never understood it before. My first year at Erskine, I learned what it truly meant to be made in His likeness as Gen 1:26 states. The courses I took that were not at all related to my faith or the Bible (English, Chemistry, History, etc), taught me how to learn and to think intelligently. I am sure that in order to be in the likeness of God, as he intended, we must be intelligent. A college that teaches strictly one sided beliefs and refuses to foster debate, is molding well versed Christians, not intelligent ones.

In my short time at Erskine, I learned how to be an intelligent person, an intelligent Christian. I may not be able to recite scripture in the way people who graduate from colleges like the one SAFE would like created can. I can however think intelligently, and it took the diversity and intellect, in addition to the belief structure, of all of the faculty at Erskine to mold me into an intelligent person. Anyone who understands that God is intelligent can see that it takes more than just a Bible and someone reciting it to mold us into the people God would have us to be.

God created us in His likeness, not in the likeness of tape recorders. I am glad that I got to attend an Erskine that understood that, and exposed me to a faculty with diverse beliefs so that I too could understand.

Thank you,
Rocky