Set Up for Failure (Part 2 Pensacola Christian College)

Much of the reason I started even thinking about this topic was because of a discussion around the college my partner and I attended (Pensacola Christian College). And how unprepared we were to deal with the cultish and legalistic type of authority that existed at the college. If anything our childhood experiences with authoritarian parenting confirmed for us the fact that these abusive authority figures in our lives deserved to be unquestionably followed.

Our authority figures, pastor’s / church leaders, and parents pushed us towards attendance at PCC (or lack of actual decision in my partner’s case). I’ll like to point out that my partner was not given any choice in her initial attendance to the college. She was literally told “you will attend PCC” and was signed up for college there. Our parents also helped to encourage the college’s authority in our lives. They were giving their authority up in order that the college would step in and be that authority in our lives as we became adults.

At the college, there were red flags that should have been extremely visible to anyone with a healthy background. The unquestionable aspect of the colleges rules was a major one. At PCC you couldn’t dare ask why a rule existed or push back against a punishment that the college had assigned to you. You were also expected to not only obey these rules, but make sure those around you were obeying them as well. If you failed to report an infraction against the college you could also be punished as well. ¹

The college would often use scripture and god’s authority to help enforce their own rules. During the summer breaks (both me and my partner worked at the college during the summer) we were often pulled into 1-2hr long campus wide meetings and reminded that we signed pledges that we would obey and follow the colleges rules. ² To break this pledge was to become a liar and would be a sin in the eyes of god. It didn’t matter that the college required the pledge to be signed as part of the college admission process. Certain one could argue that a pledge you are forced to sign under pressure, coercion, or duress is null and void; but that was not something the college would have ever entertained.

Please note how the college’s rules are prefaced by and supported by the bible references. By using a supported and trusted authority (the bible and religion) they were able to initially gain a sense of authority and authenticity as we started out at college. We were told that, yes, these rules are a bit on the strict side; but this is how god wants you to live while you were at college.

I certainly come from a different religious view than this writer; however, they clearly express how PCC used religion and scripture to manipulate students.³ And I think she also gives a good example of the guilt and fear the college uses to enforce college rules. Later in the same post, she talks about how PCC would tell students how god had placed them at PCC for a reason. She also speaks on how the college would tell or imply to students that leaving the college was generally against god’s will for your life. (This is something that I can confirm as being a general message to students by the staff members at the college).

While I won’t fully say that either me or my partner were abused by the college while we were there. We were a lot more trusting of a cultish college that caused both of us a lot of trauma. Broadly speaking the college has definitely used that unquestioned authority to abuse other students. ⁴ And cause harm to those in the LGBTQIA+ community. ^{5 6 7} And I know it’s not something that can be proven in a blog post, but my one of my partners closest friends (while she was at PCC) was sexually assaulted by a GA supervisor while working for the college. ⁸ Something she was unable or uncomfortable reporting due to PCC’s poor ethic around sexual abuse and victim blaming. See also this reddit comment from a past student discussing a sexual abuse case they were also aware of. My point is that indirectly and directly PCC used their authority to cause abuse or enable abuse of their student body.

You can look over any of my posts about PCC to see the culture and history of the college and the shame, fear, and anxiety that it imparted on me and my partner. This was directly caused by our trust in the college and our relationship with the authority figures at the college. Blind trust and obedience in the college was stressed, and guilt and shame were the reward if you failed in any way to meet their standards.

I know I’ve discussed student life / discipline committee before. But the entire structure of the college was authoritative and punitive. You quickly learned to silently accept the college’s punishments and to not argue with the student life committee member that was deciding your punishment for your infraction. If we had been taught that there are acceptable times to challenge authority, then we may have found another place to advance academically. Also Me and my partner may have been able to see the spiritual manipulation for what it was.

The focus on blind obedience to authority and a constant focus on humility also caries into life as you leave college (something this review of PCC highlights below). I can’t speak for my partner, but I know I still to this day struggle to confront those that wrong me especially if it comes from someone in authority. And I also struggle with separating out what others want for me vs. what I desire or want for my life.

Stick around for part three as I discuss how this type of blind trust of authority affected my life after college. If I was a prone to more lighthearted posts, the next post in this series would be something along the lines of “Whoops I accidently joined a cult.”

1. A common way this would happen is if you knew your roommate was sneaking off campus to meet someone of the opposite gender. If you failed to report your roommate, you were seen a culpable and enabling that individual in their sin. And you could get kicked out for hiding their infraction against the college. ↩︎
2. We also got separated by gender and given gender specific purity conversations during these same sessions. But that’s a conversation for another day. ↩︎
3. This was written as part of a public review of PCC by a past nursing student. https://web.archive.org/web/20180130100416/http://www.studentsreview.com/viewprofile.php3?k=1495574889&u=294 ↩︎
4. (Link discusses how PCC has mishandled sexual abuse at the college) https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2014/03/11/guest-post-god-is-done-with-you-pensacola-christian-college-and-sexual-violence/ ↩︎
5. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/15/us/kings-singers-pensacola-christian-college-cec/index.html (PCC canceled on of their fine arts celebration after finding out one of the performers was gay) ↩︎
6. https://web.archive.org/web/20220701201014/https://www.studentsreview.com/viewprofile.php3?k=1265186987&u=294 (Read this heartbreaking review of PCC by a gay student) ↩︎
7. https://www.change.org/p/pensacola-christian-college-stop-descrimination-against-expulsion-of-homosexual-students ↩︎
8. GA students are students that work at the college to get their master’s degree. They often held leadership roles in the student work program or would teach bachelor’s level classes. https://www.pcci.edu/grad/graduate-assistant.aspx ↩︎