My Brother Got Shipped From PCC

[nemorathwald]

My brother Andy got "shipped" from Pensacola Christian College. This is the term PCC students use for expulsion. Before I knew the details, I expected he just accumulated too many demerits for tiny infractions. I certainly accumulated a lot of them when I was there. For instance, having a clean room and your bed made when the floor-leader comes in to check in the morning. (The floor leader is a student whose job is to supervise the students on his or her hall.) I typically would get 5 demerits for not emptying my trash during morning check; another five for hair too long when they lined us up against the wall once a month for the dorm supervisor to inspect us; another five for being late to a class; another five for being caught out of bed or with a light on after 11 PM. More rules are listed here and here, but there are countless unwritten ones.

There are stages to the penalties. For 75 demerits in a semester, you get "campused." It means you can't leave campus for two weeks, and you're not allowed to speak to any other campused student during that period.

If you get 150 demerits in a semester, you are "shadowed", which means a floor leader is assigned to follow you everywhere and make sure you don't speak to any student, while they go through the process of expelling you. The term "shipped" is used for being expelled. Shipped students sometimes report gestapo-like intimidation tactics pressuring them into signing a lot of damaging paperwork without consulting a lawyer. A shipped student is abruptly dumped on the next flight home with a suitcase, and the rest of their belongings are literally shipped after them. Expelled students always have to sit out the rest of the semester and the one following, but after that, re-applications are considered on a case-by-case basis.

He got shipped for the dumbest thing. This requires some setup to explain. There is a men's sports field and a women's sports field. But the thing is, the men's sports field is on the other side of a little 2-lane road, Rawson Lane. My brother's friend Jeremy was playing sports on the Men's field and his girlfriend wanted to watch the game. Andy drove her there in his car. The road goes through school property but is defined as not on campus. When they drove across the road, they were for a moment "off campus" before they got back "on campus" on the other side of the road. Women are not supposed to go to the Men's Field at all except during a chaperoned sports event (and not all are chaperoned). Being with a student of the opposite sex off campus is always automatic expulsion.

That site is nearby where Rachel and I got "socialed" for talking on her way to work past my dorm when we were students there; but we were inside the fence, so we weren't expelled. Security caught us on the surveillance cameras. Speaking to a member of the opposite sex in an area without a chaperone results in being "socialed": we were not allowed to speak to any students of the opposite sex for two weeks.

Since you all share my opinion that my alma mater Pensacola Christian College (home of the famous "making eye babies" and "optical intercourse") is creepy and demented, I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you that I'm glad my brother is out of there, hopefully this time forever. He might be upset at the loss of all the money he's given the college, but it was wasted money for an unaccredited pre-med degree. I'll encourage him to apply to Macomb Community College or Oakland University.

Comments

[dbvanhorn.livejournal.com]

I didn't share that opinion till I read this!

Do they have any time left over after surveilance duties to actually teach any classes? This place sounds only a couple steps removed from "Flag" in clearwater florida.

Yikes.

[tlatoani.livejournal.com]

He's better off out of that place. Good for him!

[wormquartet.livejournal.com]

Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!

This is insane. Glad to hear your brother is out.

You should write a friggin' book about this place - all your posts about it are frightening and disturbingly entertaining.

-=ShoEboX=-

[rachelann1977.livejournal.com]

Both colleges you suggeste are good choices, but let me make a plug for Wayne state University. They have a superior college of science, and are awesome for pre-med. They have recently added dorms, and are very reasonable in cost, comparable to Oakland University. Also, the entire campus is safer than most suburbs, since they have their own police department. I have stories, sure, but in my entire time there, I never once witnessed or was a victim of any crime.

[dawnwolf.livejournal.com]

I second the Wayne State option, particularly since that will get him out of your parents' house and into a highly diverse environment.

[tlatoani.livejournal.com]

Another option -- probably similar in cost to Wayne State -- would be Eastern.

(Wayne is a great school, but an urban campus might be too much culture shock all at once.)

[drkelso.livejournal.com]

So was this a chaperoned sports event at the time?

And for the rest of the audience...if you think that was bad, PCC has a funny rule stating that students are allowed to drive home for the weekend. And on top of that, they can drive home in a mixed group of three or more people as long as all the people in the group live at the destination or somewhere along the way.

So, since my girlfriend (and now my wife) lived in Orlando, and I lived in a town about an hour away, we would get a third person and drive to Central Florida for the weekend "unchaperoned" and with the permission of the Dean of Students (in writing). We usually found a third person that lived closer to Pensacola than our destination so we could have time alone. And we basically spent the entire weekend together.

And it was ok as long as we didn't cross the street in a car together. Go figure.

Sorry about your brother, but then I'm not really. It will be better for him in the long run. My vote is with ASU. It's nice here this time of year. I'm sitting here with the windows open.

[rmeidaking.livejournal.com]

I hope he has a good de-tox opportunity somewhere. Somehow, I don't think that coming home to parents who were paying the tuition to send him there is going to help his peace of mind at all.

How *are* your parents reacting? What level of distress are they showing?

If the school is unaccredited, does this mean that he'd have to start over at a new school, or will some of the coursework transfer?

This looks to me - and probably to most of your friends - like the best thing that could have happened. It may not seem that way to other people. How does your brother feel about it?

OMG!!

[trav13369.livejournal.com]

this isn't a school, it's a cult. People doing the Big Brother thing 24/7 isn't conducive to learning. Good thing he is outta there.

[etain.livejournal.com]

I -hate- to ask this: but -why- would someone go there?

I do love the term "making eye babies," though and enjoy using it to freak out my roommate.

I'd also point out that, from what I've learned, getting a degree in something other than pre-med is good if you actually want to be a doctor. But don't have four majors. (Pitt, where I go, is like "So you want to be a doctor!" in everyone's face. I've learned more about becoming a doctor than I ever wanted to.)

On a totally random, unrelated note: I have begun listing my religion as Googlism.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

Best wishes for your brother's education from here on out.

[uplinktruck.livejournal.com]

Good for your brother.

Couple of questions: What happened to the girl? Do you get any of the tuition back?

Fascinating Story

[(Anonymous)]

I periodically look for information about PCC since I was a student for 3 semesters (fall 1988-fall 1989). Although I have never served in the military, I have often compared it to a combination of boot camp and Jim Jones Guyana (minus the Kool-Aid).

It is a shame that this institution seems to still be going strong. I deserves to be closed.

I often cringe when I hear of people singing the praises of A-Beka since it is that company that is helping to keep PCC's door open. I am glad to hear that the IRS has gone after them.

Your brother will be much better off for having had his connection with PCC severed. Best of luck to him for a speedy recovery from PCC.

Sincerely,

Jeff in Wyoming

[(Anonymous)]

I have to disagree with much of the comments on here. But I do agree with the fact that the rules are a little strict. However, there are reasons students attend PCC. I believe that several of these students actually felt led of the Lord to attend PCC. I for one have only visited this college. Me and my wife dated while she was enrolled there. We knew the "rules of engagement" everytime I visited. She graduated in 2001 and we married soon after. I am in the military and it is nothing like the training we go through. It is however a great place to learn christian fundamentals and also how to be an example in a world that definately needs them.