Early To Announce Reopening, But Then Closed. Pepperdine Worries About Unsupervised Student Partying
Written by 991KBU on September 11, 2020
You might remember last spring … nearly every university in America was closed to students for the foreseeable future.
Pepperdine University was one of the first in the country to proclaim that it would reopen … with dorms and on-campus instruction … in the fall.
As a result … Pepperdine signed up thousands of students for dorm accommodations this fall … in Malibu.
But then … over the summer … Pepperdine suddenly reversed course.
Residence hall students were told … not travel to Malibu … they closed the dorms for most students.
Too late.
This flooded the general Malibu area with young adults … 19 or 20 years old … renting apartments or group houses.
Pepperdine officials are now saying they worry that students are now throwing parties … socializing … and not often observing county health rules.
Officials and professors at Pepperdine University tell the student newspaper … they are worried that students are throwing large parties …and other dangerous disease spreading behavior .. off the campus … in Malibu.
Pepperdine was one of the first colleges in America to announce plans for reopening on campus instruction last spring.
That caused thousands of Pepperdine students to enroll … both here in Malibu and at overseas campuses in Italy .. England … South America and China.
But then … students received news that all abroad programs were suspended for this fall.
This caused hundreds of Pepperdine students to scramble for off-campus housing … according the the student newspaper … the Pepperdine Graphic.
About one thousand Pepperdine students are living in the greater Malibu area … if data from a Pepperdine questionnaire is extrapolated.
Some in Malibu … but more in Santa Monica … the Malibu Canyon Apartments in Calabasas … and cabins at Calamigos Ranch.
Communication Professor Jon Pfeiffer lives here in Malibu … off campus.
He told the Pepperdine graphic he has witnessed occasions of Pepperdine students throwing large parties in his Malibu neighborhood.
“[It is upsetting] to see somebody just breaking the rules, especially when Pepperdine has gone as far as they have and going online for everything,” Pfeiffer told the newspaper.
Pfeiffer said the students are throwing indoor parties with 20 to 30 people with no masks or social distancing.
He is concerned that these students will put the community at risk
The Pepperdine vice president for Student Affairs reminded students of state and county guidelines … in an email sent to the Pepperdine community two weeks ago.
It was reprinted in the student newspaper.
“Because we have had reports that our students have been gathering locally in large groups at the beaches or in house parties, I also want to take a moment to remind you that students are expected to comply with all state and county guidelines wherever they currently reside,.”
But the Pepperdine letter did not mention any university sanctions against students who are off campus … and who violate the county rules.
