Surviving The American University
Sticking To Biblical Values In A Place Designed To Challenge Them
It was a normal Thursday afternoon in Waco as I trekked across Baylor University’s campus to attend my final class of the day: Minority and Ethnic Politics. As I entered the classroom, I noticed the topic of discussion that my class would be pursuing over the next couple of weeks written in green marker on the whiteboard. “White Supremacy and White Nationalism” it read. I was instantly on guard. Under normal circumstances, these words alone would not have that effect on me. However, this day was near the end of the semester and, in this class, I had already endured three months of being called a bigot, racist, white supremacist, and all of the other popular epithets that conservatives are often assigned, simply for being…conservative. So, obviously, these specific words caused me to be particularly on edge that afternoon as I was the only white male in the class and evidently the only conservative out of my 28 classmates.
“I had already endured three months of being called a bigot, racist, white supremacist, and all other popular epithets that conservatives are often assigned, simply for being…conservative.”
Now I know what you are thinking. Why would a very conservative white male decide to take a class called “Minority and Ethnic Politics” in the first place? Honestly, when I was signing up for classes before my final semester, I was hesitant to place myself in this class simply because of the name. This class was one of three that would satisfy a particular senior-level requirement, and I knew it was the only one of the three that would not appeal to my conservative worldview. However, at this point in my college career, I had already taken so many courses that challenged my worldview that I grew to enjoy those classes more because of the incongruent situations I faced within them. The conflict allowed me to defend and build upon my already well-established worldview. But this class was different. That became very apparent to me the moment my professor opened his mouth on that fated Thursday afternoon to discuss “White Nationalism and White Supremacy.”
As everyone found their seat that day, my professor began his lecture. His first course of action was to define racism, white nationalism, and white supremacy. According to my Baylor University professor, these terms are defined as follows (these are not his exact definitions, but are derived closely from my class notes and memory of that day):
Racism: “Racism is defined as an imbalance of power between races. Particularly where one majority race holds privileges not held by other minority races. Racism does not exist towards the race who wields oppressive power over another race.”
White Nationalism: “The belief that white (Caucasian) people are a pure race and should have an established country of their own, excluding minorities. Especially prominent within the United States of America.”
White Supremacy: “The belief that white people are supreme evolutionarily, and intellectually to other minority races and should hold power over said minorities.”
After reciting these definitions, our professor clicked on the next slide on his PowerPoint to a page titled: “Commonly Held Beliefs by White Supremacists.” A few things on this list were:
Anti-abortion (Pro-Life)
Unregulated gun-ownership
Anti-universal health care
Closed borders
I could not believe what I was reading and hearing….
My professor was defining white supremacists as anyone who holds conservative values, thus labeling me as the only white supremacist in a class of mostly minority students.
I raised my hand immediately and asked, “What if a black person held these beliefs? Would he or she be a white supremacist?”
The professor simply answered, “Yes, black people can also be white supremacists. However, most of them are brainwashed by white people into thinking that way.” I was appalled and disgusted at the notion that everyone who believes the way I do was considered a white supremacist in his eyes, regardless of their color.
Conservative African-American student attacked by leftist militant and LGBT activist (Screenshot Youtube/Phil Nope)
The next part of our lesson was labeled, “How to deal with white supremacists in the public sphere.” On this slide, there was a link to a YouTube video. The video started with a faceless, voice-distorted, Antifa member explaining why white supremacy was the biggest threat to the western world. This individual claimed that conservatives in America today hold the same ideology Adolf Hitler used to sway Germany into killing millions of Jews. This Antifa member argued that this (conservative) ideology is a violent one and it must be answered in kind - with violence. After he made this ludicrous statement, the video transitioned to a compilation of Trump supporters, pro-life protesters, and conservative activists (all Caucasian individuals) getting mugged, or sucker-punched in the back of the head. This video continued for three more minutes. I sat speechless as my entire class laughed, cracked jokes, and cheered at the content of this dangerously ignorant video. Just after the video was wrapped, I raised my hand and called my professor by name. He allowed me to speak, and I proceeded to ask him if my summary of his argument was accurate.
“So, you are telling me, that any individual who holds conservative beliefs is a white supremacist and the way we must deal with conservatives is to violently and forcefully shut them up?”
He replied, “Well yes, but it’s not so black and white. It is much more complicated. This must only be done to those who perpetrate hate speech.”
“Well, how do you define hate speech? And who is the authority that verifies your definition as correct?” I responded.
My professor said, “It is a complicated issue.”
Conservative student punched on campus of University of California, Berkeley. Screenshot from Youtube.
He was unable to answer any question I asked, and any time he was challenged on this dangerous ideology, he would simply respond, “It is a complicated issue.” However, my grilling lasted for at least five minutes. I angrily asked questions that I knew my professor could not answer without exposing himself. I was heated. I found myself arguing loudly with the entire class, at which point the social justice warriors of the class started to get visibly angry. Eventually, I found myself surrounded (within 6-inch proximity) by about eight other classmates, male and female. They were all screaming at me, not allowing me to speak, cussing me out, and spitting on me as they yelled. My mind was racing as I recalled that my professor just taught these raging students that because of my beliefs, I was a white supremacist, and because I was a white supremacist (in their minds), they could violently assault me with no consequences. At that point, my fight or flight instinct kicked in, so I stood up and got ready to defend myself. I probably would have had to fight had it not been for my professor calming his minions down. I immediately stormed out of the classroom. I felt fortunate to get away unscathed.
As I left that class, angrily walking towards my apartment building, a million questions filled my head.
“Did I do something wrong? Did I respond incorrectly? What was the correct way to respond? How can I simply allow this to happen and not say anything? Was I responding out of my relationship with God or out of the zeal that my strong conservative values bring? Do those people even know I am a Christian or just a Conservative? I wonder if I could ever share the Gospel with them at this point.”
These are some of the thoughts that immediately ran through my mind. It was then that I realized--
I reacted out of my political identity rather than my Heavenly one.
Instant conviction. This realization marked my life forever and still causes me to constantly reflect on how I can respond to a lost and hurt world that propagates such ignorance and violence, but from Heaven’s perspective. I realized that I had to learn how to take a stand for my Biblical values in a public setting while communicating with tact and love. Being wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove (Matthew 10:16). I began to seek the Lord for strategy in this matter, and He taught me a few things that have helped me tremendously in navigating those peculiar situations. Hopefully, my experiences and insight (however little) gained from my college experience can help you navigate the raging sea that is The American University.
Practical Advice for Christian, Conservatives in College:
Make sure your beliefs and worldview line up with, and are rooted in, the Word of God.
2 Timothy 3:16 – “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
This world wants to teach you that anything you believe is “your truth,” and that there is no such thing as objective truth. This doctrine at its core is humanist. It comes from the belief that we are our own gods, and we decide reality. False. We are not gods. We do not define what is real. The only absolute truth is the Word of God. If your worldview does not line up with the Word, it is wrong and must be re-calibrated. Do not let your professors define what God has already defined. A belief rooted in absolute truth is not so easily swayed.
Pursue the Lord daily!
Matthew 11:28 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
John 15:5 – “I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
It is hard to stay grounded and steady in your faith as a college student if you are not actively pursuing the Lord. The culture of the American University is one full of debauchery, adultery, foolishness, drunkenness, anxiety, and pride. It is hard not to stumble if you are striving in your own power, but it is easy if you consistently find rest in the Lord.
Be humble and teachable.
1 Peter 5:6 – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
Even though your belief is rooted in absolute truth, that does not mean you can’t learn from other people and their experiences. Always be looking to learn from people. Chew it all up, spit out the bad, and swallow the good. Admit when you are wrong, especially to those who want to see you fail. Humility gains favor and influence with God and with man.
Don’t ARGUE to convince people, LIVE to convince people.
John 16:13 – “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”
I learned the hard way that heated debates and arguments never win an individual over to your way of thinking. People that want to live like you, will want to think like you. Conservatives – Christians: If you want people to see sense, be sensible; not condescending. If you want people to see Truth, live like Jesus and carry the Holy Spirit. It is the only way for a lost world to find Truth.
Your measure of love will be your measure of impact.
1 Corinthians 13:1 – “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 – “And now these three remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Years down the road, when the political arguments of your college days are irrelevant, the only thing that will leave a lasting impression on your classmates is how well you loved them. Love looks different in a lot of scenarios. In college, for me, it looked like being able to sacrifice my pride, my better argument, my money, my time, my sleep, etc. to help a fellow classmate even though they may think completely differently than I do. It has been nearly three years since I was in college, and the only people that still call me to speak with me are the ones that I made sacrifices to show them the love of the Father. Some of them think differently than I do. Some of them hate my political stances. But at the end of the day, they know that I love them and want the best for them. That is why they remain in contact with me, and I still have influence in their lives. My biggest regret about college is that I did not take the time to find more people to love in this way. Don’t leave college with the same regret.
Let your battles be righteous battles - not against flesh.
Ephesians 6:12 – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Whether you are fighting a battle for your conservative values, or just trying to navigate a worldly college culture, you can only do it with Christ. The fight for freedom and righteousness is a noble war that must be waged. But this war must be in tandem with and led by the heart of God. This is the only true way to successfully navigate the American University.