Pepperdine
University president Andrew Benton sent a message Tuesday to
students and staff about the university's mandate to
maintain neutrality regarding political messages
and candidates, despite a Pepperdine law professor's
televised ad supporting California's Proposition 8,
which would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to
marry.
Faculty and
students at the Malibu, Calif., Catholic university, as well
as alumni and donors, have spoken out about the prominence
of Pepperdine's name in the commercials.
"Without any
involvement in the campaign, Pepperdine has been
lionized and vilified," Benton wrote earlier this week. "We
have been given credit where it is not due and blamed
beyond anyone's wildest imaginings. I, and perhaps
many of you, continue to receive words of praise and
condemnation from people who are either thanking us or
sharply criticizing us. Whether the writers are for or
against Prop. 8, I take no comfort from either
position as it puts us where we don't belong -- in
partisan politics."
Prof. Richard
Peterson has appeared in two Yes on Prop. 8 television
commercials, identifying himself as a Pepperdine faculty
member. Benton demanded that the organization
sponsoring the messages, Protect Marriage, remove all
references to Pepperdine after the first commercial aired
September 29 on stations across California. The second
commercial, which began airing October 8, also
identified Peterson as a Pepperdine law professor, but
added a disclaimer in very small print along the
bottom of the screen explaining that the Pepperdine name was
displayed for "identification purposes only."
Jerry Derloschon,
executive director of public relations for Pepperdine,
said the school allows faculty and students to exercise
their rights to freedom of expression but that the
university itself must remain neutral.
"The university
is not a voting block," he told The Advocate on
Friday, adding, "Imagine if universities could use
their weight to impress upon staff and students on
which way to vote. That would be absurd." (Michelle Garcia,
The Advocate)
