Oklahoma Christian University (OC)

Kind, accessible, “amazing� professors are “hands down� the best thing about Oklahoma Christian University. “The closeness that a student feels with his professor is unreal at this campus,� students say. It’s “like you’re being taught by good friends and family instead of some snobby professors.� The Dean of Students in particular is “crazy cool,� and “would do anything for a student in need�---“including loaning you money!� The administration gets slightly lower marks, particularly for its financial priorities. Although funding is going towards facilities, students point out that some buildings are “in shambles,� or are “construction . . . eyesores.� Most students live on campus, and “The recent surge in new housing has only led to a ridiculous escalation in on-campus housing charges.� One student sums up the general feeling: “While the hearts are big at this school, the administration really needs to learn to think ahead. They miss little details… that really make students mad.�

Most of the “laid-back, conservative, church-going� Oklahomans and Texans who predominate at OC were “raised in the Church of Christ,� and some students say the majority is “ignorant and/or intolerant of other denominations and/or belief systems.� Not everyone sees the issue in a negative light: “I think including others and inviting them to the Church of Christ is a strength and good thing,� says one undergrad. Others say there is no such problem: “The strongest factor that unites the student body is its faith in God and the belief that his son died on the cross for our sins, and not some church affiliation.� The social atmosphere is “like high school without the parents�: Students “are heavily branded by cliques or club associations.� Students emphasize, however, that “everyone is willing to get along [and] there isn’t any obvious shunning behavior.� “Atypical students� are clustered “in the English, Art, and Music Departments,� and there is “no obvious gay community.� OC has a critical mass of students of color, including African and Japanese international students, and an active community of “Third Culture Kids,� students who grew up overseas and identify with more than one culture. One African American student, however, warns that some White students “stare at� minorities or try to “act black� when speaking with them.

Students say that life at Oklahoma Christian “is all about getting to know God more.� Many students attend “Mondayand Thursday-night . . . devotionals . . . and almost all of the students [and] faculty attend church services on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights (they even close the library and cafeteria during these times to encourage it).� Instead of “frats or sororities,� OC has Greek-lettered but unhoused “social service clubs� that “do service projects for the community, hold banquets, and play intramural sports.� Detractors gripe that clubs “foster . . . cliquishness� and receive “too much emphasis . . . as the only means of social interaction,� but proponents say clubs provide “a really great way to get involved on campus and meet new people.� Sports also provide a sense of community. “Basketball is the big sport on campus,� so students “all go to the basketball games,� and there is “even a faculty team� that, to considerable delight, “plays in the basketball tournament on campus.� The school’s Oklahoma City location “allows for easy access to . . . Bricktown, malls, and the Hornets basketball team,� and students gush that “we have . . . movie theaters all over the place,� including an IMAX theater and the North Park Mall’s theater, where students can see a movie for $1.50.