May 19, 2009

Board of Trustees
Erskine College
Due West, SC 29639

Dear members of the Board of Trustees:

My name is Tiffany (Tre*) Wylie. I am a graduate of Erskine College, class of 2003 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Social Studies and a Minor in Secondary Education. For the past four years, I have served [as an English teacher overseas]. During my tenure [overseas], I have earned a Master’s degree in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Azusa Pacific University. I returned home in February to have knee surgery. Since my return, I have heard disturbing rumors about Erskine from current students, fellow alumni, and others outside of the Erskine family. I am concerned about the direction of Erskine College if these rumors prove to be true. Below are some of the rumors that have come to my attention. These rumors, whether true or false, can damage the reputation of the school and should be investigated.

1. There is a current attempt to change the mission statement of Erskine College in order to secularize Erskine College to increase student enrollment.
2. There is a desire to separate Erskine College from the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and tradition.
3. The Vice President of Enrollment is seeking to change the prospective student demographics to target and increase recruitment of more secular students and decrease recruitment of Christian students.
4. There is an attempt to remove questions pertaining to faith or religious beliefs from the Presidential Scholarship interviews.
5. There has been an active attempt by some in the administration to discourage students from attending the Due West A.R.P Church.

Erskine College, as a Christian institution, has an opportunity and responsibility to set itself apart from and counter the secularism and relativism that is pervasive in American culture today, particularly in higher education. According to the mission and purpose statements, all subjects should be taught from a Christian worldview. Students should learn how to incorporate their faith into their respective field of study, and should be taught how to recognize philosophies, ideologies, and religious beliefs that contradict Christianity to teach them how to counter these contradicting belief systems and live as salt and light among the nations. Students ought to be equipped for life-long ministry and service as servants of the Most High God, no matter what field they enter once they leave Erskine.

Many current students have voiced their dismay with the failure of Erskine College to implement this mission statement. In his article, which appeared in The Mirror and ARP Talk, entitled “To the College of Laodicea”, Daniel Stephens comments,

Here at Erskine we are hearing that we have money, admissions, and retention problems . . . students arrive with a perception of the college that is not accurate at all. Once they find out that Erskine is, in reality, quite different from what they were sold on, they become dissatisfied and frustrated. Some feel lied to, some let down, some attempt to change the institution to what they were originally told it was. If this scenario was the fault of the students, we should expect to see just a couple leave each semester of their freshmen year. However, this is not the case as we all know. The students are not mistaken, they are deceived.

This is an alarming statement as to the portrayal of Erskine College. Prospective students are told that Erskine is a Christian college and that they will receive faith-based education centered on the person of Jesus Christ. However, according to current students, this is not completely true. The fact that current students have begun in various ways to voice their concerns and opinions about the present status of Erskine College must give everyone reason to question the direction and goals of the current administration. On Saturday, April 25, students organized themselves and proceeded to carry out what has been coined a “Moonlight Revolution.” Students, using Martin Luther’s 95 Thesis as their inspiration, used sidewalk chalk to write their complaints and opinions about Erskine College and its administration on the sidewalks of the campus. The following is a list of student complaints that I find relevant and disturbing:

The administration refuses to integrate faith and learning
Dr. Ruble is not willing to take any strong theological positions
The Admissions Office tries to compete head-to-head with larger secular schools like Furman rather than implementing and selling the mission of Erskine as a distinctively Christian liberal arts college
The ARP Church does not support Christian students by demanding accountability of Erskine’s leadership
Question: Why does the Admissions Office discourage any talk about Christ with prospective students?
Why is the Bible ignored at Erskine?
Where’s the focus on Christ? Please fulfill the mission statement.
We want actual integration of Faith and Education.
If you care, please PRAY FOR ERSKINE.
What happened to Gospel driven at EC?

These complaints are an attempt by concerned students to request those in leadership to fulfill their duty as servant-leaders of the college. Christian students are demanding that their leaders provide a Christ-centered education and solid Christian leadership. These students are demanding that their leaders be held accountable to the mission and purpose statements of Erskine College by the Board of Trustees and the Synod. They want what they were told they would get when they made the decision to attend Erskine College. I as an alumna of Erskine College also want accountability and desire that Erskine integrate faith and learning as stated in the mission and purpose statements.

My purpose in drafting this letter is to humbly request that the Board of Trustees and the Synod investigate the rumors and complaints that I have listed and to examine the total program of Erskine College and the use of its resources in all areas of its mission. What is Erskine College currently doing in the field of Christian higher education? Are students presented with Christ and the Christian viewpoint? Are students learning tangible ways to live their lives in right relation to God and man? Is the current direction of Erskine College a direct reflection and extension of the leadership of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church? What can be done to assure that Erskine College implements its mission and purpose statements? What change is needed? Are the members of the Synod, the Board of Trustees, and the Board of Directors willing to do what is necessary to ensure that Erskine College is what it claims to be – Christ centered?

In Christ through faith,

Tiffany Wylie

cc: Members of the Synod