ROOM ARREST part 3, chapter 74

ED. NOTE: The following is the story of Dave Peters who was under room arrest. The story has been edited for length. This story preceded the mass deportment.

“I had been very protected growing up, and was generally accepting of the Christian principles that had been instilled in me.  I loved our youth group where I could have a sense of belonging that I didn’t have at my school.  However, I never really had much joy in my relationship with God, as I felt He must be terribly disappointed with me for my lack of victory over sin, and my inconsistency in my devotional life.

“Going to Bible College was a chance to experience things I hadn’t experienced in my home environment, such as going to football games, singing in a large choir, and having a multitude of friends.  

  “The social rules were not a problem to me. It was fun just to flirt with all the girls and entertain them with my humor. Curfew was fine. I have always liked to go to bed early and get up early. I had been taught to respect and obey anyone in authority so don’t remember being angry or bitter because of rules. I did enjoy bending some rules and not getting caught. I certainly didn’t consider myself a rebel, or someone with a bad attitude. I just wanted to have a good time and enjoy my newfound independence.

“The fall of 1964 I returned for my second year thinking I would continue my studies to graduation. The atmosphere was not good as the Dean and Assistant Dean seemed overly zealous in their focus on the rulebook. There were a number of students who were disturbed by this antagonistic relationship between students and Deans.  

“With the Christmas banquet coming up I succumbed to social pressure and decided to ask someone to go with me. It was the first time I had ever asked a girl for a date. The rules were that this was an on-campus event, and that dates were allowed, but the date was limited to the campus.  Since I had never gone on a formal date I had no idea how it would go, or what to expect, but it seemed to go all right.  After the dinner and the program, four of us started talking and decided we would sneak out and go bowling. I had never done anything like this before, but it didn’t seem like a really big deal at the time, and if my conscience was saying no, I don’t remember it speaking very loudly.  

“Both of us guys had dates that we had hardly spoken to previously. We borrowed my roommate’s car, and off we went, the boys in the front and the girls in the back.  We bowled for an hour or so and then realized that the dorm would be locked by now, and we would have to sign in with the night watchman.  This would be tantamount to signing a confession of our guilt.  We talked about it for a while and decided to keep bowling, since it was Friday night and the bowling alley was open all night.  Then, once the doors were unlocked in the morning, we would sneak back in. 

“This is what we did, although towards morning we got tired of bowling and drove around for awhile. We parked the car for an hour or so (still boys in the front and girls in the back) and then decided we should head for the dorm.  The car wouldn’t start. By now the girls were mad, since the car was cold, and getting colder by the minute. The guys only had on suits – no winter coats – but we braved the cold and walked to a service station to get help.  We got back to the dorm cold and tired.  As dates go, this hadn’t gone very well. When I got back to my room I realized that the whole dorm knew we had been out all night.  Some of the guys had had a prayer meeting for us. One of the fellows who had a crush on the girl I had dated had spent the night in my room to see what time I would get in. I quickly realized that it was only a matter of time until the authorities found out about our all-night date. As the four of us talked the next day, we came to the conclusion that confessing our escapade to the authorities might cause them to be lenient with us, but at the time I was still looking for a way out of the mess.  

“A few days later we were given letters from the Student Life Committee.  We were each to be on “room campus” for a month starting right after the Christmas break.  What this meant is that we were only allowed to be out of our rooms for bathroom breaks, meals, church, classes, library (for class assignments), and we were not to have anyone in our room other than our roommates.  There was the feeling among the faculty and administration that they could not ignore the fact that two couples had stayed out all night, and that they needed to come down heavily on us.

“I went home and told my parents what had happened. They handled it very well and didn’t express any disappointment in me. I felt their support. I came back to school and began serving my time.

“I do not remember ever deliberately trying to break these new rules, but I obviously wasn’t terribly interested in sticking to the letter of the law either.  At the end of the four weeks, the girls were free to resume a normal life while the guys were given a letter stating that we had been observed breaking a number of the rules that had been laid out. We were left on “room campus” for another two weeks and on February 18^th 1965; we were given letters saying that we would not be allowed to return for the final trimester of that school year. We were expelled.

I was upset at how things were handled. I questioned the aloof attitude that suggested that they are the authorities and therefore were right and students were wrong. I was bothered at the disrespect shown students. There had been no personal contact. No face to face sense of compassion or care. They faced the judge and jury and then they were locked up and the key thrown away. There was no plan for redemption, only punishment. Spies were left to report infractions.

Rules had always been there, the same rules. But they had been handled with a sense of compassion. Now they had the weight of Deuteronomy. It seemed Christ had not yet come and grace did not abound. 
Did they do wrong? Yes. Did they deserve the punishment the received? Maybe. Were these students thumbing their noses at the rules? Doubtful. Was there a spirit of correction? No, just one of punishment. That was the problem from my perspective. I expected more.