MythBusters: Loma Edition

With an interesting background story and a complete movement of the campus in 1973, PLNU holds a lot of history. Originally called Pacific Bible College, the university has definitely been through a transformation and thus harbors a handful of myths that many students have given an ear to over the years. Here is a list of the most common myths buzzing around PLNU.

1. “If your roommate dies, you get free tuition”: Many rumors circulate around campus regarding what happens if your roommate dies, including free housing or even free tuition. Some students even heard you can get straight A’s. To anyone out there hoping their roommates might meet untimely ends and take the pressure off their student loans, this legend remains as such. Its starting point is unknown. “I would assume the resident would get the same options as if their roommate were to leave or drop out,” sophomore Haley Jones said.
2. “If you get hit by a car on campus, you get free tuition”: Again with the free tuition… Although this myth has not been spread around too much, some students have said free tuition is only given if the car in the accident belongs to the university, such as a public safety vehicle. Sorry to burst any bubbles, but none of the official PLNU vehicle codes and rules say anything about free tuition for students who get hit by cars. This is a myth that, according to the internet, is popular on campuses across the U.S.
3. “Prescott Prayer Chapel was placed in the top 10 best places to have sex in California”: For 44 years, the Prescott Prayer Chapel served as a place on the Point Loma campus that provided a space for prayer and reflection for students. Now in the process of being rebuilt, Urban Dictionary gives a different definition to the prayer chapel of the past. “A small chapel located next to the busiest walkway of Point Loma Nazarene University is known to be a prime spot for illicit sexual relations among students. The small chapel is rated #8 place to have sex in California by Playboy Magazine.” This Playboy post is unavailable online but students have gossiped about this myth for years. Whether it’s true or not, the building is no longer standing, so I guess we’ll never know.
4. “Cabrillo Hall is haunted”: Originally, the grounds of PLNU were led by a woman named Madame Katherine Tingley, who built a campus for the Theosophical Society. This group encouraged tolerance of religion, science, philosophy and art. Madame Tingley’s home is still located on campus, now known as Cabrillo Hall, the communication studies department. Since the building was thought to be haunted for years, David Schmidt, a PLNU alumnus from 2002, dug into this history and wrote a book about the building called Holy Ghosts: True Tales from a Haunted Christian College. “Many people had firsthand accounts of strange things that they had seen, heard or felt and couldn’t explain,” Schmidt said, talking about encounters with the ghost of Madame Tingley.

Online research may have students thinking this myth is true, but whether the building is haunted or not is one’s personal opinion. I sure would not be caught in Cabrillo Hall during the dead of night.