News
Jan 25

Student Life: An Integral Part of BJA

  • January 25, 2017
  • Blog
Although the mission statement of Bob Jones Academy was written in recent years, it reflects the “why” of BJA since its beginning. How is it carried out? The mission of BJA is executed through traditional college-preparatory education to challenge critical thinking from a biblical worldview. It extends both to the curricular and extracurricular programs. Extracurriculars—the student life program—have always been an important part of Christian education, providing opportunities for students to put into practice biblical principles which are taught and modeled by the faculty and staff. Through the years the student life program has continually adapted to a changing environment. The Cleveland years brought important changes in student life.

As BJA arrived in Tennessee, the most notable change in the student body was the lack of cadets. The military school was dropped, and the term “preparatory” no longer appeared as part of the school’s name. Most often the school was officially called The Bob Jones College Academy, but on campus it was simply known as the Academy.

Societies and Sports
Academy students were members of college literary societies, which met on Saturdays. Academy students had to compete with college students for positions on sports teams, so generally high school students served as ball boys or scorekeepers. However, there are records of a few Academy sports teams, like this photo of the Academy basketball team in the 1939 Vintage. There are no records of what teams they played against.

High school students participated in society social events. Some fondly remember outings to Chickamauga Dam near Chattanooga and formal dinners held for members and their dates.
During the final years in Cleveland, each society had a junior society for high school students. The junior society attended college society meetings; and even though there were slates of junior society officers, there are no records of separate junior society activities. High school students still tagged along on college society activities. This, however, seemed to be a first step toward separate Academy societies.

Junior-Senior Banquet
Although there are records of student body and class officers, there are no records of meetings or activities, with the exception of the junior-senior banquet. The first known junior-senior banquet was held in May 1940 and was featured as a lead story in The Conqueror, an early BJC student newspaper. The event was held in Rehearsal Hall, which was decorated in black and red, and featured red tulips as table decorations (the class colors and flower). The class officers offered welcome and thank-you speeches, and several groups presented musical numbers. In addition, there were readings of the class history, will, and prophecies. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. presented an “inspirational address” and closed in prayer.
​Pinkston, W.S. (2016). A History of Bob Jones Academy.

​Societies are no longer a part of BJA student life, but the junior-senior banquet continues as an annual tradition. Today’s student life program includes far more opportunities than in the Cleveland days but always ties back to the BJA mission—Bob Jones Academy exists to assist like-minded Christian parents in challenging students to love Jesus Christ, to embrace God’s truth, to exercise integrity, to pursue excellence, and to serve others.