BJU started out with 2 rules -- no smoking and girls had to check out before leaving campus. All the others came up as they were needed. So my guess would be that there were some problems with this that led to this rule. I think if something comes up in which the students planned to be at their destination before midnight but something came up to hinder that (traffic, flat tire, etc.), they'd just have to deal with it the best they could (and probably call their parents for advice at that point). After all, if they planned to be at their destination by midnight but aren't, there are only 2 things they can do, keep going or stop and get a hotel (or perhaps take the non-driver to the bus station, but they may not have the financial means to do that). Under extenuating circumstances I think the school would understand that. The rule isn't for extenuating circumstances, it's for the norm -- extenuating circumstances they deal with as they come up.

If my child were in that situation -- honestly, I don't think it is good for one guy and one girl to be alone in a car for that long, anyway -- but if they were, what I would expect them to do is call if something delayed them, then go by what their parents said to do -- a lot would depend on how late it was, how tired they were, etc. Then, I think, they'd be off the hook with the school because they did what their parents advised, and they couldn't exactly call the Dean of Men or Women at 11:59 p.m. to explain the situation.

Christian institutions are in a hard place in these instances because they want to help students not to "make provision for the flesh" and help them to avoid putting themselves in the place of temptation. A lot of young people are going to be doing this kind of thing for the first time, and not think through what they might do in such a situation until they get there, and then find themselves in an awkward situation or perhaps even in a place of temptation they might not otherwise have been in. Any place the school draws the line is going to be not far enough for some people and seem ridiculous to others. This is one of those areas you just have to trust they're doing the best they can in light of their years of experience. Believe me, as an adult, I would not be in a car that many hours, especially after midnight, alone with a man I am not married to, so I don't have any problem with this rule at all for young people. Some might think they would be immune to temptation in such circumstances. 1Co 10:12: Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.