Photographs and narration by Jona Frank
Teenagers don't usually wear suits by choice, and they certainly don't wear them every day. But at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Va., students sport three-pieces like most college kids do sweatpants. And that says a lot about them: these are youngsters who believe their destinies will begin as soon as they begin acting like adults. The students who attend Patrick Henry are not ordinary collegians, nor is their university an ordinary college. Begun in 2000, Patrick Henry is what founder Michael Farris calls "the Christian equivalent of the Ivy League." For the majority of its students, it's like a Beltway training camp: they study politics, do internships on Capitol Hill, and land prestigious jobs in the (until now, Republican) White House. They also adhere to the belief that the Bible is inerrant, Satan and hell are real, and that "all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious torment for eternity." In a new book, "Right: Portraits from the Evangelical Ivy League," photographer Jona Frank, with writing by Hanna Rosin, captures these students in their daily lives.
