Pepperdine alumnus Kenneth Hahn was one of five members of the LA County Board of Supervisors, and he was no stranger to using his position to advance Pepperdine's interests, especially when it came to permitting the construction of the Malibu campus. When president William Banowsky and chancellor Norvel Young visited Hahn at his office in downtown Los Angeles in May 1972, they had a big favor to ask.¹

Their plan for a theme tower on the Malibu campus was opposed by Malibu residents, who threatened to tie up construction in the courts even if the county gave it a permit. At this meeting, the group drew up a plan to erect the tower's frame as soon as county approval came through, before neighbors could object.¹

Hahn agreed to put the item on the board's agenda and shepherd it through the approval process. Banowsky and Young would have the tower's twelve prefabricated steel sections on the ground, ready to bolt together the very night of the board's vote.¹