I’m a high school junior who attends an inner-city, very liberal and politically active school. This worldview is something I greatly value and would like to find in a college. However, most of my friends and I have never touched drugs or alcohol. We are the children of doctors and professors and refuse to risk our health, or our performance in academics or our sports. This is something that is very important to me as well. Throughout my college search I have repeatedly found that schools that appear to be left leaning also have active drug/alcohol/party scenes. Oberlin, Carleton, Reed and Wesleyan are some examples. Where can I find a campus that is liberal but doesn’t smell of pot?
That’s college dear. You get to choose to smoke or not but you don’t get to choose for others. Have a look at the religious colleges, some are not too conservative.
From what I’ve heard and seen, most of the women’s colleges are very liberal but not as big a drug problem as other colleges of the same political intensity. I don’t know for sure, but Bryn Mawr and Wellesley might be good
Look into the option for substance free housing at the schools you’re interested in. Otherwise I do think it will be hard to find a liberal campus where there isn’t drug use. Maybe a Catholic university would be stricter about monitoring drug use but also support a social justice type of environment?
You sound a lot like my younger son. I wouldn’t worry too much about the schools you mentioned. There is undoubtedly some pot-smoking, but none have reputations as “party schools.” You and your friends are far from alone. Apart from religious-affiliated schools, colleges with fairly conservative political reputations (especially southern ones) often have a lot of partying. That can be on account of the central roles Greek-letter organizations play, or the male-dominated cultures.STEM-intensive schools tend to be more restrained, also, for various cultural and social reasons, but I inferred that you wanted a liberal arts college. I think you will find plenty of like-minded students at smaller, left-leaning, liberal arts colleges. These colleges are likelier to attract very health-conscious students, or those who would prefer to spend a Saturday attending a rally or lecture than getting drunk or high. Also, remember that progressives are usually more tolerant, overall, of others’ decisions, and even the stoners are likelier to respect your choices than students are at colleges where the norm is the norm.
Unless you go to a deeply religious school (and even then…), there WILL be drugs on campus. If you don’t want to do them, nobody will judge you. However, to turn up your nose at reputable and excellent institutions because you heard they smoke a lot of weed is a bit close-minded. If you’re female, you might like Smith, Mount Holyoke, or Barnard. However, I guarantee you those schools still have kids who drink and smoke. It’s something that a lot of dumb college kids do. Don’t limit yourself by thinking that it’s something that ALL dumb college kids do.
@woogzmama , Reed does have that reputation, particularly for pot. I think you could find plenty of non-partying friends at the other schools you listed, though.
Well, the first thing I would say is that neither alcohol nor marijuana, in moderation/at low levels, will pose a significant risk to your health or performance in academics or sports. (Also, I want to point out that many children of doctors and professors like to get wasted every weekend, and many children of bus drivers and lunch ladies study hard and don’t want to squander their talents.)
But with that said, not all liberal activist kids drink and/or smoke pot, even at schools that have a reputation for being a little free with the substances. (Likewise, there are lots of schools that have reputations of being more “conservative,” but that doesn’t necessarily affect their substance use - people’s and colleges’ personalities are more diverse and less black and white than that.)
The four colleges you mention have reputations as some of the elite liberal arts colleges in the country; the students there aren’t going to be partying hard every weekend. They don’t have the time.
I would say that all of the most academically rigorous small liberal arts colleges lean left – some lean farther left, some are more middle road – but at all you will find committed activists in a wide range of causes. It also seems to me that schools that lean the farthest left tend to favor drugs (mostly pot) for recreation and those that are more middle road tend to go with alcohol. You won’t find any that are entirely substance free, though the women’s colleges are a good alternative.
My advice would be to try to try to put together your list based on the environment and personality that most appeals to you. Students at Oberlin, Reed and Wesleyan do have reputations for drug use, but they also take their academics seriously. I would put Swarthmore and Grinnell in with this group as well.
I would have thought that Carlton would fall more toward the middle road group, but maybe that’s just because the kids I know there tend to be fairly down to earth.
If you are an athlete, in which case you might look at Williams, Bowdoin and Middlebury. The activism at these schools will be more focused on environmentalism than politics, but for sure the student body is still very progressive, and health conscious. Very little drug use, more alcohol though.
If the dorms and/or other facilities and/or the entire campus are labeled no-smoking, that would include all kinds of smoking. So start with that. Ask, and make certain that this is enforced. What people do in areas labeled for smoking is up to them, just plan your routes to avoid those areas.
This is actually a good era to be a sober activist in. The connection you’ve noted between liberalism and substance abuse was much stronger 25-35 years ago. More liberals today view substance abuse as one of their causes. That’s why their are substance-free dorms/corridors in the first place.
Anyway, I think the situation is probably a lot less bleak than it may seem.