<p>The biggest difference here, Senior991, is that we can divorce intellectual discussion about this issue and our own opinions about this issue.</p>
<p>^What does that even mean? For me the two are intertwined; my current opinion on abortion came only after I analyzed abortion from the social justice perspective.</p>
<p>Early on in the discussion, you started bringing up issues fundamentally related to the issue itself, which showed you were letting your own opinions in; I could have responded with a ton of pro-choice arguments, but I didn’t want to turn this discussion into a mostly unrelated discussion about abortion. You keep making it hard not to do that.</p>
<p>(Of course, this would be more fodder for you to prove that “ignorance is the game” at Stanford and so on. But how about this: there were 490 roses planted and each one represented 100,000 abortions; I completely support every single one of them, and your attempts to make me think otherwise makes me support them even more. See how that sort of argument feels in a discussion where it’s not really pertinent?)</p>
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Yes, I have opinions on abortion. I also have opinions on how abortions are perceived at a place like Stanford. I’m sorry if I let those two opinions affect my perception of an anti-abortion protest on Stanford’s campus. </p>
<p>You have opinions on abortion too. I can guarantee those affected your initial reactions to the protest and furthermore what you are writing here. </p>
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Why?</p>
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<p>But not the way you’ve been taking on the argument. It’s one thing to disagree with a protest–there were prop 8 protests I thought were ridiculous and I’m gay–but I didn’t start bringing in my own beliefs about it. Perhaps you felt you had to in order to justify your stance on the protest and whether it’s ridiculous, but you seem vehement enough to turn this into an abortion debate.</p>
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<p>There are a variety of reasons, e.g. I don’t think a fetus gains life until it has cognitive function which it gains closer to birth (research is the basis of many of my views). But as I suggested, this is neither the time nor the place to debate this topic.</p>
<p>Choosing the Right College 2010-2011</p>
<p>Pick up this book. Insightful look into schools across the country. What I appreciated about the book was the street light rating at the end of each summary. Green light for political balance, Yellow for caution-unsure, Red for lack of tolerance for opposing views. I really appreciated this as it was a part of our search. Many great schools are highlighted in the book. </p>
<p>Best wishes!</p>
<p>You will not find a truly conservative student body at any top school. Both of my older kids are politically and socially conservative–one happily went to Dartmouth and the other one to Stanford, if that helps confirm two schools on your daughter’s list! Dartmouth traditionally has had strong ties to investment banking, which probably accounts for some of the conservatism. The Dartmouth College Republicans were active, but weaker than the College Democrats since the latter’s views were more popular among the student body. My son definitely encountered very liberal profs, and once one gave him a poor grade on a paper merely because she didn’t like his views. However, since my son believed his work was well-written, well-researched, and his points well-supported, he went to talk to her about it. A day or so later, she called him in to her office and admitted she had been blinded by her bias, had been unhappy about how well he had supported a viewpoint she didn’t like, and admitted that his paper was actually very good. She gave him an A. So, conervative views are probably not respected but are tolerated, which is more than can be said for many campuses. </p>
<p>Before my S chose a college, I posted a similar question to what you’re asking, OP. At that time, there were quite a few CCers who told me Princeton was more conservative than the other Ivies. I wouldn’t have thought so based on our multiple visits to the school, but those folks probably had more intimate knowledge than we do.</p>
<p>I would think Brown would be the antithesis of what you want.</p>
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Okay Mr. Perfect. I believe you. </p>
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Threads take on tangents all the time. Roll with it. After you mention how you support every single abortion, you can’t just expect the conversation to be closed then and there. Curious people like myself want to know why you say that. </p>
<p>Okay, if you define life that way that’s cool. I think you’re missing the bigger picture, but you seem too rooted in science for me to think you can be persuaded.</p>
<p>I was demonstrating to you why bringing in my own beliefs doesn’t do anything for the present discussion and just incites the other person; hence, “See how that sort of argument feels in a discussion where it’s not really pertinent?” Threads have tangents, but the topic of abortion rights is probably not the sort that we want, because it’s highly contentious and won’t end well, but you seem hellbent on making a discussion about it anyway. And you try to call out the liberals on campus?</p>