<p>A brief background: I am a freshman at Princeton. I applied to Stanford SCEA and was accepted. The choice between the two game down to the wire; I went to both previews.</p>
<p>Now, on CC, the concern seems to be with an environment that's friendly or tolerant toward a particular stance, e.g. LGBT rights, a religious affiliation of choice, or a conservative/liberal viewpoint. These criteria have value insofar as they provide a reason to eliminate options (e.g. a staunch conservative woman may not be at home at Sarah Lawrence, or an atheist liberal at Bob Jones U.). However, they do little to distinguish between schools that can be broadly categorized as "friendly," or that have a campus with a vocal contingent of choice. Simply labeling the campus as tolerant is therefore insufficient, given the wide spectrum this word permits.</p>
<p>My mistake was not investigating the specifics on the religious life on both campuses. For someone who is only marginally religious (or political, philosophical, etc.) this might not be necessary. However, if one plans to seriously engage in a particular ideological sector of campus, it is not enough to know that the voice is heard or that the campus is at least marginally accepting (sometimes this is code for indifferent). Having theological discussion groups every night (which the Catholic organization at Princeton offers) is far different from having mass once a week and nothing else, although these two situations could both exist on "tolerant" campuses.</p>
<p>In other words, I would urge prospective students and parents to truly examine the situation on campus instead of accepting "tolerant" as a substitute for active and flourishing. A campus tolerant toward liberals does not mean that a liberal will find intellectually stimulating endeavors that relate to liberalism (e.g. respected and professional-quality publications pushing progressivism). A staunch Muslim may find that a tolerant campus offers few religious resources beyond worship services. A budding Republican politician may find himself at a campus that leans right but has an ineffective College Republicans chapter due to a lack of interest in activism.</p>
<p>In summary, deeper digging is an absolute necessity if religion or politics is going to be, or could even conceivably be, a major part of one's college experience. Simply checking the box of tolerance/the basic necessities (e.g. having a Catholic mass on Sunday) is not productive beyond a certain point. Don't make the same mistake I and some of my classmates made: confusing tolerance with intellectual stimulation and a beneficial and enriching environment.</p>
<p>P.S.: This post was prompted by the incredible opportunities I have at Princeton, not a lack thereof. I suppose it all worked out for the best.</p>
<p>Great post! It makes your point in a balanced, non-polemical way. I’ve been searching for liberal campuses, and let me tell you that there is a BIG difference between an Amherst liberal and a Hampshire liberal. Words like “tolerant” “Christian” “liberal” “conservative” “traditional” and “diverse” can each have a thousand meanings.</p>
<p>Interesting. Would “acceptance of a view (and lack of hostility), involvement in a community, and power of an organization” be a better measurement?
And what have you found to be the case at Princeton? You make it seem as if it was not what you expected.</p>
<p>It depends on the environment for which one is searching. A prospective student may not care if he is socially ostracized to some degree if he can form a strong network with an active sub-community (e.g. a particularly active College Democrats chapter at a traditionally and stringently conservative school).</p>
<p>But if one wants an open environment that is also intellectually flourishing, that criterion would be better. I just don’t want “acceptance/tolerance” to become a proxy for “active,” or “beneficial” in the intellectual and self-growth sense. I fear this happens more frequently on CC than it should. </p>
<p>More specifically about Princeton, I was very pleasantly surprised, to the point where I am truly in a state of euphoria. The religious organizations almost all have events every night, dinners, etc. The Catholic fellowship on campus actually does have discussions every single evening. This is not even considering the service projects that take place several times a week (and service trips during breaks), masses every day, etc. From what I understand from friends of different religions, most of the ministries are very active and also active in bringing speakers to the school (although this is frequently done through a closely-affiliated political group).</p>
<p>More broadly, the political and “moral” (i.e. Pro-Life and Pro-Choice) are VERY active (although not necessarily activist) and host debates, forums, dinners, etc. The political magazines – American Foreign Policy, the Princeton Tory, and the Princeton Progressive Nation, to name a few – are also very regular and publish very sophisticated articles, whether you agree with them or not.</p>
<p>In other words, the Princeton campus is not merely a tolerant atmosphere, it is one in which intellectualism runs rampant. For some, this is not a requirement. But it would be a mistake to assume this is the case before really investigating the various aspects of campus life.</p>
<p>I like this post. I’m not sure about all of your examples, though. Many liberal college students, for instance, might care more about local opportunities for activism (something that for logistical reasons is difficult for college students to do if it’s not close by) than about professional-quality liberal publications on campus (which you can find pretty easily off-campus).</p>
<p>That’s of course a perfectly valid desire, to which my suggestion to dig deeper into the EC scene on campus should be changed to “on campus and nearby.” I should also add that in my experience at Princeton and in my friends’ experiences at other colleges, active campus groups tend to get involved in local causes or service projects as well. It seems likely that a very active campus scene will extend into the community. However, I think my post was geared more toward campus involvement, so I guess you are correct in that respect.</p>