Colleges for Conservatives/Libertarians?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I don’t know where you’re getting these wild ideas, but you’ll be treated fairly as a conservative at the vast majority of American colleges. Of course, not everyone will agree with you, but that doesn’t mean that they will tar/feather you in the streets. Colleges like Yale are liberal in their outlook and policies, but is well represented by members of all political spectrums.</p>

<p>Liberal and Conservative labeling is absurd. By what basis do you call yourself a liberal? You can believe in greater social equality while believing in curtailing government social programs.</p>

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<p>Oh for goodness sake, Pickwick. Come on. You dont have to leave Tennessee because of your personal preferences. That is just wrong. Further, I know for a fact that Furman University in South Carolina, which is a conservative bastion, has a very active LBG group because when we toured there with my kid we saw the poster on the bulletin board in the lobby of the student commons. We aren’t of that persuasion, but it told me that even at Furman, they are tolerant of alternative lifestyles. Most colleges…nay…all colleges I know of have very strict rules about gay/lesbian bashing or discrimination or abuse. They bend over backwards (not a pun) to help students who feel sequestered or ridiculed. And most kids today of all political viewpoints are very tolerant of homosexuals. My generation wasnt particularly friendly to them, but a lot has changed in 30 years. </p>

<p>Now back to the point, there are well documented cases of professors grading people harshly for espousing conservative views. Its a serious problem. Sadly, many professors are rather disingenuous about it and outright deny it, even when faced with indisputable evidence. I know some kids have had papers reviewed by other faculty and had grades changed. There is sometimes overt hostility towards conservatives in universities. Its very sad. Our nation was built upon very strong political debate. Our founding fathers were virulent debaters and sometimes disagreed with each other in vile tones. We should embrace free speech and be very tolerant of opposing viewpoints. </p>

<p>Tip ONeill used to argue with Reagan vociferously during the day on the telephone, and at night sneak down to the White House to have a scotch and play Gin Rummy with him, often into the wee hours. True story.</p>

<p>Get a clue.</p>

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<p>I think the best college in the country for a conservative who wishes to participate in spirited political debate, with a reasonable balance of liberals and conservatives among students and faculty, is Claremont McKenna College. Unfortunately CMC is too far from us and my son will probably not be applying there.</p>

<p>To the editor of Choosing The Right College: I really appreciate what you have done, especially where you create a suggested list of courses at each college for a well rounded education. If a student goes to Columbia or UChicago, the Core already serves that purpose. But if a student goes to Brown or Hamilton, he or she will need some guidance to put together something resembling a liberal arts “core”.</p>

<p>Sadly, I think that most conservative students who enter college will need a lot of intestinal fortitude to endure four years of living in the liberal bubble of a college campus. Many will succumb to what I would call a liberal form of Stockholm Syndrome, something like what happened to David Brooks after he became the in-house “conservative” at The New York Times. Others will graduate with their conservatism intact. And in what I think will be a new development in the years ahead, many of today’s liberal students will be “mugged by reality” and turn conservative when they realize that the policies of President Obama and Congress have burdened their generation with unsustainable debts, limited opportunities and lower living standards than their parents enjoyed.</p>

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<p>major in economics or computer science, there tend to be a lot of libertarians in those majors everywhere</p>

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<p>A CC poster surveyed data in 2007 from Facebook for Top 20 National Universities and came up with the following results (sorted alphabetically based on those students who posted a response):</p>

<p>Liberal/Very Liberal , Moderate , Conservative/Very Conservative , College</p>

<p>63% , 33% , 4% , Brown
48% , 43% , 9% , Caltech
59% , 34% , 7% , Columbia
49% , 38% , 13% , Cornell
50% , 36% , 14% , Dartmouth
46% , 39% , 15% , Duke
51% , 39% , 10% , Emory
56% , 36% , 8% , Harvard
47% , 40% , 14% , J Hopkins
48% , 45% , 8% , MIT
56% , 35% , 8% , Northwestern
30% , 40% , 30% , Notre Dame
49% , 37% , 14% , Princeton
43% , 42% , 15% , Rice
59% , 34% , 7% , Stanford
51% , 40% , 9% , U Chicago
51% , 37% , 12% , U Penn
33% , 40% , 27% , Vanderbilt
54% , 37% , 10% , Wash U StL
58% , 33% , 9% , Yale</p>

<p>As for the professors, there was a 2007 Harvard/George Mason study done about political leanings and voting affiliations/patterns. The more elite the college, the more liberal the professors. </p>

<p>Liberal , Moderate , Conservative , Political Orientation by Institution Type</p>

<p>56.6%, 33.1%, 10.2%, Elite, PhD
44.3% , 51.9% , 3.8% , Non Elite, PhD
61.0% , 35.1% , 3.9% , Liberal Arts
38.8% , 48.5% , 12.7% , BA, non Liberal Arts
37.1% , 43.9% , 19.0% , Community College</p>

<p>And there were also very significant differences in political view according to the fields in which the professors taught:</p>

<p>% Liberal , % Moderate , % Conservative , Subject Area</p>

<p>45.2% , 47.0% , 7.8% , Physical & Biological Sciences
58.2% , 36.9% , 4.9% , Social Sciences
52.2% , 44.3% , 3.6% , Humanities
10.7% , 78.0% , 11.3% , Computer Science & Engineering
20.5% , 59.0% , 20.5% , Health Sciences
21.3% , 54.3% , 24.5% , Business
53.4% , 35.9% , 10.7% , Other</p>

<p>And here were the voting patterns (which I suspect even more strongly favored the Democrats in 2008):</p>

<p>Republican , Democrat , Other , Year</p>

<p>20.4% , 77.6% , 2.0% , 2004
23.5% , 66.6% , 9.9% , 2000
14.7% , 75.7% , 9.6% , 1996
17.2% , 76.6% , 6.2% , 1992
31.7% , 64.0% , 4.3% , 1988
32.0% , 64.4% , 3.6% , 1984</p>

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<p>“George Washington is Liberal?”</p>

<p>I hate to bust your Beck bubble but leading a revolution against a monarch is the definition of liberal. A conservative of the 1770s would have been a Tory who would want to remain part of the British Empire.</p>

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<p>Calling out ideas/opinions as wrong is not polite, but its not intolerant. If you think the Earth is 6000 yrs old, Social Security is bad, the New Deal was ineffective, attacking countries that dont threaten the US is good foreign policy, and that “Death Panels” are a part Health care reform, then be prepared to be laughed at and ridiculed. Its the price of ignorance.</p>

<p>But dont whine when a professor tells you you are wrong. You(re parents) are paying them to teach you so dont walk into class as an 18 yr old and think you already know everything. Its why youth is wasted on the young.</p>

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<p>This is starting to sound like a thread that should be locked.</p>

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<p>Done yet?</p>

<p>Gotta love the liberal elitism. “I HAVE to be right, there is no WAY that anyone who disagrees with me can be right about anything, and people certainly shouldn’t be able to express any viewpoints that <em>gasp</em> go against my own!”</p>

<p>Sorry, but colleges don’t exist so some pinko-commies can spout off their nonsense about the government and actively discriminate against those who don’t buy into their bull. Grow up. America isn’t run by college professors and never will be, no matter what they like to tell themselves.</p>

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<p>What? Lock a thread because you disagree? Healthy debate and discourse is a good thing. Now if people become ad hominem and start lobbing personal attacks that is different. </p>

<p>Hawkette’s statistics support my supposition that there is a heavy liberal bias on most college campuses, and searchlight further underscored my point by supporting the author’s book as an aid to those seeking information on where they might find a healthier environment to study if they are conservative, religious or appreciate the value of a strong core requirement.</p>

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<p>Res ipsa loquitor.</p>

<p>Cuse- thank you for proving my point. I couldnt have done it any better.</p>

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<p>This is the wrong forum for all this. There IS a politics forum. </p>

<p>Another list, based on heresay:
Texas A&M
Trinity College
Liberty University
Wheaton College (IL)
St. Olaf College
Dartmouth</p>

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<p>Right back atcha. Glad to help, though.</p>

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<p>MISPICKWIKIAN - you would be happy/interested to know that on Vanderbilt’s campus the freshman live in the “commons” with a head of house (professor) and his/her family. In one of the “houses” the head of house and family consists of a female prof, her partner and their daughter. As far as I could tell, EVERYONE loves them and NOBODY had anything negative to say about the situation, parents and students included. I was thrilled to see such a warm and accepting community as I had heard all the “sterotyping” about the Vandy campus - which up until now, seems to be just that “sterotyping”.</p>

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<p>Swish- Nice touch. So true.</p>

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<p>“Healthy debate and discourse is a good thing.”</p>

<p>Healthy debate and discourse … is that what this thread represents?</p>

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<p>Healthy debate means just that…an exchange of ideas. You may not like the ideas, but it is healthy just the same. People emote as much as they reason and often mix the two in their ‘arguments.’ We all have our “favorite teams” (or issues). For some people they just shrug and move along unaffected. For others, they are hot button issues. But just because you don’t like being challenged or having statistics put forth which support an opposing viewpoint, doesnt mean that its not healthy debate. </p>

<p>This thread is perfectly reasonable and perfectly informative, particularly for students of the conservative and/or religious point of view who are genuinely concerned about finding a campus where they wont be hounded to death for four years. </p>

<p>I find it deplorable that any professor would ridicule any person or lower their grades based on their political viewpoints or simply a failure to agree with the “agenda” being presented by the professor. Many liberals either dont notice it or find it funny. Its not funny at all if you are presenting scholarly work and being given lower grades because you dont acquiesce to the professors point of view.</p>

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<p>“I find it deplorable that any professor would ridicule any person or lower their grades based on their political viewpoints or simply a failure to agree with the “agenda” being presented by the professor.”</p>

<p>Professors … they’re all scum. Can’t respect a single one of them. Don’t give them the benefit of the doubt Sonny, lest they infesticate your mind.</p>

<p>[Note: for those who don’t see the logic involved here, recall your truth table … when you start with an F statement, anything that follows is T.]</p>

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<p>I was a conservative back when I was in school, and was treated well at Cornell, Stanford, and Berkeley.</p>

<p>If you’re terrified about the prospect of changing your mind, there’s not much point in getting an education. If you hve the courage of your convictions, consider putting them to the test.</p>

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<p>It isn’t a matter of being afraid to change one’s convictions-it is a matter of being afraid of being punished academically because your political beliefs don’t line up with those of your grader.</p>