<p>First and foremost, I think it’s really sad that I have to ask this. </p>
<p>Anyways, I’m applying to Brown. If by the grace of God I was accepted I would have a dilemma - I’m conservative. Would I be completely miserable at Brown? Would I have any friends? Would I be able to attend a lecture without have a liberal bias shoved in my face the entire time? Would I be deemed “close-minded” before students even let me speak my mind?</p>
<p>If you’re a conservative Brown student, please let me know your thoughts. In fact, I’m open to all experiences. Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>I don’t think it would be a problem quite honestly. When I went to visit I was talking to a couple of students and they were saying how there are conservatives at brown, and how other students are generally accepting of other viewpoints. As long as you have good personality, I see no reason for you not to have friends :)</p>
<p>I suppose I was exaggerating a bit at the friends part. I’m extremely social and friends with many strong liberals in high school. I just worry because I always see Brown tagged as the most liberal school in the United States. I just don’t want to be ridiculed for leaning to the right on many topics.</p>
<p>You won’t have any trouble. There is a strong little minority of conservative students at Brown, and I don’t think they have any trouble finding friends or having a good experience.</p>
<p>The one thing that makes me hesitate to recommend Brown to you without reservation is your use of the term ‘liberal bias’. This term is thrown by dishonest ‘conservatives’ to avoid truths that they don’t like. To the extent that you enjoy labeling the truth as ‘liberal biased’ and rejecting it despite its verisimilitude, you won’t have a successful time at Brown. That isn’t to say that you do that – I just wanted to caution you.</p>
<p>I think if you truly are a politically and socially conservative person, Brown isn’t right for you, as it’s pretty well known that the students of the school are involved in activism and involve in many activities that would make conservatives sick to the core (such as smoking weed or showing gay pride). There are plenty of other great schools out there, if you dread meeting aggressive liberals.</p>
<p>Also there definitely please of people who would hang around a nice person. Heck, I’m pretty sure most of the students aren’t even involved in politics. They just really don’t care about what’s going on around campus.</p>
<p>I’m a CNN viewer, but I definitely would say that your view of Fox News is skewed and extreme. Too bad media outlets have NOTHING to do with this thread.</p>
<p>Sorry mcgsing, but the fact that you exaggerated a simple term such as “liberal bias” into an attack on character makes me hesitant on Brown as well. I suppose that I could simply turn your argument around on you and tell you that anything you label as “conservative bias” is simply a truth that you wish to deny. Bias exists, in both cases; doubting that is simply…ignorant. The fact that you fail to recognize that and labeled your side as the “truth” is not only close-minded and big-headed, but also carries a sense of elitism and bigotry. </p>
<p>By conservative I suppose I came off as one sided. I actually have many liberal social beliefs. I am, after all, young. That is not, however, to say that I casually dismiss the views of social conservatives with a flick of my finger - as you do, for example.</p>
<p>I’m a current student with many conservative and liberal friends, and I say you’ll be extremely comfortable here. People at Brown tend to be very, very accepting of everything when it comes to politics, religion, sexual identity, and topics such as these.</p>
<p>truzzi, this question has been asked many, many times on this forum. Many students have weighed in on this issue. Do a search for liberal and conservative on this forum, and you’ll be able to read a lot of responses.</p>
<p>truzzi182, you completely misunderstood my point. My last sentence was supposed to make it clear that I wasn’t intending a personal attack, but apparently I didn’t do a good enough job. All I was trying to do is say that if you engage in a particular type of denial of truth, you won’t do well at Brown. I have no reason to think that you do that, other than the use of what I consider to be a loaded term.</p>
<p>“I suppose that I could simply turn your argument around on you and tell you that anything you label as ‘conservative bias’ is simply a truth that you wish to deny.”</p>
<p>I’ve never used the term ‘conservative bias’. That was exactly my point. We (liberals, writ large) don’t engage in that sort of labeling. The term ‘liberal bias’ produces 1.6 million google results; ‘conservative bias’ produces 250,000. Projects like conservapedia exist. FOX News exists (although MSNBC is now on the verge of catching up with it). As a practical matter, the accusations of bias go overwhelmingly in one direction.</p>
<p>“The fact that you fail to recognize that and labeled your side as the ‘truth’ is not only close-minded and big-headed, but also carries a sense of elitism and bigotry.”</p>
<p>Again, you completely misconstrue what I said. I never said that liberal=true. I simply said that some subgroup of people who call themselves ‘conservatives’ use frequent accusations of ‘liberal bias’ to attack truths that they don’t like. I would be surprised if there were anyone smart enough to be hanging out on the Brown forum who could, in good faith, disagree with that assertion.</p>
<p>On a personal note: I go to law school with arch-conservatives, some of whom are my good friends. I have an honestly-held belief that some of those people will be the leaders of the Republican party 20 years from now. If you think that those intelligent conservatives waste their time watching trashy FOX News reporting or throwing around accusations of ‘liberal bias’, you are sadly mistaken.</p>
<p>I agree with mgcsinc that a term like “liberal bias” is really loaded…the phraseology is almost exclusively used by conservatives, to boot. The reason it’s annoying is because it’s really dismissive of productive conversation: “you’re biased, so that’s why you don’t agree with me” rather than “I see where we diverge and I see how your analysis may have lead you to such a conclusion, but I disagree with X point because of X evidence that counteracts your analysis.” The latter is much less annoying and usually very interesting.</p>
<p>Anyway I don’t go to Brown, but I think you’ll fit in well if you are the type that likes to engage people in intelligent conservation in appropriate settings (some like it over breakfast and some don’t haha). Liberals - especially smart ones - often welcome a thought-provoking challenge to their beliefs.</p>
<p>I’m hard-core conservative, but I live in a small town in Missouri, so I’m not alone. I think that conservative people would add to the diversity at Brown. </p>
<p>My question is: how “liberal” is liberal? I definitely don’t want to go to a huge state school (which is why I like Brown, obviously) where partying is the main pass-time. I know that I probably won’t be able to completely avoid it - no matter where I go, but I’m just asking for people’s opinions.</p>
<p>^ This thread has already had to be cleaned up once because of overzealous posters like yourself. Reply to the OP, or don’t reply at all. We don’t care about your opinion of cable news networks.</p>
<p>My son currently attends Brown and lives in Keaney Quad. While many in his Quad drink, party, play loud music, many do not. He does not drink and is not much of a party guy. He has a nice group that he hangs with who are not into the party scene, probably because most are concentrating in Engineering or PLME. My son is fairly liberal, most of his friends are not. The one thing they all have in common is – respect. Intellectual, cultural, religious and economic diversity seems to be the mission of the University and is respected and encouraged, at least among my son’s group of friends. </p>
<p>If you don’t feel that you can respect other people’s POV you won’t be an outcast, but you may not enjoy all that Brown has to offer.</p>
<p>^ That’s great to hear. I like to go out and party every once and awhile, but it’s great that your son has the ability to focus so much on his work and has obtained the ability to respect the viewpoints of others.</p>
<p>Why does the OP refer to himself in the third person? Does the “we” imply that you and the OP are different people? The people on the internet these days… tsk tsk.</p>
<p>To yield to the OP. I would say Brown is very liberal, but also very accepting.</p>
<p>Bruno-- Thanks for the Jindal story! What a dweeb</p>
<p>My understanding is he was baptized Catholic while at Brown. I didn’t see Robertson mentioning that! Can you see his 700 Clubniks hearing one of their dear lads is a —gasp—Papist? And that his family still is, although I think they were trying to pretend he was Baptist back a couple of years ago, when he was being considered by McCain for the VP slot.</p>
