I am a strong Tea Party conservative, but I am looking at Reed because I hear it’s very rigorous academically. However, I have heard that the student body is EXTREMELY Liberal, and even Communist? Is this true? If so, could I survive at Reed as a Tea Party conservative at Reed? Would I be respected? Please give me an honest answer, because if I go and Reed is Communist, I will cause trouble there.
Thanks!
I’m an anarcho-syndicalist who is applying to Reed. As long as you have justifications for your beliefs, I’d be more than happy to engage you in conversation. What Reedies and many other higher level college students dislike is dogmatism and unjustified beliefs (believing in something just because your parents do, for example). Demeanor matters MUCH more than opinions!
If my S gets in to Reed, I want to visit and watch @Proboscis and @Kdkhan debate.
I’m also a commie.
As long as you don’t wear a “Pro-Life” T-shirt around campus or have The Blaze blaring from your computer, no one would say anything to you. However, you would probably be alone in your opinions if you fall into any political discussions. There are many schools just as rigorous as Reed that would have a better-suited environment for you.
No, you would not be respected. You might survive, but you would be treated as an annoying weirdo (at best) for the entirety of your Reed career.
I’m not sure why other prospective students are giving you advice on this when they’re just as uninformed.
“What Reedies and many other higher level college students dislike is dogmatism and unjustified beliefs (believing in something just because your parents do, for example).” < Not true. What the majority of Reed students dislike is political conservatism.
Frankly, so do I. I don’t want you at Reed.
Not to mention that you would probably be very unhappy here. I’m not sure why you’re considering it. There are plenty of academically rigorous schools whose student bodies do not detest everything you stand for.
@Kdkhan
Are you a junior looking where to apply or a senior deciding which school to attend?
I also hate political conservatism (and liberalism too but not as much), and I judge people based on it. I usually keep it to myself though.
I see no sense in misleading the OP for the sake of pretending I don’t judge people on the basis of their political beliefs.
It would probably be a poor fit for you. Just look at that thread about a Reed student ejected from class for non-conforming opinions.
There are college guides that give a sense of the political leanings of each school.
Thanks so much all of you. I will most certainly NOT be applying to Reed. I’ll probably go to a school like Hillsdale or Sewanee.
@Ghostt As a Reedie how do you look at military people? Just curious
The student who was banned from conference, was not banned because of his opinions, but because he was disruptive.
Being disruptive isn’t cute, it isn’t funny and it isn’t a smart way to approach participation act college.
Imo, if someone was actually a discerning intellectual, they would be unlikely to identify as a Tea Party Conservative.
It’s that kind of prejudice - that Tea Party = neanderthal, that would make OP uncomfortable in leftist colleges.
His best bet are big unis where diversity of thought is welcome.
It’s funny how opinions we don’t like are so quick to get termed ‘disruptive’.
Justonedad, if you read the article about how that student behaved, you would understand that he was thrown out of class not for his opinions, as such, but because his aggressiveness, unkindness and refusal to discuss the topic of the class (which was not his views on rape, but classical Greek culture), prevented constructive class discussion and made everyone else in the class feel attacked, not merely the women whose actual experiences he denied or belittled. They weren’t “quick,” either.
It’s funny how quick we can be to leap to conclusions based on our expectations.
There is a difference between espousing opinions with respect and reason, and ramming them down others’ throats because you like the attention and power you get.
We call that being very passionate about your views. I find it doubtful that the class showed much respect for the student’s views in the first place. Maybe he felt his classmates didn’t really understand what he was saying and he felt compelled to try harder.
People have poor self control when it comes to views they don’t like. In those cases, it is much easier to cross the tolerance line
@scholarme I do think there’s some truth to the tea party being anti intellectual. I’m not saying conservatives are inherently anti intellectual but the tea party definitely seems to be represented by some leaders with anti intellectual views. I do agree diversity of thought is important and Reed probably isn’t the place for OP. If he likes the idea of of a LAC with rigorous academics I think he can find that in more moderate and even conservative. I don’t think he has to go to a large school.
Again, did you read the actual articles, or are you making assumptions without factual basis? Go read what actually happened, and then come back and defend him.
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Conservatives have done just fine at Reed, as long as they are on campus to learn, alongside other students, not just to push buttons.
College campuses traditionally encourage a range of ideas, David Horowitz alongside more recent speakers have been invited to campus to debate their views, but conference is not the place for one person to hold forth, ad nauseam.
I expect that as the students at Reed are intelligent, that they understood just fine the point True was attempting to make, but they did not feel the need for him to continually dominate the discussion.
A student who quits attending all his classes and pulls out of his on campus activities, is not someone who is thinking clearly.