Detailed Report of life as a Conservative/ Republican at Philips Exeter Academy.

Prep School Admissions
21

@skieurope you really do not know anything about this and you are being condescending to the OP. I dont’ know the OP personally but I do know that what he is saying sounds very much like what I am hearing and reading-- i.e described very accurately. Since you dont believe the OP and this is all “emotional fluff” I would suggest you google the Exonian (school paper) online and log in to read it. You can get a good flavor for all this by reading the school paper or watching the assemblies stream online since you clearly dont believe the OP.

While I clearly have no knowledge about one kid’s paper --I do know that “inherited racism” is one of the new terms being utilized. I also know that my own child has reported similar events. Teachers polling a class ad asking each kid to say how they feel about the confederate monuments and should they be taken down and why. VERY DANGEROUS. Thought police.

22

Re #15, I too would prefer the laser tag/ go kart outting. But the discussion prompt is a good one. In some ways, it gets at the heart of your plight. I hope you participated.

23

@Center The phrase “inherited racism” is not new. It was mentioned quite a few times in a class I took called, The American Dream, taught by a Jesuit professor at Santa Clara University in the early 90s.

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@4MyKidz yes i know it is not new–i meant that it is being used heavily now at Exeter. i was trying to tell @skieurope that i didnt believe the OP was misspeaking/misunderstanding the paper issue. thanks though for clarifying

25

@Center “Used” or “Taught”? Personally, I have no issue with the latter if done in a well constructed thoughtful manner by a professor. Last week, a White student loudly shouted in the student union about the Hispanic Heritage Month display and why don’t White people have a month too? As an educator, I’m not going to pass up what could be a very valuable teaching moment. I suspect college professors are doing the same…utilizing current events as teachable moments. As an educator, I do not see anything “dangerous” about that and I don’t see these educators and institutions as the 'thought police".

Lastly, seeing as libraries around the world are currently celebrating “Banned Books Month”, by highlighting /making available these works (my favorite monthly celebration) I will also note that it is usually individuals (parents) who try to police thoughts and control what their kids read and think.

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@4MyKidz: Just to clarify, the OP is in high school (Exeter is a boarding high school), not college. This is the prep school forum.

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@ChoatieMom Thx! I read that earlier, but forgot. Even better, as I am an educator in a high school and the OP’s choice of words squares with the age.

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@4MyKidz I agree with everything you say in the abstract but unfortunately I view what is being done as accusatory lecturing. Some, but not all, of what is coming from the school is not discussion nor is it open to interpretation or is there any room for personal opinion. .

29

@Center Difficult to draw those conclusions unless you are sitting in the class and are hearing it first hand. Or have spoken directly with the educator. Back to my book analogy…most banned books & books that are being challenged were questioned by parents who actually hadn’t read the book :slight_smile:

30

PS @Bunny8280 , if you think it is bad now, just wait until you get to college. I absolutely believe that there are some teachers who would give a lower grade based on their politics and it will also happen in college. I saw that happen to a brilliant student in a private middle school. Que sera sera. You will not be able to change anyone’s heart or mind who is so drunk with power (and consumed by ideology) that they would take it out on a student. You also won’t score any gains playing defense all the time. Manage what you are able to. For example, you’ll be able to get the scoop on which teachers are more like that (and yes-it could be most… but I hope not at your school). Once you know who they are, you will be better positioned to avoid them or play the game a little more artfully. That goes for admin and other students as well. If you know someone is more likely than not to scream “check your privilege” at you based on your pigment when they have never even had a real conversation with you… smile and move on. Learn from everything at school - not just the subjects. I understand that you feel that you are in a persecuted minority, but how could you not have known what the general value system was of any school you applied to? Maybe you got caught up in the prestige factor or maybe you were just extremely naive and innocent… but you are there now and since you have paid to participate in the game than you have to play within the rules set by of the people running it right now (or learn to navigate the rules more smoothly and develop a thicker skin). It stinks, but it is what it is. Suck it up and go read “Harrison Bergeron,” eat a candy bar (or whatever treat you like best). “llegitimi non carborundum” does not mean “take on the Roman Empire head on.” :slight_smile:

31

I write this from my phone, so please pardon the typos I’m sure it will have.

I think we all view the world, to at least some degree, through a lens of self-interest. And when people feel marginalized, for whatever reason (and whether “right” or “wrong”), it’s hard for emotions to not run high. The country is more culturally and socially divided than I have seen it in my lifetime, and for those who feel the most marginalized, I can imagine that it’s particularly difficult to hold back. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think either party has a monopoly on people who feel marginalized, though I believe the reasons for the feelings are often quite different.

In any event, I agree with others who have suggested that your conservative perspective, although apparently in the minority at your school, is valuable to the campus. But I would suggest that the perspective itself is signicantly less valuable than being able to critically analyze and articulate the bases for the perspective. You’re not going to convince anyone to meaningfully consider your positions with uncritical arguments, any more than uncritical arguments from those who espouse different views from yours will move you.

This brings me to your friend’s paper. As true for others on this board, I know nothing about its details. If I understand your description correctly, however, it sounds like your friend presented a counter-proposition but failed to directly address a principal argument of the other side that the instructor apparently expected to be addressed. Perhaps your friend’s statistics are entirely correct–I don’t claim to know–but what is the reason for the statistic? Does the statistic undercut or actually support the argument that the instructor apparently expected to be addressed? An argument that fails to squarely address the other side’s thesis does not strike me as a particularly strong, critical analysis. That said, I’m admittedly working with incomplete information, and I may have assumed too much.

In any event, I’m sorry you feel marginalized and attacked for views that appear to be in the minority on your campus. I’m sure it’s a difficult position to be in, especially at your age. I sincerely hope that your fellow students will listen to the reasoned analysis underlying your beliefs and try to see the world through your eyes. And I hope you will try to do the same in return. Just as you want a voice and acceptance on your campus, I think it’s likely that many of the people strongly espousing positions different than yours have felt marginalized, frustrated and/or attacked, or have known well others who have, long before coming to Exeter.

I hope you can all explore the reasons underlying each other’s perspectives and learn from them, but I’m not naive. Sadly, people too commonly reach a conclusion and advance a supporting narrative without meaningfuly considering the other side’s perspective or arguments, and self-reflection that challenges one’s long-held views is difficult. But I think that’s the goal, and I think it’s an admirable one.

With that, I’ll step off my soap box.

32

at pea?

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@Bunny8280: You’ve indicated on another thread that your brother recently graduated from Exeter. How was his experience? Were you unaware of the culture at Exeter through him? You also indicated your concerns about the liberal agenda in several posts on the Gender Inclusive Housing @ Exeter thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20507673#Comment_20507673 before committing to Exeter. I have a feeling you are not completely surprised by what you are experiencing. You had choices this round. What made you chose Exeter in the end when you had some pretty good clues as to what you would find there? Are those reasons still enough to help you find a balanced perspective so you can get what you need from the experience, or are you considering leaving?

34

Yes, at Philips Exeter Academy

35

Of course, I knew that Exeter was liberal, but I did not know to what extend. My brother leans towards the left, and plus, we never truly discussed about the culture at Exeter. Plus, this year, Exeter stepped up their PC game, as at the end of last year, the ALES community released a video, and then preceded to stage a sit in at the principal’s office. After that, Exeter went into panic mode and went 100% PC, so even if I asked my brother, he would not have known how bad it can get.

36

Sounds like Exeter is not a good fit for you.

37

@Center I would be most appreciative if you did not tell me what my thoughts or feelings are. You are certainly within your rights to write that you perceive or that in your opinion that I am being condescending, that was not what you wrote. Regardless, I will tell you that that was not my intent. And I expressively stated that I believe that for the OP that the struggle is real.

And while I acknowledge that you are closer to the PEA community than I, with all due respect, you did not witness these events first-hand either. But I’m certainly not going to debate the issue, so I’ll bow out now.

38

Did the Exeter student council election issue from last year have anything to do with some of the grievances expressed by student groups? I remember people on CC discussing this last semester.

39

There is a lot of good advice above regarding the desirability to discuss issues critically and logically, so far as it goes. Nevertheless, the reality is that most of the groups on the left are not interested in open dialog. Quite the opposite, they are interested in preventing a discussion, a fact that is obvious to anyone who pays even casual attention to the acceptance of the “heckler’s veto” by one academic venue after another. This unwillingness to engage on the field of ideas constitutes part of the frustration felt by many on the conservative and libertarian sides.

I attended elite schools back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and my experience way back then was that we could argue about anything, and we usually did so in a pretty civil manner, for the most part. That is not the case today, and for that reason I think it is irresponsible for places like PEA to “stir the pot” by positing questions on the reasons why, for instance as cited by the OP, a black man has a higher likelihood of being poor than a white man. Probably 75% of the plausible reasons could not be discussed - PEA would not allow them to be discussed - and again that was not the case when I was in school. I don’t see how people are supposed to learn from one another when one side - and folks it is really just one side these days - not only refuses to listen, but even seeks to prevent the other side from talking. Of course, the goal is not learning…

You can see hints of this antipathy even here on this thread. One poster above wrote, “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to discuss religion or politics in polite company? Maybe people simply don’t want to hear about your political views.” Fair enough. Perhaps the OP could suggest just that when a member of ALES starts talking about politics. I suspect it won’t be the ALES member who will be silenced.

Another poster wrote, “Sounds like Exeter is not a good fit for you.” I actually tend to agree with that sentiment, but could you imagine what the response would be if the OP were to suggest to the people who feel marginalized or “unempowered” by the historically accurate depiction of past white principals that for those offended students PEA was not the right “fit”?

To the OP, chin up, be a happy warrior, and learn all you can. As you get older, and learn more about the world, you will come to see that many of your classmates and faculty members are dull, plodding thinkers, and you will not lose much in the overall scheme of things by just ignoring them. But as you go through you will begin to discern some interesting and original thinkers among your fellows, and my bet is that you will be surprised to see just how varied and diverse that group of thinkers will prove to be. Stick with them, as you find them, and ignore the dullards.

40

These are the rules: I am a man, and never a woman, of principle who deserves to be heard. You are a PC snowflake who can’t handle criticism so you should not be heard and don’t deserve the respect or consideration I am entitled to because look at me, I’m greatness personified. My principles are ancient and venerated, my opinions are even older still and must be respected because of tradition, while you protest and demand safe spaces in the face of my grandeur. Those are the rules.