<p>I'm a junior and over my fall break I went to visit colleges (get a little spark and all that). When I was about 12 or 13, I read the Les Mis brick (all 1000 pages. It was a long summer) and really got into the activism that the students did there (even if they died, but no matter). After that, I really got into watching the news and reading up on issues that happen all over the world even after people stopped talking about them. Yes, I'd like to go to a "good" college, but I'd like to be part of a campus that gets involved with important issues, not one that never talks about them. Do you know of any colleges that have a great human rights, world issues, etc. student activism scene about it in America? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Oberlin is as nutty as they get</p>
<p>Macalester College in Minnesota.</p>
<p>There are a lot - narrow it down more by geography or cost.</p>
<p>I also recommend Macalester for small LAC. U of WI for large university.</p>
<p>I’d second Oberlin</p>
<p>I agree with the above post that says narrow it down by geography, size, and what you are likely to get in. There are plenty of places where one can go and get wrapped around the axle about a certain issue, take an insane position, and generally make a fool of themselves. Here’s a good list to start, and it doesn’t even include a few of my favorites like Swarthmore, Wellesley, or Vassar.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.collegemagazine.com/editorial/4148/Top-10-Open-Minded-Colleges”>http://www.collegemagazine.com/editorial/4148/Top-10-Open-Minded-Colleges</a></p>
<p>I think that Washington Monthly ranks colleges by their students’ commitment to service. I think that you’ll find the most activism on campuses where Greek Life and athletics are not central, and where a significant portion of the student body is interested in fields other than Business or Technology. Not that plenty of STEM students aren’t engaged politically and socially, but they are likelier to devote most of their energies to their academic requirements. Huge public universities like UC Berkeley, UMichigan-Ann Arbor, and UWisconsin-Madison, have a little of everything, but smaller colleges like Reed, Oberlin, and some of the traditional women’s colleges have social activism at the forefront of their missions. I suggest that you link your desire for activism with an academic interest, and then decide where you would like to bring your enthusiasm. Most likely, you will not want most southern colleges (with some notable exceptions), and might not like some religious-affiliated institutions (although you shouldn’t rule them all out - some Jesuit colleges, for instance, have surprisingly progressive leanings). </p>