I am curious about the political climate on both the Furman and Davidson campuses. I have strong political views and would find it hard to be on a campus that is on the opposite end of the spectrum. I know both are liberal arts colleges which tend to lean left but since they are in the south I’m thinking it might be more moderate.
Furman is moderate. While it has a reputation for tending conservative, both left and right are welcome and it is easy to find a plethora of positions. It is very much a school in which you can have vigorous debate but the STUDENTS expect you to be polite and tolerant. No haranguing. No one is going to castigate you for your views, whether tending toward the left or right. The students are respectful of different viewpoints.
Historically Davidson was considered conservative. Today, however, it leans liberal but has a place for all political voices. The president values and promotes rich discourse on campus and has emphasized the importance of all types of diversity – including political – as leading to a better intellectual experience and outcomes for students.
If you are strongly conservative and intolerant of any liberal viewpoints, go to Liberty. Furman and Davidson are both considered conservative by many people. If you use a website such as Niche, Furman is more conservative than Davidson, according to their student reviews. Davidson is listed on Niche as the #2 Best Christian College.
My D is a student at Davidson and one of her close HS friends attends Furman. They would agree Furman is more conservative between the two. My D’s friend is liberal. She was taken aback when she first arrived at Furman (their HS was very liberal) but has found her place at there and is thriving.
Davidson still has some formal ties to the Presbyterian USA church (which is the ‘liberal’ branch of the denomination) so that’s the reason for that ranking, I suppose. But there are no religious requirements for students at all. Very active Hillel and other student religious groups, etc. Programs for LGBTQ+ students, etc. It’s not a “Christian college” in the sense of how most people would think of that term.
I would posit, however, that at Davidson there are fewer ‘social justice warriors’ compared to some other top LACs.
That Davidson Niche ranking is just weird and someone should reach out somehow and tell them to take that down. Davidson is not a Christian college.
I find Niche interesting for the qualitative data (i.e., the student reviews) but their rankings are just plain dumb pretty across the board and should be ignored, IMHO.
@homerdog: Davidson college had a Christian vibe about 10 years ago. Used to have special scholarships for those interested in a career as a pastor.