<p>on a scale of 1-10, where 1=BYU and 10=Reed.</p>
<p>a qualitative description would also be appreciated (current students/alumni only, please).</p>
<p>Honestly, I doubt most of us have even visited BYU and Reed, so it would be difficult to fairly give an evaluation based off those 2 schools.</p>
<p>Regardless, I find it pretty damned liberal.</p>
<p>compared to BYU, at least, the answer is less like 10 and more like infinity.
But who knows about Reed? Yikes…</p>
<p>If Brigham Young=1 and Reed=10 then I’d guess Brown would be a 8 or 9.</p>
<p>8 or 9 but is all relative</p>
<p>Parent - not student. Very liberal with plenty of in your face immature stuff that just goes with the territory. That being said, having other children who preceded my Brown student at other colleges, it’s your pretty standard, typical 18-21 year old trying to show that they’re empathetic with whatever the cause of the day is.</p>
<p>My child only had one stupid interaction with a professor in 4 years. That revolved around the fact that my child drove an SUV. The professor lambasted those who drove such a vehicle and, of course, the lambs in the classroom were silent - which was disappointing, but expected. Didn’t matter why she had an SUV - the fact that someone in this professor’s class was driving one was anathema. Yes, the professor was an idiot, but it was the only exceptional experience from a political standpoint that my child experienced in 4 years there.</p>
<p>It’s the most liberal Ivy (or closly tied with Columbia), so that’s saying something.</p>
<p>I actually think that the entire populace as a whole, while liberal, is not as extreme as a 9. Rather, I think those who are at level 9 of being liberal are very very vocal. While those on campus are definitely markedly accepting of those who are outside the norm, I’ve met a fair number of individuals who tend towards the middle. However, due to a notably smaller presence of conservatives on campus, the balance is obviously rather liberal, even if the general populace isn’t too extreme. </p>
<p>“it’s your pretty standard, typical 18-21 year old trying to show that they’re empathetic with whatever the cause of the day is”</p>
<p>I would agree with this statement.</p>
<p>Oh, please. So I guess it would be better to be completely uninterested in whatever the current social issue is? Your definition of liberalism, whether or not it’s the same as mine, is what comes with reading a high-quality newspaper and taking an interest in daily happenings in diverse subject areas.</p>
<p>“Oh, please. So I guess it would be better to be completely uninterested in whatever the current social issue is? Your definition of liberalism, whether or not it’s the same as mine, is what comes with reading a high-quality newspaper and taking an interest in daily happenings in diverse subject areas.”</p>
<p>I don’t know if that was directed towards me, but, uh, no that’s not my definition? And I didn’t say that? Just meant that not everyone fits the extreme definition of liberal that a lot of ppl seem to hold of Brown students?</p>
<p>No no, not you - browninfall.</p>
<p>Oh please. Slow down, Tomcat. </p>
<p>All I said was that it was your pretty typical and standard, 18-21 year old student body trying to be empathetic with whatever the topic of the day is. Period. That’s all I said. Brown, no different from Amherst, no different from Michigan, no different from Pomona. No different from whatever school you want to fill in the blank.</p>
<p>Relax a little. Somebody asked a question and as a parent of a Brown student I gave an answer.</p>
<p>My apologies - I just read into your post differently because you colored it with your comment about “plenty of in your face immature stuff that just goes with the [liberal] territory.”</p>
<p>Haha. Wonder if vocalizing conservative viewpoints will lead to problems. Obviously vocalizing liberal ones doesn’t.</p>
<p>Edit for clarity: I’ll be entering next year. I’m not saying I’ll be throwing up blatantly homophobic or racist viewpoints. Just things like the government’s role (actually Libertarian… Goldwater mentality), what should be valued, when life starts… Eh. And vocalizing SOME liberal viewpoints would likely lead to problems. If done the wrong way. But most the time, it seems not.</p>
<p>I’m sure you’ll find that all views are welcome at Brown - as a high quality institution of higher learning, would you expect anything less? As we’ve established, its student body is almost overwhelmingly liberal, but that doesn’t mean that voicing your personal views will get you into trouble. It might start some scintillating debates, but what’s wrong with that? Part of what makes such universities strong is the fact that discourse and discussion are so highly valued. Your opinions, whether or not the general population agrees with them, will be valued - unless, as you said, they are so far right that they show homophobic, racist, hateful, or xenophobic sentiment. At that point, they’re better left unvoiced.</p>
<p>^ …unless, as you said, they are so far right that they show homophobic, racist, hateful, or xenophobic sentiment. At that point, they’re better left unvoiced. </p>
<p>Or, for that matter, Tom, so far left and intolerant that they drown out and dissuade any discussion or attempts at counter-arguments or, worse yet, label contrary views as “better left unvoiced”. After all, in the Brown environment you describe, how can one know when an examination of one’s feelings on same-sex marriage will be characterized as homphobic, or one’s discussions of immigration policy be labeled as racist, or questioning the possible debacle associated with national health insurance be challenged as hateful? The line is moved at the whim of the liberal majority, and a conservative in the environment you describe seems to risk finding the line directly in front of the toes of their wingtips. Better left unvoiced. Better to be censored than to be ostracized. In your postings #9 and #15 you make assertions, implicitly and explicitly, that the left is tolerant and right is not, that leftists are in some way more properly informed than rightists, that only leftists are interested in what you call the current social issue. In doing so, you unwittingly make the perfect case for those in here who point to the liberal intolerance on the campus. Thanks for posting and providing a living example of the attitude which prospective Brown students can expect to face if they have centrist or right-leaning views.</p>
<p>^incisive post, gab. what are your thoughts on the issue?</p>
<p>^ heh. Yeah, I definitely went on and, no doubt about it, revealed my viewpoint as mostly center/right of center, but I’m driven mostly with a measure of intolerance for extremists from either end of the spectrum who claim the moral high-ground based solely on belittlement of the opposing camp. It’s really a shame, but we have reached a point in this country where it is virtually impossible to come down in the middle on an issue or a person. Say something like “I disagree with Ted Kennedy’s positions on a variety of social issues but I agree with him on some positions and I admire greatly his dedication and what he has done for the state of Mass. and for the nation through his career” or “Nixon had some serious personality defects that ultimately led to the dissolution of his presidency, but his presidency delivered notable gains in the areas of foreign policy, environmental regulations, and protection of those with disabilities.” Try saying either one of those sentences in just about any gathering and you will probably get hit in the face with a pie. Balanced discourse seems as if it has been out of vogue for some time now; it will come back hopefully.</p>
<p>I dunno how old you are, gabba, but from what I know of American history, balanced discourse has never been in vogue. There has always been some issue or another that gets people impassioned, and unable to have true,mind-altering discussions with the other party. From desegregation to unions to the reconstruction occupation of the south to slavery to the central bank to tarriffs to federalism: there seems to always have been some polarizing issue. Even in the 1890s, when both major political parties had extremely similar agendas, it STILL seems like it was impossible to have true discourse: loyalty to the party was key.</p>
<p>Not saying I wouldn’t like somebalanced discourse. But it seems like the people who get noticed are the extremists, while in truth the majority of americans either don’t particularly care, or come to their own synthesis: which is why on issues such as desegregation, eventually, we’re able to make progress, when a younger generation accepts an older generation’s “liberal” views as typical.</p>
<p>chsowlflax17: But what’s so frustrating is that colleges historically have been the places where people felt most free to discuss topics freely. I am really concerned with those colleges that won’t allow diversity of thought. I read that Justice Thomas can’t even speak on some campuses because the liberal students make such a scene. Other conservative people have not been allowed to speak either. To me, this behavior is terrible. These people claim to embrace diversity but refuse to let someone with a diverse opinion speak. How does that make sense?</p>