<p>Hey this is a question for any current students or students who have visited SCU. I live in CA in the bay area so I am very liberal... I did visit SCU but no one was really around so I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone. My question is: How Liberal is SCU?</p>
<p>My definition of Liberal does not mean socially liberal as in partying... but the ways in which people think and how open they are to new ideas. I have heard that the campus is full of of conservative Catholics...nothing wrong with this... but for example how tolerant is the campus of homosexuality and casual drug use? How tolerant is the campus of people with learning disabilities and the handicapped? These are just some starter q's to help get a discussion going.</p>
<p>Most of the students who attend SCU are also from the Bay Area, and therefore tune to a degree of liberalism. In general the student body and administration are tolerant of a lot of lifestyles and there is an LBGT club on campus.</p>
<p>Drinking and casual drug use is tolerated as long as it is JUST off campus, like across the street or a few blocks away. This is mainly because they cannot really enforce it and would need to call local authorities to come over. Local authorities visiting the houses across the street from campus every night for a lot of the same reasons is not a good selling point for possible students, so they refrain. The “party” dorm is Swig and can often be associated with loud music, drinking, etc.</p>
<p>However, with all this said, I have heard stories of certain faculty (Professors and TAs) being difficult with people of different points of view than theirs. Doesn’t happen too often because not a whole lot of profs are actually Jesuit, but it does happen unfortunately.</p>
<p>First of all, let me correct turtlerock on something: Jesuits are NOT conservative thinkers. They’re extremely open minded and very much interested in challenging the status quo. Even politically, they tend towards the left. Good example: SCU has the largest scholarship program for undocumented immigrants who grew up in America. It is paid for entirely by donations from our Jesuits. (Also, as an aside, there are no TAs at SCU.) </p>
<p>The campus is fairly conservative in the way that it dresses and acts, so you might get some funny looks if you show up to class with five nose piercings and green hair. There are people like that, but they are in a distinct (and, given the nature of the campus, visible) minority. </p>
<p>Politically, SCU is pretty subdued. People are informed, but not really passionate. You’re not going to see an Occupy SCU protest here, or any other kind of protest. This is one thing that I wish was a little different. Fiscally, it definitely leans conservative, but stops comfortably before rampant snottiness emerges. </p>
<p>As far as socially, SCU is very much representative of the Bay Area’s attitudes. The campus seems to be as gay friendly as any. Disability Resources seems to have a pretty good program for those with disabilities, but I’m not well informed on this matter.</p>
<p>As far as drugs goes, well, this is the Bay Area.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a heavily political environment to go to school in, something along the lines of a Bard or New School, this is DEFINITELY not the place for you. It is possibly even a little less political than the average school. But if you’re worried about closed minded/intolerant social attitudes, I don’t think you’ll have an issue.</p>
<p>What I meant is that by being a devout religious person it is more likely that that person will have a harder stance on some conservative views, hence using Jesuits as an example of how this can be. But Jesuits are not the only example. Sure enough, some profs can be the exact same way without being religious at all. This can be at any college, but I know for a fact there are some at SCU.</p>
<p>Oh, and as far as that scholarship program for illegal immigrants at SCU: I distinctly remember some scandal with the President of the Republican club on campus and The Santa Clara, SCU’s little newspaper. TSC misquoted him in an article about it, skewing it like he was all against illegal immigration and that was that. It ended up that they left out the part where he mentioned how important immigration is the US and even suggested some alternative solutions for SCUs student body. How’s that for fair journalism?</p>
<p>If your point is that there are some biased professors inclined to interject their opinions as fact at SCU, then yes, you are correct. I don’t think this is very different from other universities. I personally only found this to be the case once and it was with a very liberal teacher. I disagreed with her frequently in class and I still got an “A.”</p>
<p>I vaguely remember the president of the Republican club writing an op/ed about the program. It wasn’t very impressive. I’m unaware of any scandal. If your point is that The Santa Clara is a mediocre college paper, I agree, but I’m not sure what your point is.</p>
<p>My point was that the school paper wasn’t very accepting or open to what he had to say because the view may have been different from the editor, or rather the editor’s boss who would in fact be a higher staff member of the university. Personally, I wouldn’t want to go to a university where their paper may alter or purposefully edit a letter from someone in it’s student body. I suppose it wasn’t a “scandal”, but still it happened. . . it was a little obvious they took what he had to say out of context “to make a better story” or whatever.</p>
<p>The Santa Clara is completely student run. Neither faculty nor staff make any editorial decisions, so your point is moot. I also think that you’ll find, on the vast majority college campuses, the only kids who care about the paper are journalism majors who are using it to pump up grad school applications.</p>
<p>My intended major is political science/philosophy/ how good are these programs? Painca you say that the campus “is possibly even a little less political than the average school”…I am worried that this might create an issue with my area of study.</p>
<p>Again, if you’re looking for a Bard or Wellesley style activism, SCU is not the place for you. I can’t speak very much to the strength of the political science department. I PolySci 1 just for fun and it was a good intro level class, but I’m not qualified to speak to the quality of the department as a whole. </p>
<p>I’m a little more qualified to speak about the philosophy department. I’ve taken two courses in that department. The professors are very involved, as are the students. </p>
<p>What other schools are you looking into? Most schools have an admitted students day and this includes SCU. I recommend attending one for your top choices. Since you’re in the Bay Area, it wouldn’t hurt to attend ours.</p>
<p>Yes, The Santa Clara is completely student ran. So we both agree then that it’s the students themselves that are editing their peers? I’d sonsider that even more reprehensible.</p>
<p>The political scene at SCU is very non-existant. I know these’s a link somewhere where I read that the student elections (for the Associated Student Government, the elected offices held by students on campus) turned out an exptremely low number of voters. I’m pretty sure it was <20% of total voters eligible who actually casted a vote. This is unfortunate since you can easily vote online. It basically means that a lot of the students just don’t care about politics at SCU. I think this may be because a big portion of the student body comes from money and they don’t see politics playing a big deal in their lives.</p>
<p>With that said, there are some interesting programs involving politics at SCU. I know they at least used to have (should still be going on, but I can be corrected) a club in the PoliSci Dept called the Fireside chats where ANY interested student could come to the weekly meeting in the evening for a couple hours and just chat/debate about certain political and social issues that are even suggested by the students themselves. I thought that was always a pretty innovative idea. There’s also an equivalent Philosophy Dept club called Cafe Socrates.</p>
<p>Philosophy at SCU will depend. I’ve heard it’s very ethics heavy, as opposed to metaphysics or epistemology. This is good if you’re thinking about going to law school as they even have a pre-law emphasis in the department. Circling back to your question about liberalism in the school - the Phil profs are going to be the most open thinking of the bunch.</p>
<p>Philosophy classes themselves I’m told are fun in the sense that it seems like the students do some reading of a philosophical nature and then come to class and just talk/argue/debate, or otherwise GIVE THEIR OPINION about it all. Nothing’s right or wrong because it’s based on opinion. Opinion that you eventually need to back up with facts in a subsequnt paper. Philosophy majors write a lot. Most, if not all, of the phil classes will not have a final as a test per-se, but will require an extensive paper at the end of the class.</p>
<p>I am starting to lean more towards philosophy as a potential major I am highly interested in social entrepreneurship/Social Justice, I love to read and right and I definitely am a “right side brain thinker” so highly creative. I applied to the following RD</p>
<p>Dominican University
American University
Seattle University
University of San Francisco
University of Portland
Mills College
Santa Clara University
University of San Diego
Middlebury College</p>
<p>American is definitely political if you’re accepted there, but I’m sure you already know. I’ve heard good things about USD, but if it was me, I would be looking to Mills or SCU for Philosophy based on that list. Depending on which one gave better FA. What types of plans would you have after securing your BA in Phil?</p>
<p>I am in the process of writing a book right now about alternative ways to earning success. I am incredibly interested and fascinated with successful people who have learning disabilities, so I could see myself possibly as a lawyer doing non profit work. I know for awhile I wanted to do international studies/ IR with a regional emphasis in Eastern Africa…however I am not entirely sure this is my calling anymore. I read the Washington Post, Mike Allen’s Politico Play Book, Mother Jones, Salon.com regularly. I am incredibly fascinated with politics, and investigative journalism, Foreign policy is my favorite. </p>
<p>To be honest I can imagine myself a whole bunch of different things in my career and wherever I go I will make my mark and be successful. I imagine that wherever I end up I will connect with an inspiring professor who will lead me in the right direction.
Middlebury is my #1 but at this point I only pray that the schools that are a right fit accept me and that the schools that aren’t a right fit reject me.</p>
<p>Writing a book, being a lawyer = Philosophy
Investigative journalism, foreign policy = Political Science</p>
<p>You could always give it a shot to double major. I hear it is pretty easy at SCU. Not sure about the others’ policies on it. BA in Phil and BS in PoliSci at SCU would be compatible by their policies.</p>
<p>You should gander on the ‘Law School’ section of these threads. Do NOT go to law school to be a lawyer FOR NOW. Word on the street is there is a huge surplus of supply in the lawyer market that may take a while to hit equilibrium - if it ever does at all.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’re still rather undecided on careers, which is completely okay at this stage of the game. IF you’re still not sure of career choices once you graduate undergrad, then based on your interests mentioned here, you may enjoy a stint in the Peace Corps. They recruit from SCU that I know of and the alumni magazine just did a big article on PC alum from the university a couple months ago or so.</p>
<p>And there’s always becoming an officer in the military. The Army has a public relations job that fits the bill of being a quasi diplomat between local nationals and their units. I think it’s strictly an officer position too.</p>
<p>And if none of that suits your fancy then, then F it and go to law school and become a lobbyist in DC. Make buku bucks while you’re alive and while you won’t be alive to see the catastrophic ends to your bad deeds.</p>
<p>haha love the last bit… so true… I am thinking I will end up being an activist of some kind. I don’t think I would belong in the military… I am more of a rule breaker than rule follower ( I mean that in the most philosophically way as possible) </p>
<p>I have thought about the peace corps, I am more of a “rich in spirit than rich in money types of person.”</p>
<p>The Peace Corps is like being in the military . . . without the whole “military” thing. If I were young, single, political, compassionate about changing at least one life in the world, and had nothing holding me back medically/physically, then I would do the Peace Corps. From what I hear the experiences can be rewarding despite most likely living where there is no running water and the only source of food are the locally grown stunted veggies in the locals front yards of their straw/mud/wood huts. They pay and probably the best part in the long run is the networking factor. I’m sure there is a lot to be said between two PC alum once it’s found out. Imagine a managers eyes lighting up when they see Peace Corps on your resume and they want to hear all about yoru exp so they can talk about their’s too. Of course this won’t happen every single interview, but once you’ve done it then there is that possibility.</p>
<p>Technically they recruit all majors but mostly majors in the sciences and engineering to help improve impovershed society’s food supplies and infastructure, but I think PoliSci majors can get a gig teaching english to school children.</p>
<p>I read on their website that they even leave time for you to take leave, like on vacation for a few days or even have family visit where you are at. They actually have a great website with lots of info.</p>
<p>You can pretty safely cross Dominican University off your list if you’re talking about the one in California. They have almost zero name recognition, even inside the Bay, and it is a really, really small school. </p>
<p>Keep finances in mind if you think you’re leaning towards working as a lawyer in a non-profit field. Many people find themselves graduating law school with enormous amounts of debt, forcing them to sell their career to the highest bidder.</p>
<p>I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem for cold who’s 'more of a “rich in spirit than rich in money types of person.” ’ ;)</p>
<p>And with all technicality, lawyers in non-profit orgs can make a serious ton of cash especially if it’s a well endowed and well known non-profit. They’ll have more money to dish out for services rendered by said attorney. Now, the competition for a job like that would be fierce though.</p>