<p>The other thread about how to find non-partying schools made me wonder - is there a way to find out if school is not political? Really, I want my kid to be focused on learning; not on protesting or spending her time on whatever global issue a charismatic professor thinks is the most important thing in the world instead of preparing for a career. </p>
<p>I think college kids can be susceptible to being recruited to activist causes based on appeals to emotion from authority figures, and I think of that as a danger as real as drinking and campus assaults.</p>
<p>I know other parents might disagree with my attitude and find it narrow-minded; but I think I am just trying to be pragmatic and look out for my kid's best interests.</p>
<p>Anyway, back to the question - what's a good way to tell schools apart? I know some that have always had a very activist reputation but there's some things that take me by surprise (like Rutgers- I thought they were indifferent to politics - I was disappointed to see them in the news on the speaker thing).</p>
<p>Big schools will have their noisy political activists, although they will be only a small percentage of the student population. However, they mostly recruit themselves, rather than faculty recruiting them. The same goes for fringe religious groups, fraternities and sororities, etc…</p>
<p>Any humanities or social studies course could cover material that can conflict with a student’s pre-existing political views.</p>
<p>So you demand avoidance of all authority figures?</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>(How does one do the blockquote thing?)</p>
<p>No, I would like authority figures who can be trusted to stay in their roles of educators and administrators, and not view the student population as a recruitment ground for their cannon fodder.</p>
<p>Really, I don’t care if other parents prefer activist schools, I just want to know how to tell these schools apart (aside from them showing up in the news).</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus - it’s not a matter of conflicting with pre-existing views; I think college is where you are supposed to come into contact with the greater world. I would not like my kid to get recruited for activism for causes I approve of. I think that college is very expensive, and a big opportunity, and her job in college is to learn and prepare for a career - to get sidelined from that is a waste.</p>
<p>At most any school, your student will find like minded people in terms of politics, parties, religion, sexual preference, food choices, anything.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s the case that professors have a major role in influencing college students to get involved in political causes–I think that is mainly the work of other students. It’s certainly the case that there is more political activity at some campuses than others.</p>
<p>What if her intended career involves political activism of some sort (e.g. politician, lawyer or other job at some political organization, etc.)?</p>
<p>What if her intended career involves political activism of some sort (e.g. politician, lawyer or other job at some political organization, etc.)?</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>Thankfully she intends to go into a STEM field.</p>
<p>Most colleges lean towards liberal thinking (students and teachers). All colleges have some active political groups (since they offer majors in political science, pre law, etc.) The most politically active schools are those in DC (no surprise there). I think unlike partying - this may be one which is easier to stay clear of. My daughter is very apolitical and spent her first semester at college during a presidential election year. She stayed clear of all of the hubbub (did not have any problem doing this). </p>
<p>Schools are not political. Individual professors can be. And I suppose that taken as a whole, some schools may have more professors who bring politics into the classroom than others. But the risk here is that even if a master list of such schools existed (which it might) individual professors can still exercise their prerogative regardless of what the majority are doing.</p>
<p>So it might be more productive to choose a school without worrying too much about this, and then use whatever resources are available to choose professors as carefully as possible.</p>
<p>I’m just a student but…isn’t it your daughter’s choice what she gets involved in and how she feels politically?</p>
<p>This seems rather strange. Why are you so fearful of your daughter becoming an activist, and what makes you think she WILL be one unless you send her to a campus where they don’t exist…</p>
<p>are you really going to restrict her college choices to schools that are politically apathetic? </p>
<p>This seems rather strange. Why are you so fearful of your daughter becoming an activist, and what makes you think she WILL be one unless you send her to a campus where they don’t exist…</p>
<p>–
I explained in post #5.
I actually don’t think she WILL be one, just as I don’t think she WILL get assaulted or she WILL get involved in binge drinking. (All of these are pretty unlikely actually as she is a very focused student). But I want her to be informed before she puts time & an app fee into applying into a university. She could still apply to a politically active college if the other elements were attractive ( course offering, scholarship, etc); just go with eyes open.</p>
<p>There are definitely some professors who use their classes as a soapbox to try and push a political agenda. The problem with that CAN be that those are often the same professors who are not open minded and your papers and exam answers better reinforce THEIR world view or your grade suffers. I’ve run into that myself. </p>
<p>Just as a partying campus can make things unpleasant for a non-partying type, I think that it would be much worse for an apolitical type on an activist campus. It has been my experience that very political people are a lot like the Hare Krishna’s. They consider it their job to “convert” you. I see no reason that the OP would not want an apolitical child to not have to deal with that at college if it isn’t his/her wish. Wouldn’t that be a large part of the mystical “FIT” that everyone is searching for? </p>
<p>But I’m not sure how to “measure” it. Maybe look at the list of student clubs and organizations and see how many “political” type groups there are and how large they are. Or perhaps try to guage that information by looking through recent yearbooks. Just a thought.</p>
<p>I hate to say it…but your very focused daughter could very well find a cause that she feels strongly about…and want to advocate for. Once she is at college, how would you stop this! And why would it matter if she was still doing well academically?</p>
<p>Don’t believe everything you hear on talk radio. Most professors are too busy with their own teaching and research to be luring innocent students into political protests, and many probably even share your own political viewpoints. Yes, there are some high-profile liberals out there and they tend to be associated with certain institutions, but almost every professor I’ve encountered in my career is careful either to (a) avoid bringing political points of view into their classroom or (b) clearly label something as their personal opinion. Most of us are just happy if students get the assigned reading done before the class discussion period!</p>
<p>“Preparing for a career” is certainly a laudable activity, and one that college age students should engage in. However, it is not the sole, or even the main, purpose of a college education. College is for exploring new ideas, digging deeper into concepts that you’ve explored on the surface in your precollege studies, challenging yourself not only to understand the world more deeply but to articulate that understanding in a way that reflects thoughtful consideration of <em>all</em> points of view…even ones your parents might disagree with.</p>
<p>Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to the Student Center to paint my “nuke a gay whale for Jesus” posters for tonight’s rally… :)</p>
<p>On another thread, you said your daughter’s SAT score was 1700. Knowing that is helpful, as is the list you have created so far with the help of other posters. Maybe you could repost your latest list here?</p>
<p>I agree with others that you do need to ask yourself what it is you are so afraid of with your daughter being potentially exposed to other points of view. Sometimes the urge to become an activist or advocate for something comes without much warning. For all you know it could be the way animals are treated in a lab, or the (lack of) federal funding for a research project at her school, or ??? Focusing on schools that have a balance of students with different points of view is likely to put her in the best environment possible.</p>
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