<h1>35 Actually the kid is quite involved in dance, and martial arts, and other ECs.</h1>
<p>Why do I view activism with a beady eye? Let me give you an example from my college days- this was in another country, so apples & oranges, I guess, but it informs my thinking. I had a HS classmate who was bright and had a scholarship at the biggest university there. After 2 years he dropped out and a few years later we found out he had joined the armed communist insurgency.
My sister actually met him while doing volunteer outreach among the tribal groups in the mountains. He was undernourished, tired, rifle-wielding, and probably, from my sister’s conversation with him, regretting his involvement. Hard for him to walk away at that point.
I know that’s not a scenario that literally happens in this country, but it made me very aware of how a college environment can reshape a kid’s life through activism.</p>
<p>I happen to be a child of immigrants and have parents who would feel your view of what college should be about to not only be narrow-minded, but also leaves the child concerned ill-prepared to participate in a society where politics and political participation is a bulwark of US society. </p>
<p>This also brings to mind how the Ancient Greek root of the modern pejorative word “idiot” was used in Ancient Athens: someone who is so selfishly concerned with private affairs that one was ignorant and/or exhibited no interest in politics. And yes, that was considered a bad thing back in the times of Ancient Athens a few thousand years ago. </p>
<p>OP, have you considered online programs? Your child would be pretty protected from any opinion offered by anyone. A lesser extreme would be large urban state colleges with a lot of adult students who work full time, study and take care of families - therefore have no time for political involvement or indoctrination. They just want their degrees. Sort of like you want for your child. </p>
<p>I’m amazed at the some of the replies on this thread. if you are fine with your kid being in a very politically active college, that’s fine by me.
But because I would prefer that my kid be in a college that puts learning above activism, I’ve been called narrow-minded, an idiot, and now am being advised to consider online degrees?
Why is my question so - I don’t know - offensive? Threatening? Am I required to have her pick a politically active college? Is this some unknown rule somewhere?
Let me know, please, if I’ve broken some unspoken taboo.</p>
<p>“Sorry I was unclear. I didn’t mean to imply that GWU was Catholic. I was just comparing the very political student body at GWU with the rather apolitical student body at BC.”</p>
<p>Well, yes. One is a school whose mission is to train future government workers/political scientists; the other comes from a more traditional Catholic-school-for-the-non-wealthy background. So of course they’re different. </p>
<p>In what way is suggesting online education offensive or threatening?</p>
<p>–
I was asking if my original post was offensive or threatening.</p>
<p>The online education suggestion was not threatening, but rather silly (at best), since it seems to imply that I want to keep the kid locked up at home or something. I posted that before you edited your post so I did not see the rest of the comment.</p>
<p>“Let me give you an example from my college days- this was in another country, so apples & oranges, I guess, but it informs my thinking. I had a HS classmate who was bright and had a scholarship at the biggest university there. After 2 years he dropped out and a few years later we found out he had joined the armed communist insurgency.
My sister actually met him while doing volunteer outreach among the tribal groups in the mountains. He was undernourished, tired, rifle-wielding, and probably, from my sister’s conversation with him, regretting his involvement.”</p>
<p>Wow. You have really jumped the shark there. Your thinking is very sloppy.</p>
<p>Some campuses are more politically inclined than others, but nowhere is a student “forced” to participate in political activism. </p>
<p>Online education has been a very worthwhile solution for families with specific educational needs/desires, so I don’t know why you’d consider it silly. </p>
<p>Your post wasn’t offensive or threatening, just odd, and posted in an odd place. Most parents on CC ( and in fact in America) think of higher education as a way of broadening their children’s perspectives, not limiting them to specific political/ideological frameworks (or non-frameworks). Maybe, as an immigrant, you’re not aware of that. </p>
<p>veruca, OP is interested in SCHOOLS that aren’t political, not majors. EDIT, sorry, misread your post. I suggested technical, STEM-focused schools earlier as an option for OP. I also suggested large urban schools with diverse populations and schools that cater to adult learners. I’m not sure any of this appeals to OP. </p>
<p>The suggestion was made because your question implies seeking colleges which aren’t political. Something which attending online education formats or similar environments where one can cocoon themselves from those with different political opinions or those who are politically active seem to be most suited for your espoused purposes. </p>
<p>Being around those with different political opinions and those who are politically active is part and parcel of learning to be part of the “real world” to some degree alongside training for career. </p>
<p>Especially considering many college aged first-years will be just old enough to participate in a first bit of political activism. Voting for one’s political representatives and leaders at the election polls or running for certain local offices like town mayor. </p>
<h2>Some campuses are more politically inclined than others, but nowhere is a student “forced” to participate in political activism.</h2>
<p>Where did I say anything about being “forced”? My HS classmate was enticed into it during his college experience.
(Although a parent did tell me of students being given extra credit /grades for participating in a political demonstration at one school - I thought that was questionable.)</p>
<p>Cobrat, why do you always feel compelled to think that your vicarious experiences, or the 1000 of cousins you have, apply to everyone? So what if your parents or yourself think differently? Does not change how the OP feels! </p>
<p>Can’t you see that the OP has a different view from yours and one forged by her own opinions. Would it matter to you than others think along the same line as the OP. Have you considered that there might be plenty of immigrant parents that view today’s political activism in the United States as part of a silly circus? </p>
<p>Threatening? Not all all! But one could see that such statement is pretty offensive in terms of selective college admissions, which happens to be front or center of this forum. Next time someone poses a question about a college for a 2100 SAT student, try suggesting to look at the University of Phoenix or some MOOC program. Or try it when someone asks a question about finding schools for a LGBT student. I am sure the suggestion that an online program would work for an at-risk student would come out as … inoffensive! </p>
<p>The implication that is offensive is that the student might not be able to adjust to a residential college and is somehow socially inept. </p>
<p>I know several students who attend Case Western Reserve University. They all seem to be bright and have lively opinionated discussions on a myriad of subjects but are mostly interested in the subjects they are studying (they are all science, math or engineering majors). While I’m sure there are politically active students on the campus, I’ve never gotten the feeling that they have any undo influence on the atomsphere of the university. It happens to be heavily biased towards STEM majors and they offer pretty decent scholarships as well. </p>
<p>That silly circus has been a part of American education for nearly a century if not longer. It’s nothing new. I’d say, today’s on-campus political activism is a whole lot meeker than it was in generations past!</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, my daughter went to Northeastern University in Boston and said the campus was very sleepy in terms of political activism. Students there wanted mostly good grades for good co-ops for good jobs. </p>
<p>I not only have, but also have encountered plenty of such type of immigrant parents among my HS classmates. </p>
<p>And guess what, it’s really a quixotic quest, especially if one wants to attend a reputable or moreso, an elite college. Politics and political activism has been a traditional part of the US college life for about as long as the US republic has existed. Not too surprising considering political participation was not only an accepted right, but was also once considered a duty of all Americans who were of age to participate. </p>
<p>Moreover, one other interesting thing I found about many such immigrant parents…most came from societies where political situations were highly unstable and where political participation was banned and/or highly dangerous. Seems like OP is one such parent based on a subsequent posting. </p>
<p>That does not mean that everyone in the world looks with the same kind eyes to what happens today. There will always be people who liked the OWS movement, applauded the rallying efforts on campus, and others who … think more Lt Pike were warranted. </p>
<p>In the end, it goes to the old narrative I addressed earlier. The liberals always think they are right, and that others simply do not have the heart or brains to see the error of disagreeing. If there were a parallel thread on CC right now about a student wanting to spend 4 to 6 years on campus doing nothing but organizing protests and engaging in trying to revive a Bill Ayers era, the answers would be of a different tone. </p>
<p>But then, so would be mine when people defend the rebirth of Antioch. :)</p>