so swarthmore has been my dream school for awhile now. it’s got a beautiful campus, it’s a small school, and the kids there are known for being quirky and off-kilter- something i’ve always considered myself to be. however, i’ve heard that the student body is incredibly, overwhelmingly liberal. now i’m not one to talk about politics much except with friends, but i really can’t handle being around “social justice warrior” type people- you know, the ones who talk about “rape culture”, radical feminism, etc etc. how common is this vibe around campus? i don’t want to be treated like a villain just because i don’t support affirmative action or think feminism is unnecessary in the US. i wouldn’t call myself left or right- i’m generally somewhere in the middle. i won’t tell radically left people that i think they’re obnoxious or terrible, everyone has the right to their opinion, but i expect to be treated the same way. should i find another dream school?
*ps: please don’t respond with this defending feminism and such. you have the right to that opinion, i have the right to mine. i’m just asking how accepting the student body generally is of people who aren’t super liberal.
I am not a Swarthmore student but I have many friends there. From what I have heard, the the majority of student body is not accepting of people who aren’t super liberal.
The majority of students are very liberal, but I don’t agree with @tonroxmysox that they aren’t accepting of others who hold other opinions. It’s a campus that very much promotes discussion among students and you won’t be judged for having different views in politics or social justice. I personally am not interested in them and I never had people impose their ideologies on me. I do like to go to events/discussion sessions/read campus journals to see what students are up to, though : )
I always think it’s a good idea to read the campus newspaper to get an idea of campus culture. For example, read this op-ed and the comments. http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2016/01/27/just-ask-me-why-a-plea-from-a-conservative-at-swat-2/
If you are a conservative, it will be a struggle at a very liberal school. (read the above article and responses) The liberal viewpoint has become active and intolerant towards those whose ideology is not theirs. The target of their unrestrained (hate talk? Proselyting? Righteous anger?) can expect to feel the blows. Those are …conservatives, “white people,” Christians, Republicans, Trump supporters, and so on. You may think that you want to “get to know the other side’s viewpoint” but they will not be supportive of yours. You will hear discussion, but never agreement. They will simply say “racist, bigot, privileged, oppressor” and be done with it. It might be interesting for a few weeks, or if you want to change your perspective and become a liberal thinker, but if not, it will be an uncomfortable experience. It is your college experience also. Why spend it with a group of people whose ideology you don’t agree with?
My kiddo actually goes to Swat (@Charlotte44 do you have actual “ground truth”?). The majority are liberal but don’t consider it the center of their lives. You know, they have friends, sports, homework, labs, papers… And most that I have met are really nice, polite, warm, and engaging folks. There are quite a few “social justice warriors” and they can make a lot of noise, but they are in the minority.
This is a huge concern of mine. My D is not interested in politics or activism at all, she is a sweet introvert who concentrates on academics and athletics. We have visited Swat twice and mostly love it but I worry that there is no place for her in such a small student body that is so militant. Believe me, I have just spent vacation time with a SJW niece and it is exhausting and irritating to say the least.
@cleoforshort I agree. We have one at a liberal school and one at a conservative school. Quite a difference! To @donnaleighg – we do have a LOT of experience. There is a difference between being “polite, warm and engaging” and having the same core beliefs. It depends on whether the student is comfortable with holding very different beliefs than her fellow students, or feeling close because you have the same beliefs. And it depends on how deep it goes. But lately, what used to seem like moderate now seems like very conservative. It depends on the person. D has very strong support from several very liberal schools, but I wonder if it is the best fit for her.
I share Donnaleighg’s sentiments. Plus, it seems like Swat is investing more in sports and that bodes well for my special interest group!
If you think of SJW or ‘social justice warrior’ as a pejorative, Swarthmore is probably not the place for you, because you are being actively dismissive of or derisive toward a great many students there. If, however, you are merely apolitical and/or just prefer to focus your time on academics, you will find many likeminded people and do fine.
I too have a child at Swat, and would agree with @donnaleighg’s comments.
I’m a liberal leaning moderate (yeah, I know, we’re almost extinct) and visited the campus with my D in 2009. The degree of liberalism was so far left, and so in your face that even I felt unwelcome. This was the only school I have ever visited where I felt this.
I asked the tourguide if everybody was so liberal, who was there to argue with. She responded by saying that it’s not a problem, there were different degrees of liberal. LOL! I’m thrilled that my D didn’t go there.
Given the current tone of current events and polarity, I can’t imagine the OP having a positive experience there. I just can’t.
@ClassicRockerDad - We’ve all come a long way from the days of Presidential “Hope”.
The differences between your visits (10 years ago) and the one of the poster who started this thread are significant. Post recession realities and the focus on STEM have significantly changed everywhere. Engineering is the most popular major at Swarthmore, and I would suggest that makes Swat much different than other LAC’s. The top 5 intended majors for the class of 2021 are (in order): Engineering, political science, biology, economics, computer science. I feel Swat is much less far left than it used to be.
If you’re an outspoken “Make America Great Again” advocate, there will be a fair amount of opposition to your politics. I don’t know that it’s much greater than many other campuses in the Northeast or California.
Personally I might weight the opinions of parents who have kids attending now over someone who spent a day there 10 years ago.
thanks everyone 
Wow everything about this thread is so laughably wrong… I have plenty of friends all over the political spectrum here. I would say there’s a pretty vocal minority, but that doesn’t stifle critical discussion that individuals who are more moderate engage in (probably 60% of the campus or my social circles). Everyone who’s dredging up anecdotal evidence here exhibits a strong bias.
@donnaleighg is completely correct; go talk to current Swatties.