<p>In general, all schools have a "vibe". I am wondering which schools tend to be more liberal or democratic vs. conservative or republican. Also, would someone who doesn't agree with the general political "vibe" of the school feel alienated or unwelcome?</p>
<p>The majority of prep schools tend to be liberal potically. I think there was a thread similar to this one a while ago. I don’t remember the title exactly but how about searching for “Boarding school politics”? According to the thread, Deerfield is conservative.</p>
<p>Thanks, would a conservative person have an issue fitting in @ a liberal school?</p>
<p>Could you explain to me what can be “liberal” and “conservative”? It only refers to politics?
Conservative=republicans, liberal=democrats?
What are the stereotypes of conservative and liberal people??? (liberal = open?)</p>
<p>Liberal kind of encompasses leftist, Democratic, open, wanting more government control. Conservative is more republican, “closed”, right and wants more freedom from the government. It is basically a political term, but can describe many people’s lives in general.</p>
<p>I think it’s a lot more complicated than that. Google it</p>
<p>Be very careful with the stereotypes guys. There are a lot of misconceptions. Some people are socially very liberal and politically very conservative. People tend to say all Democrats believe X and all Republicans believe Z. I think you will find, once you really start to listen to people with opposing views, that most people agree on the core issues, but differ on the role that government should play in effecting change.</p>
<p>Politics can be very devisive. Both sides are prone to intolerance of other ideas. (“you don’t agree with me so you’re uneducated or too stupid to understand.”) I urge all of you young people to really really listen to eachother and try to withhold judgement until you fully understand someone’s perspective. It’s our only hope!!!</p>
<p>But to answer the original question, I think they are mostly all much more liberal than conservative; but I’m sure you can find Young Republican and Young Democrat clubs on every campus.</p>
<p>Thank you, and I’m sorry if I offended anyone. I got my definitions from my sociology book we use in school.</p>
<p>Thanks!
I’m just wondering “conservative” and “liberal” here is more about social or political life.
If it’s political, then…I don’t really care that much.
If it’s social, please tell me what are the streotypes people consider “conservative”/“liberal”. Basically Asians are conservative???</p>
<p>How can you choose to(or not to) attend a school because of most students’ political views?</p>
<p>I mean I guess if a school was really really right wing I might get a little uncomfortable. I’d feel compelled to express my beliefs and then people would dislke me and then you might end up getting bullied… I wouldn’t agree with the ethos of the school.
I’m not talking about a school that’s slightly conservative, I can be quite conservative at times. I’m talking about a school where something totally opposite to my beliefs is taught and believed and accepted as completely right without doubt by all. People are allowed to do that but I wouldn’t want to live in an environment that didn’t promote diversity /an open mind even if it was what I believed.</p>
<p>What is considered an extremely “conservative”/“liberal” behavior? Can anyone help me with this???
I dont’ like those schools with too many legacies…</p>
<p>From what I know about boarding schools, a lot of the older schools can be conservative in that they are traditional and stick to traditions that they have had in place for a long time and more liberal or progressive schools are open to change. I think when people a referring to a liberal or conservative school they’re talking more about tradition and change than politics. As for getting a “vibe” from a certain school. When I visited Deerfield I found it to be more stuffy and traditional than say Choate which was filled with open, outspoken students. I also think that religion plays a part in how conservative a school is so that might be something to consider as well. In general, the boarding school environment seems to be open to diversity of ideas and I wouldn’t worry about it too much.</p>
<p>Thanks!
I’m Asian and I’m one of the “socially-awkward” group. Does it mean that “liberal” schools tend to have more parties and random kids? What do you mean by “open to change”? In what aspect? Changes in what?(no offence! But it’s hard for a foreigner to picture the “vibe” of a school!)</p>
<p>I vote for killing this thread. The words liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican are way too charged these days for a rational discussion on CC, especially in the Prep School forum, among kids who largely parrot their parents anyway. </p>
<p>Chat forums are horrible venues for political discussion: meanings are lost, intent is misconstrued, anonymity encourages personal attacks and insults … it’s all a mess.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that while some boarding schools might hew slightly in one direction or the other, all the great ones open their arms to all kinds of kids, from a multitude of backgrounds, holding all kinds of political beliefs. IMO, you can’t really go wrong. You will find plenty of folks who share similar views to you. Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to test your beliefs in the boarding school community. That’s one of the great virtues of making this choice. It’s your first real chance to get out of the echo chamber that is “home” and into a place where you can start thinking for yourself.</p>
<p>I agree with rebelangel- even though I started this thread, it isn’t creating anything positive or productive. Let’s kill it.</p>