<p>Regarding the “Quaker Vibe”… for those of you interested in finding out more about Quakers, aka “The Religious Society of Friends,” here’s a link.</p>
<p>[Facts</a> About Friends](<a href=“http://www.quaker.org/friends.html]Facts”>Facts About Friends)</p>
<p>You can also Google both terms (Quaker or Religious Society of Friends) and find out more. I don’t know what, if anything, you’d find Googling “Quaker vibe!” Enjoy!</p>
<p>Most colleges founded by Quakers—Swarthmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Earlham, Guilford, and Whittier are the most prominent, though there are others—are no longer affiliated with the Religious Society of Friends (“Quakers”). But many maintain various aspects of Quaker traditions and values, albeit in disparate ways. These include values like egalitarianism, social justice, respect for all persons, diversity, community, consensus decision-making, personal integrity, honesty, peace & non-violence, and learning as a path to enlightenment and an uncompromising search for Truth.</p>
<p>Guilford College, for example, links its current practice directly to the five historic Quaker “testimonies” of equality, integrity, simplicity, peace, and direct and immediate access to Truth:</p>
<p>[About</a> Guilford - Guilford College](<a href=“http://www.guilford.edu/about_guilford/services_and_administration/friends_center/testimony.html]About”>http://www.guilford.edu/about_guilford/services_and_administration/friends_center/testimony.html)</p>
<p>At Swarthmore, this takes the form of an intense pursuit of diversity and academic rigor. At Haverford, while diversity and academic rigor are highly values, there’s perhaps a greater emphasis on personal integrity and mutual respect as embodied in that school’s Social Honor Code which goes beyond typical academic honor codes to insist upon personal integrity, equality, and mutual respect as the foundation for all social interactions on campus—a feature of the school that some applicants find highly appealing and others find oppressive. Like it or leave it, there is something distinctive—even “peculiar” in the sense that early Quakers described themselves as “the peculiar people”—in these Quaker-spawned institutions. But you really need to visit to get a sense of it for yourself.</p>
<p>bclintock summarized it well. We visited both Haverford and Earlham, so I can only speak to those two. Haverford was founded as a Quaker school, but is no longer officially affilitated with the Society of Friends. There is, however, a Quaker Meeting House a few yards from the campus, the honor code is a predominant factor, and there’s a Center for Social Justice and Peace Issues (I know I’ve gotten the wording wrong but don’t have time to look up the exact title). Also, decisions are made by consensus. </p>
<p>Earlham is still very much associated with the Religious Society of Friends, and we felt the “Quaker vibe” (or Viber quake!) more strongly there. Professors are all on a first name basis with students, decisions are consensus based, and there’s a Peace and Global Studies major that’s been around for 30 years. At Earlham we definitely got a sense of students and alums who are looking to follow careers that have meaning and may be a bit off the beaten track. My daughter first had an alumni interview with a couple who both went to Earlham and they currently work with refugee resettlement. She also got a letter from an alum who’s working in a human rights area, and the students we spoke with while on campus were very thoughtful, aware students who are looking to make a difference in the world.</p>