Hi folks, I’m interested in learning about LACs that foster and protect a campus atmosphere of interesting and tolerant conversations. The incident at Middlebury has me concerned that students are being urged to increasing levels of agitation. I know nothing about the speaker there but the reaction wasn’t mature.
Do LACs exist where students can examine and possibly discuss their thoughts and beliefs without fear of oppressive reprisal or is that a thing of the past?
I’m not interested in “conservative” or religious schools. Thanks!
Note that “conservative” appears in quotation marks above, implying that the OP would be open to conservative (and religious) viewpoints, but would not be interested in a college that defines itself by them.
@Xystus : As one approach, look into colleges that offer curricular balance (e.g., a good percentage of math majors in relation to other majors, etc.). Academic balance tends to directly or indirectly promote ideological balance of the type for which you seem to be looking.
For as long as there have been students there have been student agitators- right the way back to Ancient Greece. Don’t over-read this one big incident- most colleges will have had similar contretemps (if not quite as physical as that one was).
When your student gets there, college visits will tell a lot about the ‘feel’ of the place. When it gets down to a short list, overnight stays are highly recommended.
Thanks folks for your replies. @mer81 - thanks for pointing out curricular balance. You are amazingly perceptive in understanding what atmosphere interests me.
I’m looking for a healthy mix that includes conservative and religious students and faculty as well as those who are progressive and not religious. I’m also concerned that the contretemps is going to escalate and I don’t want to pay tuition where that might be the case.
Also, I wouldn’t say this sort of issue is connected to LACs specifically. The same thing could’ve happened in a large liberal university. And just like @collegemom3717 said, it is usually not connected to most of the students.
How do you define “conservative”? Honest question. It varies from person to person so hard to recommend and gauge what schools to suggest without knowing more. Honestly. I think the vast majority of schools would be fine, including Middlebury. The college has over 2,400 students, one of the larger LACs, and the vast majority did not engage in what happened last week.
There’s a fine line between zealotry and idealism and a large number of LACs trace their establishments to a period in American history often referred to as The Second Great Awakening (1790-1858) which among other things saw increased agitation to abolish slavery, establish women’s suffrage, and oddly enough - the temperance movement . A slew of LACs were established during this period, including Oberlin, Haverford, Mount Holyoke, Antioch as well as most of NESCAC and every one of them is complicit to one degree or another in events leading directly to the American Civil War.
What’s so unnerving about the events at Middlebury is that a few weeks ago a similar thread to this one would have yielded Middlebury in the “safe” column. Could this whole thing be just a matter of dormant genes being activated?
With respect to academic balance and actual schools, look into Hamilton, where the curriculum is in fact equally proportioned across the three major academic divisions: fine arts and humanities, math and sciences, and social sciences.
Our family has toured a wide variety of campuses, and I would suggest you look into some of the Catholic schools, like Loyola of Chicago, Marquette, Creighton, Santa Clara U, Gonzaga, Univ of Portland, Fordham, Villanova, etc. They are a bit larger than your avg LAC, but are not huge. Around 5,000-7,000 students. I went to a Jesuit school in L.A. - LMU, and many of the students were not particularly religious. Had a very live and let live attitude. The biggest emphasis was on volunteerism and service. As @merc81 mentioned, a broad selection of majors, including engineering, which tends to skew more moderate, may give you the more balance environment you are seeking. That is what you will find at many Catholic schools, esp the Jesuit schools.
@collegemom3717, is right. A college visit that includes time in the classroom, dining hall and an overnight (genearlly only avail to seniors), will give you the best feel for the campus culture. It was during my campus visit to LMU that I’d found my people. Many of us are still close friends, 30+ years later!
@prezbucky has offered a good list of highly ranked LACs that are likely to be more tolerant of non-progressive political and cultural voices. I would add Claremont McKenna to that list.
Thanks for the school suggestions! After a few college visits, the relative smallness of most LACs (compared to universities) is more appealing at this point.