My daughter, prospective '25, loves Mount Holyoke, it seems like an incredibly nurturing environment. But I’m digging in the web site, and it seems like they may be losing their minds. In August, they announced the “anti-racism action plan.” Tons of resources, events and programming : new VP for DEI, huge portion of strategic plan, 1619 Project as 2020 common read (with no mention of the scholarly controversy), racism is the topic for first year seminars, all sorts of events and speakers from one perspective.
The initiative takes as given the Critical Race Theory framework of racism as systemic upholding of white privelege. There is no mention in all the anti-racism initiative of open inquiry, freedom of conscience, or diversity of viewpoints.
They vibe when we visited 18 months ago seemed pretty mainstream, and the reputation we heard is that Smith is way-out political and MH not so much. But these new initiatives seem like something is changing fast and hard. My DD cares about service and making the world a better place, but is turned off by “activism” and righteous vibe of lefty-politics.
My fear is that CRT is divisive, teaches people to see all relationss a racialized, polarizes identities into victims and oppressors. I don’t see how a camups community can thrive if CRT becomes the main focus.
Change my mind?
This is happening everywhere. I’m a free speech advocate. So if kids could opt in AND opt out then I’d consider it just an annoyance.
My kid is a '22 and we’ve eliminated schools that are too overtly political. Just too much to learn and too much $$ to spend time and $ on that.
BTW, there is a great website that rates colleges on free speech. I think UChicago gets the best marks.
Can you forward the website link/name that ranks free speech? We are wrestling with this ourselves, as D wants a smaller liberal arts college close to home that isn’t “too political” and tolerates open discussion. Living in the mid Atlantic/Northeast, that is a tough ask! In general, state schools seem more open but they are large…
Bates, Bowdoin, & Colby colleges may be of interest to you if seeking a small LAC environment tolerant of opposing viewpoints.
Davidson College in North Carolina and Kenyon College in Ohio may also be of interest for those seeking a non-extreme environment with respect to political correctness.
Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee is another to consider. Denison College in Ohio also offers a healthy environment with respect to varying opinions.
Consider Hamilton College in New York state.
I am an alumna of Mount Holyoke and applaud its programs to encourge students to examine issues of individual and systemic bias. However, prospective students and parents should not conclude that this study overshadows the other academic pursuits at Mount Holyoke. It is a thematic series of events and readings that assist students, particularly those new to a diverse setting such at the Mount Holyoke campus, to put their new experiences in context. It is useful to consider in this circumstance that a substantial percentage of the incoming class hails from foreign countries. I would expect that the critiques of the articles and other writings examined would be raised to enhance the development of critical thinking skills.
Dm’ed you.