<p>My family’s been attending Oberlin for two generations, so these comments represent Oberlin students from 1966 - 2005, one of whom majored in Religion there recently. Unfortunately I have no direct knowledge of Kenyon. So my long post is all about Oberlin!</p>
<p>You will find little friction regarding football or your choice of clothing. At Oberlin, they “don’t care what you wear” and will be quite uninterested in the brand of clothing, in any direction.</p>
<p>Your approach to football is quite what is admired there: do the sport because you love it! It’s your passion and Oberlin’s love seeing people passionate about things, from Asian History to Victorian Literature, from OCircus to Football, from Stravinsky to Steel Drums, it’s all good. Nobody will slobber over you for being on a football team. Some might admire the health it engenders. Nobody would put you down as “a jock” because that’s stereotyping and Oberlin’s try so hard not to stereotype anybody for anything. Just enjoy it and do it for the love of it; that’ll be quite understood. </p>
<p>Your above points #5,6, and 8 are what I am responding to here: </p>
<p>If you hyper-talk conservative politics without listening; if while people talk you are thinking more about what you’ll say next than listen at all to what they are saying, you may find people shut down. At that point, you won’t know if that’s because of your political views or an abusive talking style. (note: you’ll also find lefties who do that same thing). Search your soul and decide which is your style. There’s a huge difference. At Oberlin, political conservatives are accepted IF they have point-of-view and can articulate it with real sources. If you look at some graduates you’ll see the likes of Richard Haas (at Brookings), or Jan Ting who ran for office (not successful) with the Republican party, and so on. I knew them as students and they were ardent, if quiet, A-students of History and Political Science in those days. They were scholars, not diatribers. </p>
<p>I don’t know Kenyon well, but Oberlin students pride themselves correctly on being open to diverse viewpoints. While the majority of the campus is decidedly Left, the Republican Club was revived there a decade ago, for example, after not existing for many years. Some students there today are quite a-political and a-religious, too; involved in the arts or particular sciences; just don’t read newspapers, never grew up around churches and so forth. They just don’t care about the issues that move you the most. </p>
<p>Still others are strongly positioned in left organizations. Progressive gender thinking permeates the campus. If you are upset seeing a transgender student, and think that’s up for religious “discussion” (meaning, confrontation or chiding) directly with that person, or backchannel discussion about that person’s choice among other classmates, well, don’t go to Oberlin. Your opinion is more than an opinion, it’s intolerant if you think your opinion means they shouldn’t be on the same campus or planet as you. Your political opinion may be someone else’s life. </p>
<p>If your Christian faith precludes tolerance of gays and transgenders, such that you speak out against them or those who are such, then you’ll get challenged, then isolated at Oberlin. If you run around and say “hate the sin, love the sinner” that’s not quite good enough to make friends there.</p>
<p>OTOH, if your Christian faith permits acceptance of those with radically different ways of life, you will be accepted and judged As a Person. Oberlin’s mostly want to see each other as “persons” than as political/religious/gender “types.”
In that way, they are truly accepting and I find them to be so over all the years outlined above. </p>
<p>If, indeed, you are actually this: “a respectful, conservative Christian who likes to play football” and can imagine others being Equally (not more) entitled to occupy space on the campus and raise their opinions in classroom or dinnertable discussion, you are ready for Oberlin. You have to be ready to be a minority there, but that might be a healthy experience as a chapter in your life. </p>
<p>My D, who majored in Religion, was obviously curious about all religions. Even so, one Christian fundamentalist person in her first freindship circle persisted in trying to convert her. Eventually she had to ask him to stop talking about religion, even though she was a relgion major and studied Old Testament in classes, and so forth. His fundamentalist take gradually became very irritating to her, as a Jewish woman, in the category of his being socially insensitive. He had to learn to talk about other things with her, which he did do. She said that after a while into freshman year, he found families and made friends in an Ohio (not on campus) church organization with whom he could share his religious passion unreservedly. With that outlet, he stopped monologuing her about Jesus as his Savior, which she felt after so many discourses he must mean to say that Jesus should also be her Savior. Once they took a moratorium on Jesus-talk, they became somewhat limited friends, and they both found many other close friends on campus, too. </p>
<p>Once each found their own truly closest friends, it was okay between them to become and stay casual friends. In the end, it was more their personalities that kept them from becoming best friends, but each could be friends closely with others. And she STILL values having met and known him, several years after graduating. </p>
<p>They had nearly opposing perspectives on religion and politics, and got beyond that to discover what was and wasn’t possible in terms of an actual social friendship. Friendships there seem to be made over who is, in fact, a friendly person, and less so over who agrees politically and religiously by doctrine. </p>
<p>Be a friend and you’ll make friends.</p>
<p>P.S. On your point #3 above, I think some students will want you to teach them how to fish! Also remember some students hail from rural communities in the U.S. and globally, so are not unfamiliar with hunting and fishing themselves. Re: Walmart, there IS none at Oberlin as the exploitation of American workers rankles many. So if you want to mention “I bought this at Walmart” just to get a rise out of folks, well…why do that? Students WILL share your passion for “cheap goods” but more by Free-swap or Ebay than from Walmart’s. Re: hunting: that will honestly be dealbreaker with the Vegans, but they are just one of many subgroups among the eating co-ops. I’ve met many unabashed carnivores at Oberlin who’d be curious to hear how hunting is done. On gun ownership: can you articulate it and truly debate among the Constitutional Amendments (not just shout “Second Amendment, Founding Fathers!” 20 times)? I think I’ve communicated the ethos. Good luck in whatever you decide.</p>