Also, regarding the anti-gay-marriage email from 2 years ago:
The email was apparently originally intended for a much smaller subset of campus (an evangelical Christian student organization) but was instead accidentally sent all-campus. It was immediately followed by an email from the Provost, who apologized for the tone and language of the original email:
“The tone and language of the email did not properly represent our commitment to thoughtful inquiry and civil discussion as necessary to the pursuit of truth. We have a long history of treating all students with love and respect, and our Honor Code requires our students to do likewise.”
Like @ordinarylives, I learned about Hillsdale through Imprimus and its free online courses on the Constitution. The more I learn about Hillsdale, the more impressed I am. My children still have a few years before they start thinking about college, but when the time comes, I hope they consider Hillsdale.
I also want to compliment @corinthian and @warriordaughter for their thoughtful posts on this topic. The juxtaposition of your comments with those of @marvin100 are a powerful testimonial for Hillsdale.
My knowledge of Hillsdale is based on the comments of @warriordaughter and what I’ve read on the Hillsdale website, so I don’t claim to be an expert. Maybe @AlexanderIII was thinking of the OP. The OP, @kypdurron, and @warriordaughter are the only Hillsdale students on this thread. I do think that the opinions of current Hillsdale students are entitled to respect and should not be dismissed as “alternative facts.”
Some quotes from previous comments on CC from Hillsdale students. I think these comments are entitled to respect
"We are about 95% white and 90% wealthy.
Beyond that, I can only speak from my experience as an English major. If you value the experience of knowing people from backgrounds other than your own, and if you value literary perspectives from many cultures, do not come to Hillsdale! The college refuses to offer even one course in non-western literatures. On the other hand, if you would like to be further convinced that the conservative ideology you have grown up with is, indeed, superior, this is the place for you.
At Hillsdale you will learn that it is quite natural for humans to believe that their own culture is superior to all others, and to defend their privileged status within that culture from tyrannical concepts like “diversity”
and another one
“in my experience being around campus, there is a very small minority presence. i have a lot of friends that go there, and they said that there is probably one or two african americans they know of that arent athletes, and there arent many athletes either. out of the schools i visited or have been to, hillsdale easily has the smallest minority presence”
In celebration of marvin’s 9 “contributions” to this thread, I made a donation of $90 to Hillsdale. If you want to help Hillsdale, you too can make a donation to the college here:
Oh goodness. Seriously, folks, Hillsdale isn’t a surrogate for the Republican party, white people, or some snobby upper class. I don’t consider it some kind of institutional martyr or even a “city on a hill” either. It’s a great little school where we study good, true, and beautiful things. Again, the cup of tea thing. If you want a college in a bustling metropolis, or with an active LGBT community, or with lots of racial diversity, there are lots of colleges and universities that fit the bill. No need to get up in arms about a college of 1,400 in rural Michigan if you have no intention of ever having any substantial interaction with the place or its students.
The 90% wealthy part is flat out wrong. (How could one even make that claim without defining “wealthy”?) Hillsdale’s need-based financial aid is incredibly generous and I personally know many, many students from middle- or lower-class families who have benefited from that. Just as one sample, of the seven girls in my house, three are on at least 1/2 tuition need-based aid (and all but one of us have some sort of merit-based scholarship, either in addition to the need-based or by itself.)
As for the “95%” white-- Hillsdale is certainly not the only school that is largely white. Again, we’re in rural Michigan. I don’t believe that our relative lack of racial diversity destroys the quality of education.
I would be really interested to hear how you think Hillsdale is failing to protect its students’ constitutional rights.
While I wouldn’t want to go there, I am fine with its existence. I’m not sure anyone else has said anything different, like it needs to close or accept federal funds or anything.
True…my oldest picked a good college for himself, but he would have thrived at Hillsdale, he would have thrived at Reed or any number of the small colleges where the students and profs are connected and engaged in discussion. He loves Latin, he loves the classics and British authors and he loves debate and discourse. Thank goodness there are differences in the small private schools where fit is definitely part of the equation. There is a huge, huge difference between these types of colleges and, for instance, the big public uni my number 3 son attends. Number 1 is a “life of mind” kind of kid…#3 just wants his engineering degree with a single minded focus on that outcome and that outcome alone. That and a good football team and football weekends. Different strokes for different folks.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Deleted some political comments. You all know that’s allowed. Additionally, I deleted some posts that have only links. If the links have no summary/quote/reason for posting, I see no reason to keep.
My father went to Hillsdale. When it was time for me to apply to college, he wanted to take me on a tour there. Even as a high school kid, I had seen enough of the literature sent to our house (including Imprimus) that I knew there was no way I wanted to go there. So I said “No, thanks.” I went to the University of Michigan. Best decision of my life.
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to continue to reply to individual posts on this thread as papers are calling… but for any students or parents who are interested in Hillsdale, please don’t hesitate to PM me with any concerns you have (including those raised on this thread). I’d be more than happy to answer your questions from the perspective of a current student.
The institution of mandatory curfews, segregation of undergrads by gender, and house mom’s were much more common across US colleges up until sometime in the 1960’s.
First time I heard of the idea of house/dorm mothers was when I looked up an old Oberlin yearbook from the early '50s.
Looking through the yearbook, the Oberlin of that era was very different…seems like another genteel conventional for the '50s LAC with curfews, gender segregation of undergrads, students dressed up much more formally in everyday life than just a decade or so later, and yes…even an ROTC* unit which would be effectively forced out a bit more than a decade later during the height of anti-Vietnam War protests. .
One Oberlin alum from that era recounted some seemingly absurd rules governing visits to dorms of opposite sex members such as "doors must always be open and one foot must always be planted on the floor". Rules which many Oberlin undergrads like her felt were ridiculously restrictive and "big brotherish" and prompted protests/complaints until the administration relented sometime in the mid-late '60s. .
** ROTC used to be a mandatory requirement for many male undergraduates in the US during the late '40s till sometime in the '60s. The US Army even did a 50’s era film short(available on youtube) encouraging undergrad males of the era to complete the full program to have greater options/perks of serving as an Army officer as opposed to a draftee soldier.
I thought the NYT article gave a rather positive impression of the school.
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is conservative and 10 is liberal, I’d rate myself a 6. I spent 4 years in the Air Force, so I’m not exactly a twirly-dancing hippie. I saw the online “Constitution 101” class mentioned and thought I’d sign up. On the course registration page, I noticed that the class was endorsed by Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin. Not good. Looking at the class syllabus, I saw two sections entitled, “The Progressive Rejection of the Principles of the Declaration” and “The Progressive Assault on the Constitution”.
Interesting viewpoint, but majorly flawed in reasoning because you are implicitly comparing two sides of the same coin.
You are aware that Hillsdale believes in the Constitution as an original governing document, written to mean what it says. Since this is the case, how are the classes “The Progressive Rejection of the Principles of the Declaration” and “The Progressive Assault on the Constitution” anymore indoctrination than the class at my son’s Ivy league school entitled “The Constitution, a living Treatise” and few others of similar vein?
Philosophically, if you believe the Constitution is a living, breathing document that should be interpreted to suit the whim of the reader of the time, that is equivalent “indoctrination” to teaching the Constitution is not a living, breathing document and is under assault by those who do think it is.
Overall, the issue with your statement is indoctrination is misused in its meaning. Indoctrination is teaching something to the exclusion of all other thoughts/positions.
It is blasphemy to raise originalism in my DS’s school. His friends tried to raise the issue, and it was flat out rejected as not be discussed as not being valid and not part of the course. I put money on the fact that at Hillsdale if you believe the Constitution is a living, breathing document, you are free to defend that position in class and would not be shouted down for having that position.
