Hear, hear, @brantly
I was involved in student activities in college, and worked the school’s director of student activities. He told me a story about attending a college activities convention and saw a student who was passed out drunk in the hotel. Looked at the kid’s tag and it read “Oral Roberts University.”
(And for those too busy or uninterested to follow @brantly 's link, here’s a pull quote:)
Nice theory. How then do you explain the need for political correctness, “safe spaces”, trigger warnings, and freedom from micro-aggressions, all of which are most abundant on these liberal colleges?
Well, you can argue that these demonstrate the search for new ideas 
Trigger warnings and safe spaces have been exagerated by the media because it makes for such juicy stories but they do not define the college experience.
So these incidents are just media exaggerations?
- Numerous colleges have policies on Halloween costumes. A professor at Yale suggests that maybe the kids are mature enough to handle this on their own. This causes enough of a campus eruption that the professor and her husband feel compelled to leave Yale.
- A Missouri teacher calls for some "muscle" to protect a safe space.
- Numerous college heads lose their jobs because some group feels maligned.
These incidents might not define everyday life, but they chill discussion of controversial topics, which I think is the whole point of “liberalism”.
My kid’s college sent an email to students a few weeks ahead of Halloween reminding them to be considerate of others in their choice of costumes. They had no issues at the actual holiday. It isn’t a rule, just a reminder to students to not be d****. There is nothing chilling about asking people to be considerate of the feelings of others.
@hebegebe (post#185) I think we can argue all day about which side feels the most aggrieved and in need of hand-holding, TLC, “safe spaces”, etc. during the ridiculously puerile times we’re going through at the moment. The end result is no one gets taken seriously the moment they mention certain hot-button words, among which I would include, “oppressed”, “persecuted”, “indoctrinated”, as well as repeated use of the word, “numerous”.
@MYOS1634 I think trigger warnings,safe spaces and the like are a bigger deal – and more defining – at some schools than others. I refer you back to my post #150 linking to the Oxy student who is transferring due to backlash for not participating in protests.
Here’s an interesting new article in the Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/outside-the-socialjustice-movements-small-tent/479049/, about a Kenyan immigrant high school student who has been active in social-justice and civil-liberties issues, especially reproductive freedom and LGBT rights because of his experience in Kenya. A year ago he was profiled by the ACLU because of his work in those areas. What’s interesting is that even this kid, an immigrant student of color who has been a social justice activist, is very concerned about backlash at college if he questions or challenges the tactics or rhetoric of the other activists. And his concern is based on actual experience.
Even this kid is wondering how he will fit in at college. (I googled his name and read elsewhere that he’s headed to Ithaca.)
Question for @hebegebe : Why does this:
= liberal?
It is SOMETHING, I grant you that. But I am not convinced this means “liberal.”
I agree with you. These actions occur most at colleges identified as highly liberal, but they pervert the true meaning of being liberal.
Glad we agree!
I consider myself politicaly liberal. But I think the trigger warnings etc. are just idiotic and immature.
Not sure this OP was even serious about this thread. Almost a few hundred posts and thousands of views later, I am kind of surprised this is still going …
I am enjoying the posters that think Evangelicals and Anglicans are the same.
In many parts of Africa they ARE the same.
Others have alluded to this, but I think most of the politically motivated/biased teaching that goes on at schools takes place in a handful of majors: sociology, political science, history/anthro, women’s studies, and economics. In the case of economics, you’re looking at the battle between Saltwater and Freshwater schools of thought. As an economic conservative and a MBA, I see truth in both and wouldn’t call them “political” per se, though others might. The differences seem to have much to do with ideas on human nature as it pertains to decision-making, logical thinking, and responsibility.
Point being, your son will rarely run into any veiled or explicit leftist bias if he is looking at a STEM major. And even if he were going to major in the humanities or social sciences, I think calling it “indoctrination” is an aggressive label. They teach what they teach and if your son can thoughtfully challenge the prevailing academic models, he should be welcome to do so. The bad apple would be that rare prof who would dock him for trying, but – and i can’t be certain, but I have to believe that most professors of controversial subjects welcome debate from their students. In assignments/essays or on tests, you just have to make a strong argument, whatever it is.
He will see different religious (or anti-religious) and political thought displayed around campus, on signs and by students. That’s life. The more comfortable he becomes around all sorts of people, the more he will realize that friendship is usually able to transcend politics and religion: good people are good people.
He can get a great education, grow in his faith, and expand his experience base (and friend base) at any of the schools listed in this thread.
Well not here and the OP is a Virginia resident BTW.
Having taught, I would say trigger warnings are nothing more than common courtesy. If you are teaching a class on utopias & dystopias and you are going to show “A Clockwork Orange,” it is common courtesy to give the students a heads up that there will be scenes of sexual violence in the film.
@OnTheBubble OP hasn’t indicated whether he is ACA, APA, ACC, APCK or whatever. It isn’t any of our business anyway.
I think this has been an interesting conversation, because most posters have projected their own understanding of what it means to be a Christian who is politically conservative onto the OP’s kid, without really much information about what he means by that.
Here’s my view: at most of the colleges on the list, more or less, a kid who is politically conservative will be in the minority. A kid who is a church-going practicing Christian will also be in the minority. However, whether this will cause him problems with other students (or teachers) requires much more specific information about him. He will have a lot of problems with other students at most of these schools if he is viewed as intolerant of gay students, or if he opposes equality for women or people of other races. He will be labeled as stupid or ignorant at most of these schools if he doesn’t believe in evolution. He will not, however, have much, if any trouble, because he believes in God. If he doesn’t drink, smoke, take drugs, or engage in premarital sex, nobody will care. If he is fiscally conservative, most people won’t care much, but they’ll argue with him if he wants. (Note: abortion will be controversial on all of these campuses, with a majority of students being pro-choice, but they will all have a significant minority of pro-life students. It will probably not be a topic of daily conversation.)