<p>Would a conservative be able to thrive at Grinnell?</p>
<p>Tea Party conservative? Definitely not.
Economically conservative/traditional Republican (like 30 years ago)? probably.</p>
<p>It depends what conservative you are. To be frank, I don’t think Grinnell would be a good match if you are a crazy conservative opposed women’s rights or homosexuality. If those things aren’t an issue and your conservatism is more on the side of libertarianism or fiscal conservatism, it probably wouldn’t be a big issue. Be prepared to have your views challenged though.</p>
<p>As a parent I have learned to just keep my mouth shut…I am a democrat but a fiscal conservative. My daughter is an independant and socially somewhat liberal but also fiscally conservative. She has just learned to keep her mouth shut too…she loves it there but is fine with keeping her views to herself. I love the school but do find it so sad that neither my daughter nor I find open minded people at such a fine school…they are open minded and accepting to everyone but a conservative…but I have found everywhere that most to the left are just intolerable of any views that do not align with their own. My son is also conservative and I would have no problem with him going there but he would truly have to be comfortable with keeping his mouth shut. Now, I will say, that my daughter has never had an issue in any of her classes and has never reported any bias in the classroom…to me that is quite an accomplishment at such a liberal-leaning school. It is a great school and I would not let its liberal bias deter you.</p>
<p>D just graduated last spring and was very conservative. You just have to keep your head down and take advantage of the education that Grinnell can offer. Yes, it is sad (and just not at Grinnell) that one should have to worry about grade penalties etc. if you chose to show your true political leanings. That’s the world we live in.</p>
<p>I have the feeling some people mistake having their views challenged for being forced to keep their mouth shut. I agree that there is a certain set of pseudo-liberal bias prevalent at this school that annoys me to no end but I also know many people who just want to have a good argument. I know I do. I like to talk to people who think different than I do. If my challenging your belief is forcing you to keep your mouth shut than I am not sure how you will succeed in real life. </p>
<p>Also please, and I know so far people have only pointed out Grinnell’s liberal bias, but don’t refer to Grinnell as left-leaning. That hurts my European ears. Grinnell is liberal.</p>
<p>There is challenging and then there is berating. My daughter and I are very successful in life and I personally do not back down from a respectful argument. What I encounter from my liberal friends and the parents I met at Grinnell was a mocking tone and disrespectful attitude regarding my views. Here is America liberals are leftists as conservatives are to the right. I just keep my views to myself because even though I have NO PROBLEM supporting my views (for goodness sake I am an attorney and a litigator) I have grown weary of the intolerance. My daughter is going to see VP Biden today and I told her to bring a “Mitt” sign…she replied, “Do you want me to get kicked out of school?” She was only kidding but she said she did not dare voice your opposition to the present administration while she is at Grinnell…so sad</p>
<p>Mitt Romney and his party support a lot of policies that the average Grinnellian does not support, e.g. the Republican stance on reproductive rights and gay marriage. And while I can accept people to hold this belief in general I think it funny that the republican party on the one hand wants a small government but on the other hand want to legislate these things.
Yeah supporting Mitt Romney won’t fly at Grinnell, I’ll admit that, and in my eyes for good reason, not only do I oppose his and his party’s politics I also do not see their logic behind their arguments regarding almost any aspect of their policy.
I am truly sorry for any moderate Republican that their party has been taken over by a bunch of people that can scream very loud but not much else. However my point is, that I highly doubt someone would not respect other people’s view on Campus if they are well thought out and logical. </p>
<p>Like I said, I am not Grinnell-liberal and a lot more accepting of conservative view-points in general, if these are well thought out. Since the average person I have met however does not seem to think their positions through (and this applies to people all over the political spectrum) I will challenge them. I am sorry your daughter feels that way, I agree that’s not how it should be.
I highly doubt the administration would care, but if your daughter had carried a Mitt sign, the event-organizers would have - signs weren’t allowed at the event.</p>