<p>I've heard Pomona is super liberal and doesn't tolerate others views too well. I'm pretty moderate. So how difficult is it to be a moderate at Pomona?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Our son went through Pomona and loved it. It is very liberal and his views were more liberal after he came out than when he went in. But, he never felt that other views were not tolerated or that the liberal agenda was forced on him. We have three kids in college and, at least for them, all their schools have been liberal. If this is a real issue for you consider claremont McKenena, which seems to be more conservtive. good luck.</p>
<p>"His views were more liberal after he came out than when he went in." -- I had the same experience in Claremont (not at Pomona, specifically). But I still consider myself fairly moderate and highly tolerant. Anyone fitting that description should have absolutely no trouble at any of the Claremont schools, as long as (s)he has a decent sense of when it's appropriate to speak up and when it would be counter-productive (and this goes for people anywhere and of any belief system). </p>
<p>I also wouldn't say that Claremont is "super liberal" as much as I would say that there is a very vocal "super liberal" minority. In general, the majority of students seem pretty moderate, tending towards the right. </p>
<p>Finally, in direct answer to your question, I would say that how hard it would be to be moderate would depend on how politically involved you want to be. If you want to be very vocal and active, you'll encounter more animosity than you would if you just have your beliefs and do your own thing (in which case you'll never have trouble, period). But even then, I wouldn't say that it's an extreme situation at all...not worth not applying if other aspects of the school interest you. Spend a night, talk to students, and see how things feel.</p>
<p>"In general, the majority of students seem pretty moderate, tending towards the right." I disagree with this assessment. For the 5Cs as a whole, I think the majority of students is moderate or slightly to the left. At Pomona, the majority of the student body is definitely liberal, a tad too left to be considered still in the "moderate" range (the faculty is also solidly liberal). And the size of the Pomona student body (at 1,550 it's by far the largest of the 5Cs) makes the overall Claremont political position more left than "moderate, tending towards the right."</p>
<p>Whoops! I disagree with that assessment, too :) I meant "pretty moderate, tending towards the left," not the right. Thanks for pointing out my error.</p>
<p>Also noteworthy is that when I say "moderate," I do mean it in sort of a California-y sense, which is already slightly to the left of much of the country.</p>
<p>In that case, especially with the California-specific sense of "moderate," I completely agree with you. Yay for consensus!</p>
<p>Coming from a moderate sophomore...</p>
<p>The student body is very accepting and diverse in terms of fiscally conservative views (on welfare, schooling, taxation, etc.) In fact, most of my freshman hall leaned to the right in that respect. However, when it comes to views on gay marriage, right to an abortion, things like that, the student body is pretty uniformly to the left (to the extent that I haven't seen anybody at all argue against gay marriage/choice). Social conservatives will probably feel uncomfortable in political discussions, or at least very, very alone.</p>
<p>Most freshmen this past year that were anywhere right of left were ritually flogged every Thursday night until they renounced their misguided views.</p>
<p>...there are all types of people here, just like any school. I wouldn't worry about it.</p>
<p>There's so many kids coming in with their own SUVs and north face fleeces that almost no one is really committed to the economic left/redistributionary policies.</p>
<p>OTOH, they like drinking and partying, and are live+let live, so people are pretty socially liberal. But i have a suspicion that most claremonsters, already or soon to be part of society's elite, sell out 10 years down the line no matter what they talk like in college.</p>
<p>so even if the environment is 'liberal' in some sense, it's not very left. it's also a great place to spend four years, especially if afterwards you can afford valtrex and a liver transplant!</p>
<p>wow... "liver transplant" perspective comes from heavy drinking, I guess...
What kind of alcohol do students drink? Just beer or bad cheap alcohol as well?</p>
<p>pomona is definitly a beer school</p>
<p>The "liver transplant" comment, as accurate as I think it was in many ways, definitely exagerrated its characterization of Pomona/Claremont drinking culture. There are plenty of parties and plenty of alcohol throughout Claremont (mainly on Pomona, CMC, and Mudd, although access is generally available to all), but there are also plenty of non-drinkers, light drinkers, and sub-free (or sub irrelevant) events. I was a non-drinker and I didn't care for alcohol-focused events, but I still enjoyed Claremont and Pomona was not the campus that would have posed the greatest difficulties. </p>
<p>(Just a clarification. The post was by no means off base, but it was definitely an overly-generous characterization, based on my own experiences.)</p>