Rather Staunch Conservative...Will I Fit In?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Emory University
1

<p>I am trying to identify various schools of rigor that have a fairly large conservative population. I don't drink, I am very modest and prefer single sex dorms (though I realize that I will be lucky to have single sex floors at most schools). I do not mind diversity on campus for it makes life fun and interesting, however, I wish to find quite a few like-minded students where I can be accepted and not viewed as a total outcast. </p>

<p>I have looked at Notre Dame and Boston College but the athletics are not a good fit for me. In addition to Emory, I am also looking at Rice, JHU, Cornell, Denison, maybe Duke and maybe Georgia Tech. I will be a science major, perhaps pre-med. So, I am requesting your suggestions. Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Tech and JHU are perhaps more neutral politically. Emory is politically apathetic (as in, you won’t see lots of demonstrations or those running around spouting their political views) in general, but even then, the students and initiatives inacted by the college come from a liberal point of view. You will likely not like us, Duke, or Cornell (I’m not sure about Cornell. I just know that most Ivies are very liberal, and this liberalism is quite obvious). I don’t know about Rice. Here, you’ll find a few conservatives here (mainly Christian and a surprising number of Jews as well), but most people here lean left or don’t care enough about politics at all to make you feel like an outcast. However, I must tell you, even the right leaning students here aren’t going to be like you. They WILL drink and stuff like that. They tend to be economically conservative. I only know a few social conservatives among the already few outright conservatives that I know. Have you considered a place like Vanderbilt which is also kind of neutral?</p>

3

<p>I mean, Newt Gingrich and Bill Haslam (Current Governor of Tennessee) made it through.</p>

<p>The most conservative person I’ve met is a homeschooled guy, but he seems to be getting along okay. In what ways do you identify as conservative? I’ve run into plenty of people who believe misinformed things like, “All social problems and inequality are caused by a lack of personal merit and effort on the part of the afflicted. Therefore, these issues are not worth our time, because these people choose to live in poverty and incur all sorts of issues. Moreover, God himself has ordained Us to have all of the money–how dare poor people try to get their grubby little hands on it.”</p>

<p>Okay, maybe that’s a little exaggerated. And I guess that’s greed, not conservatism.</p>

4

<p>Have you looked at Vanderbilt?</p>

5

<p>They are much older than us and attended Emory when it was not even a national research university and was much less ethnically and religiously diverse. Let’s not mention that the Atlanta area was more conservative back then as well. Gingrich got a BA in History in 1965. Emory has changed dramatically from then. He may view Emory with shame in its current state. And that’s an example of economic conservatism that I alluded to. I have a friend who is an economic conservative, but has a much more leveled point of view than that hyperbole you gave. She has interesting stances on unions for example and not necessarily wealth allocation. I would not consider her, by any means, a social conservative. Again, I haven’t met any real social conservatives. If anything, they are “selectively” socially conservative and you can figure out what that means. </p>

<p>Newt Gingrich attended Emory before this stuff even happened:
[Leading</a> Out: A Profile of University Leadership on Vimeo](<a href=“http://vimeo.com/15779361]Leading”>Leading Out: A Profile of University Leadership on Vimeo)</p>

<p>And if some of those people in the administration positions presented are not conservative (they are essentially wealthy rednecks), I don’t know what is. Seriously, look at some of this video and imagine Emory in the 1960s-1970s. This was the 90s. On a side note, it appears that Emory undergrads. were more activist back then and perhaps more engaged in the classroom, though there are too little definitive examples in the video to tell. There is one scene where it shows a classroom discussion and a subsequent interview of a student in the discussion (a very lively, intense discussion. Ones that I rarely saw, even in my humanies and social sciences classes to day. It’s like the prof. has to beg us to speak out and present what may be indeed our awesome, creative, and provocative ideas. We prefer to just sit there and listen. Ironically, we complain when the teacher doesn’t attempt to engage us or facilitate discussion) and the caption below said she was a freshman. I was like “wow!!”. I think Emory was definitely more liberal artsy back then. So even though the test scores of students were lower, the students were just different back then.</p>

6

<p>With regards to Rice: You’re not going to find so much as a single-sex hall, and the campus is pretty liberal (both in policies and students). I haven’t met very many people at Rice that are social conservatives at all, although there’s a decent-sized chunk of fiscal conservatives.</p>

7

<p>I am a fiscal and social conservative (not politically active at all) that fully respects others who are far to the left of me. I have many friends who are liberal and I enjoy the best of each one. I like to discuss many different subjects with all friends but I just want to find some like-minded friends who don’t drink or engage in sexual activities. I have a couple now and it is a joy to have much in common. </p>

<p>I understand that I may have a better fit at a Christian college but honestly, the academics are not as rigorous and since I am an athlete, my sport is not available at any. I appreciate those who can provide insight into whether or not I would be “accepted” and if there are other closet conservatives on campus…at Emory or elsewhere.</p>

8

<p>Yeah, so y’all are basically the same as we are (as I figured, but I wasn’t sure at all). You won’t really find single sexed halls (though I do believe there are plenty single-sexed hallways within co-ed halls) at Emory either. I must also admit that there is a large number of openly liberal faculty members (it often won’t show in their teaching, but it does show in their scholastic and intellectual activities. And some will, in an open forum for discussion of certain issues, reveal their liberal stances. I remember going to a talk in the Center for Ethics and this was indeed the case). I think Vandy is the only exception to liberalism in the 4 top 20s in the south. I don’t know if the other 3 can be ranked. I would guess we are about the same (though sometimes we get some unwanted attention for being liberal. I remember the “those thugs at Emory comment” on Fox news I believe. I don’t know if this happens to the other two or not). Again, you’ll find some social conservatives (I was part of RUF, reformed university fellowship, at one point, so I know a few), but the ease of such an endeavor may depend on which clubs or activities you choose to join.</p>

9

<p>I have seen posts like yours before, usually from someone who says they want to go to a liberal school. Yours says the opposite. </p>

<p>Let me suggest to high school students, who are 17 or 18 years old, and who are worrying about the politics of the school they go to that, in my opinion, you shouldn’t necessarily want to go to a school where everyone thinks the same as you do. As my father once told me, a plane needs both a left wing and a right wing to fly straight. </p>

<p>Let me further suggest to you that your political views are likely to evolve and change over the years. College is a time to explore many schools of thought----not a time to attend left wing or right wing political indoctrination classes. (some of the small liberal arts colleges come to mind)</p>

<p>For example, George McGovern was a republican while he was serving in WW II.
Reagan was a democrat. Hillary Clinton was a Goldwater girl. Rick Perry was a democrat.
I once saw an interview with Bob Dole where they asked him why he became a republican rather than a democrat. His answer was that he was thinking about running for Congress, and that the repubicans simply asked him first. My father was the head of the democratic party in my home town for over ten years, and actually attended the 1964 Democratic Convention, but by the time he died, he had become a republican. Yet, he still donated to some rather liberal political organizations. I was a staunch liberal until I became about age 22. I am now a republican, but have in the past been fond of some democratic candidates, such as Paul Tsongas and Bill Bradley.</p>

<p>I once read a discussion of a college (I forget which one), where the writer, who was a student, said that all points of views are tolerated on campus…unless your are a republican. If that’s the kind of school you want to go to, it’s your life, but I think you are doing yourself a disservice. I think you will find, as you get older, that there are no absolute political truths, and that sometimes, America needs a change towards the left, and sometimes America needs a change towards the right, and that the people of this country usually make the right decision. </p>

<p>FDR, Reagan, and Obama come to mind.</p>

10

<p>Isn’t Pepperdine a more conservative top school?</p>

11

<p>If you were looking at a small college, personal “fit” would be important. At a university there will be more types and kinds of students around.</p>

<p>Good comments regarding Vanderbilt and Pepperdine, however.</p>

12

<p>if you were to describe yourself as a ‘staunch conservative’ politically, then I would say no you would have no trouble fitting in. Obviously schools in general are very liberal, and Atl is very liberal for a state like GA.</p>

<p>Im not entirely sure what you are trying to say, if your concerned about fitting in because of something like your political views, that’s nonsense that wouldn’t be a problem at all, I practice my faith regularly and my poticis fall well to the outside of most people, and that isn’t the least bit of a problem.</p>

<p>I was always excused from class without incident for religious reasons etc.</p>

<p>But from what you describe, if your concerned about fitting in with others in your dorm if you come from a modest backround, uncomfortable with alcohol, uncomfortable with co-ed etc. Then emory is not the right fit for you.</p>

<p>There is a tremendous amount of culture shock between black and white studnets, and then northerns and southerners, plus the greek scene. With everyone on campus and the size of the school trying to escape that atmosphere on a thursday or friday night would be difficult to say the least.</p>

13

<p>For what it’s worth, I came to Emory as a far left liberal. I almost immediately (within the first 6 weeks of my freshman year) became a conservative after long discussions with the people I met and reading a particularly liberal article for a psychology class which ironically ended up convincing me that my liberal views didn’t fit with how I understood human behavior. A couple of my friends actually became conservatives as well. </p>

<p>Now that’s not to say that Emory isn’t as liberal as it claims, and that you’ll be exposed to all these conservative ideas that I now hold. On the contrary, I was constantly surrounded by liberal faculty and students. It’s just that their beliefs were inconsistent with my understanding of reality, so the more I learned about liberalism, the more I backed away from it. I was also lucky enough to have a reasonably sized group of conservative friends to discuss our worldviews without it degrading into futile disagreements about the fundamental assumptions you make vs the ones that I don’t make and vice versa. However most of my friends were liberal, and we just wouldn’t go too deep into any politically charged topics. As you can probably tell, I’m also somewhat of a staunch conservative by now, but I personally fit in OK at Emory. I wouldn’t say I have the standard Emory personality by any stretch, but as long as you’re a good person, you’ll find people. There are some people who refuse to associate themselves with anyone on the other side of the political spectrum, which I will never understand.</p>