real liberal?

<p>i read from various sourses that Wesleyan is <em>thoroughly</em> liberal and open - like it has co-ed bathrooms, 'naked dorms', pot smoking everywhere, guys n girls living in the same room, and even a trangender clinic (is this one true?) is it really so? i'd LOVE to go to a liberal school but does it bother any of the current students?</p>

<p>yes, I would also like to know about the degree of liberalism. My parents when through an activist tree hugger vegan stage when i was young and it got on my nerves so much that i have a generally low tolerance for it. I wanna know if theres a large population of "normal" people. People who care about a few issues, but dont go balls to the wall radical about it. I dont wanna feel like im living in a hippie commune, i just wanna go to college.</p>

<p>Yes, there are plenty of "normal" people at Wesleyan. Pink-haired face-pierced hippies will not accost you nonstop to protest for the rights of transgendered vegan dolphins. Relax.</p>

<p>i just read what ppl said abt pot smoking at wes and seems like its HUGE... is it really THAT bad? honestly how can ppl get along with their coursework and still hav THAT MUCH of pot smoking/ alcohol/wtever? it scares me when i think of havin to live w/ a huge bunch of stoners...</p>

<p>i'm driving up to wesleyan today. i'll tell you guys how it goes..</p>

<p>They don't. The core survey of alcohol and drug use a year ago said that less than half the student body ever smokes pot.</p>

<p>Wesleyan is very liberal, but you'd be surprised by the extent to which there are "different Wesleyans." In other words, there are different types of people. For evidence of this, go to some science classes (the ones I went to had different student types than the humanities classes). I am very liberal but am also normal in a way, and Wesleyan seemed great to me.</p>

<p>Though Wes has a reputation for being very liberal, they don't act leftist just for the sake of doing it. They are a place that doesn't have lines between groups of people -- i went and saw typical frat-type jocks hanging out with band-type dorks. They're seen as liberal because they're not clique-ey and petty. If you don't want to smoke weed (jurily) that obviously won't be a problem...if transgenders and the like are accepted without question, something tells me that sobriety would be respected just as much.</p>

<p>From what I can tell...</p>

<p>Pot use? Definitely present, but not all-consuming.</p>

<p>However, the different types of people - not even seeing that so much. I was hanging out with science people geeks and crazy humanities hippies alike. What I love about Wesleyan is almost everyone here seems to be a some type of cross between a hippie and a geek - my favourite things. :D</p>

<p>Yeah, there are sportsy people. There are geeky sorts. Straight-edge sorts and total druggies. But the atmosphere is so laidback - it seems to me that whatever type of person you are, or some crazy combination of them, you will be accepted and have a great time.</p>

<p>Nicely said, madjoy, that's what i love about the school. I'm just trying not to get too attached, in case the wait list thing doesn't work out.</p>

<p>Bfinder, you sound quite awesome. Did you send in lots of extra stuff to try to convince them they should admit you from the waitlist?</p>

<p>Where are you going if you don't get in?</p>

<p>i appreciate that, madjoy.
I sent them a letter as well as 2 new teacher recs and another counslor rec. I will send a follow up letter during the first week of may.
If wes doesn't work out i'm going to Emory -- a great school, just slightly too jappy and apathetic for me.</p>

<p>like you, bfinder, i'm really hoping to get off the wait list. i feel like while everyone else in my class knows where they're going, my fate is undecided. hopefully, we both end up at wesleyan. if not, i'm probably going to berkeley.</p>