<p>A liberal myself, I welcome being part of an open-minded community similar to that of Wesleyan's; but in addition to praise of the Wes student body, I've also come across some criticism. Of course, an anonymous comment on a college review website only means so much, but I've noticed a recurring criticism of WU's student body coming from types that seem liberal themselves: that the activism of Wesleyan students seems more like angst-ridden attempts by the children of conservative parents to piss the latter off than the genuine efforts of people that are aware of the many issues detracting from social progress today. How accurate is this description? It should go without saying that I hope it isn't; I'm just trying to figure out how well I could fit in at Wesleyan.</p>
<p>LOL. There’s definitely an element of trolling going on. These anonymous posters apparently live in a universe where it is inconceivable that one can actually believe in something so deeply that they are willing to voice it in public, therefore, anyone else who does must be doing it for cynical and ulterior motives. Too funny. Is environmental sustainability a left-right issue? Is need-blind admissions? Are gender neutral bathrooms? Is there a conservative position on sexual assault on campus? I don’t think so, and yet, these are among the most activist issues about which I’ve been aware at Wesleyan in recent years.</p>
<p>Just joining CC as a parent, after a fair amount reading…need to jump in here, as a Wes student from an earlier era. I’m not involved with alumni affairs, but over the years I’ve met alums of various generations, and have seen what friends and acquaintances from my era have done with their lives. I actually graduated from a competing, more conservative, small LAC (needed to leave college temporarily, for family reasons), so that gives me broader perspective on Wesleyan vs other grads over time. Regarding the discussion here, I can say that the Wesleyan students of my era had endless passion for not only liberal political causes, but also for their interests in the arts and academics. Wesleyan was a very intense place, with depth of passion and discussion not duplicated in any measure at my subsequent college (from which I graduated with much better career counseling than had been available at Wesleyan). While at Wesleyan, I wondered how long some of my more privileged (affluent) classmates would sustain their work for “causes” outside of their own narrow self-interest–I had thoughts along the lines of the OP, as indeed some students were rebelling a bit (as is true everywhere) against their parents’ values. But as it turned out, many of those former classmates have remained committed to areas of social concern–trying to “do good”–for decades. I continue to be impressed by the numerous creative paths that Wes graduates have found. Many of these paths included a graduate or professional degree. But more importantly, many went on to be trailblazers, successful in the areas that they cared about. As a parent of high school students, I’m not sure whether my kids will go to Wesleyan (they will make their own choices) but I would have no hesitation in sending them there now. The “causes” that continue to arise at Wesleyan provide a great backdrop for kids to explore their own passions, whether in areas of social action, science, artistic, politics, or a unique combination of those and more, that Wesleyan has always encouraged. Though there can be a certain air of “political correctness” there (as at many colleges), in my experience the determination to make tangible improvements transformed what might have been superficial exploration/rebellion into sustained, productive projects that often grew into meaningful careers.</p>