Claremont McKenna
Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Baylor, SMU, TCU.
@Lindagaf In the world we live today, we can look for and glue to the channels of information that reinforce our own views, whatever they are, and watch our country become ever more divided politically, socially, and geographically. Do we really want that segregation to start even before these kids have a chance to examine new, different, and perhaps transformative ideas?
No, @1NJParent , but we arenât going to change this studentâs mind by not giving him suggestions. He will have to come to his own conclusions.
Agree that Texas A&M, Baylor, Pepperdine, University of Alabama, Notre Dame, and most SEC universities ( Auburn & Georgia, for example) have many conservative students. A conservative should be fine at Virginia Tech.
Depends upon âhow conservativeâ as what is considered to be conservative in the liberal Northeast is far different than what would be considered conservative in the South including Texas.
Some LACs which are somewhat conservative compared to their peer schools include Bucknell, Colgate, Davidson College, Holy Cross, St. Lawrence, University of Richmond, Grove City, Wheaton College in Illinois, Hillsdale in Michigan.
@spruce123 - Is attending a school with a conservative leaning your goal? Itâs not clear if you area potential college applicant. Your other current threads including âQuestions on Liberal Arts Education,â and âSocratic method vs. lecture methodâ suggest that you are exploring a lot of different possibilities? Can you clarify what youâre really trying to figure out? Respondents could provide more focused and relevant information.
Adding Furman and Elon to the listâŠ
Agree with @Aug2019. Time to reveal whether this and your other questions are related to a college search or idle curiosities. Or research for some school assignment.
At the very least, it gives us context, whether we can be helpful or you just want responses.
I want to point out that just because someone may say a college is conservative relative to their peers doesnât mean that the students there will hold conservative values, if thatâs what youâre looking for. Sure, Dartmouth may be relatively conservative compared to Brown, but the students there are still very, very liberal compared to the rest of the country.
@1NJParent I can see why a student would want to look for a college with specific leaning. A student who wants to follow their traditional religious upbringing may not feel particularly comfortable at Reed or Oberlin, for example. Would you encourage a kid who has visions of being a progressive, ala AOC to go to Hillsdale to challenge their perceptions? I would hope that all colleges would teach opposing viewpoints and allow students to make up their own minds one way or the other.
College isnât supposed to be a brainwashing event.
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@elodyCOH College education is not about staying within our own comfort zones. Kids need to be challenged, to think critically and outside the box, not constrained or âprotectedâ in their own cocoons. We donât live in a one-party state, and thereâre plenty of differing views aired all around us, perhaps even within our own families. What are we afraid of?
@1NJParent I donât think people are afraid, necessarily, but most will want to look for a college where they feel more comfortable. Challenge can be on either side, correct? I have an atheist co-worker that is dealing with a child looking at a Christian college - this is definitely not something the parent wanted for the child. We donât know if this particular student IS challenging the worldview surrounding them or not. Food for thought.
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The problem is conservative students are silenced at some of our very liberal institutions. Back in the day i went to a far left school as a conservative leaning individual and was treated respectfully. Today I would be very hesitant in this political climate. We had open debate which was fun but no one was tossing slurs or protesting opposing views. And we were all friends. I think colleges where critical thinking is supposed to take place should be far more balanced as everyone can learn something from open dialogue and debate.
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Nor is it brainwashing. A person who holds to well considered conservative views shouldnât be seen (or seen himself) as some wimp.
The larger Uâs have variety. The elite universities attract ardent conservatives who come for the education and find many like them.
This whole lib vs cons concept forgets how the large proportion of students are there for their academic work. All those kids in the labs or libraries, not interested in your beliefs. Not protesting or trying to âconvertâ you.
Otoh, if you expect to find a life partner, sure, go where your sort is.
@1NJParent since the parents have to pay for the education, shouldnât they pay a school that they are more comfortable going to? Even if the kid is going to a more conservative college, there are still liberal kids and liberal professors there that have alternative ideas that will still open the kidâs mind.
@1NJParent
From afar, when I read about some of the demonstrations against conservative speakers/safe space/trigger warning policies at very liberal colleges/universities give me (a very liberal/progressive leaning person) chills and let me questioning the kind of students we are educating in our colleges/universities these days: it seems to be the antithesis to open-mindedness and critical thinking. These so-called liberal students are living in a cocoon and are afraid of coming out of their comfort zone.
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Hello 1NJParent.
Is it wrong to want to attend a school where there is not a bias against your beliefs?
Most colleges these days are not politically neutral; there is an obvious bias towards liberal ideas.
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Most people on CC stress fit in hopes that students find a place where they thrive academically. This should be no different. The fact that people can list left leaning and right leaning schools should make it obvious that these environments exist. What might be even more interesting is a list of schools that embrace left and right in the spirit of free speech with no limits. University of Chicago?
Even framing it as âbias against your beliefsâ is defensive, assumes poor little me, bullied by the whole college. Just not how it is.
I drive past or through the local Ivy a lot and what you see is all those kids with their books, friends, and heading wherever. The active protesters are a minority.
My kid expressed her liberal sentiments by campaigning for liberal politicians and a service program for the needy, through college. Some of her closest friends (at this âliberalâ college) were so very conservative that sheâd warn me to stay off political topics around them. Lol.
Tolerance works both ways. Just as conservatives ask for it, so should they give it to liberals. Not play this âus vs themâ game, painting liberals in the worst terms.
Sheesh.
@lookingforward You are not a current college student. How does driving through the local Ivy give a complete experience of how accepting student culture will be?
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