<p>In light of the recent news of the student group planning an illegal-immigrant-catching "party", and the reports in previous years about minority students being attacked, I want to know if the student body is more conservative than its reputation conveys. I am pretty liberal, and cannot stand to be around ignorant, racist people, and was planning on attending UT until I heard about this newest anti-minority event. How prevalent is this conservative mindset/attitude in the student body???</p>
<p>Are you equating being conservative with being an idiot or a racist?</p>
<p>Idiots and racists come in all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, or political views. They will also be everywhere no matter where you ultimately decide to attend school.</p>
<p>But to answer your question, no. UT is not a conservative leaning school and is just about the most liberal place in the state of Texas.</p>
<p>@renarka no I honestly did not mean to equate the two, and after re-reading the post I realize that it came off that way. I apologize for the way it came across, and don’t want to offend anyone, especially since the whole reason I like UT in the first place is because people seem to be generally more accepting of ALL ideas and beliefs there. Thanks for the response, too.</p>
<p>I think he/she is equating hosting a “catch the illegal immigrant” party with being idiotic or racist. It is. And the party was sponsored by the Young Conservatives of Texas group on campus. This same group also recently put on one of those affirmative action bake sales like the one that took place at UC-Berkeley a few years back. So it’s probably fair to say that the conservatives in that group are idiotic and racist.</p>
<p>Apart from those who want to get publicity for their outrageous ideas, UT is known to be a generally tolerant and open-minded place.</p>
<p>I wasn’t attempting to come across as hostile Catcat.</p>
<p>I was just making the point that there are unfortunately idiots/racists/bigots everywhere.</p>
<p>Like sally said, UT is pretty tolerant and open minded. I think you would enjoy the experience if you attended the school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input! That makes me much more confident about my decision to go there</p>
<p>There was a huge outcry from students and admin and the group sponsoring the event cancelled it. </p>
<p>The protest against it went on anyway and attracted five hundred people.</p>
<p>I’m Hispanic & honestly I’m more offended by the illegals that are admitted into the school. I’m sure those 400 or so spots could be used by LEGAL Hispanics. The fact that they are college age & haven’t bothered to get their documentation done is a lack of respect.
I don’t understand why simply because I’m Hispanic of Mexican descent means I should be for illegal immigration & big social programs.
As to your original question, yes UT is pretty liberal. Funny you have a small group in the Conservative group there that are in the minority & liberal suddenly worry about UT being liberal. What happened to being tolerant? ;-)</p>
<p>@franko5150 It’s not like they can just walk into a building and become a citizen. It’s not easy to become a citizen. They’re working just as hard as you, if not harder (because they don’t get financial aid, or student loans) to get in. So why can’t they have equal opportunity? I know many people who are undocumented and they’re here because their parents brought them, they didn’t have a choice and now they’re trying to better themselves. You should commend them for trying to get an education and a job, it’s better than not doing anything and living off of the government. Also, “college age” considering that’s late teens and early twenties, they haven’t really had time to go out and get it done… like I said it’s not easy to become a citizen. If you’ve grown up a citizen and you haven’t had to experience the hardships that they have, I don’t think you should pass judgment.</p>
<p>It’s not surprising at all that something like this would happen, even though the idea behind it is to inspire the reaction that everyone is having to it.</p>
<p>The social climate of UT is very segregated and anyone who thinks otherwise hasn’t spent much time on other campuses. Almost every social group on campus is comprised of people of the same race, and I know that sounds like a vast generalization on a campus of 50,000 people but for the most part it’s true.</p>
<p>Saborak, it wasn’t easy for me to get my wife’s documentation either, but I did it & PAID for it. Paid a pretty penny too once you factored in attorney’s fees plus the $1K or so the government took in fees. They need to do it legally. I would commend them for getting it done rather than jumping the guy & demanding education when they don’t even have the proper documentation.
My wife is here legally. When we applied for the permanent residence status & during the wait for the government to get her paperwork & approval, her temporary status expired. The college made it VERY difficult for her to continue her studies even though she was/is here legally. I don’t see why these guys should get a pass while the rest of us have to suffer for it. It’s a disgrace.
I could easily see another Fisher type of lawsuit if a legal Hispanic doesn’t get admitted. Say I get denied with my 3.85 GPA when I apply for a transfer & some illegal gets admitted. You are dang right I’d be upset.</p>
<p>Thumbs up franko!</p>
<p>@franko5150 I understand your point of view, but I’m assuming you married your wife when she wasn’t legally here - meaning that while it was still hard for her to become a citizen, it wasn’t as hard as an 18 year old male trying to become a citizen. It wasn’t his choice to come to this country it was his parents, and he shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences when he had no choice but to come. Do you understand my point of view? I’m not speaking for every illegal, because I agree that they shouldn’t get special treatment and they shouldn’t get in unless they show excellent academic achievement. Even then though, if they earned the grades to get in then what does it matter if they’re legal or not? It’s an education and wouldn’t you want everyone to be educated? i have a friend who has a 4.0 GPA and has the dreams of becoming a doctor. He’s worked hard all of his life and he deserves a chance to show the world what he has to offer. Like I stated in my first comment, he’s not receiving any help from the government so he has no choice but to pay for it in full. If they’re willing to work as hard as they can then they should be able to go to the university in peace. If an illegal were to get in over you then they probably had more to offer, their residency status shouldn’t be any concern to anyone but themselves and the government. I respect your opinion though, and I hope you don’t take this as me starting an argument. Just sharing my views.</p>
<p>I’m going to have to disagree, & strongly at that.</p>