My $0.02.
- @citivas nailed the distinctions. I have a 'bro at Midd and a rising senior who would love to attend Wes, is being fiercely recruited to play soccer there but likely has too many dings on her transcript, notwithstanding IB diploma rigor and good test scores. Too many lapses in judgment, including her junior year. Dad is still scratching his head on this as an aside - but for a different thread. However, I have to think the overt political activism would be a plus for most kids, and arguably particularly so for the apolitical kid. It is, to me, a fundamental part of the college experience to be challenged, to be made to be uncomfortable and to have these issues pushed in your face. Things like Black Lives and censorship etc. are abstractions for a lot of these kids, particularly the ones who tend to shy away from that aspect of life. Get to college, have a black roommate who becomes a very good friend, and then you have to confront it. What do you think about this Mr. apathy? It's a good thing. You're not supposed to be comfortable at this stage of life. It's almost the point of going to college. So I see that as a plus for Wes, and citivas is correct: it's much less of a thing at Midd. Overall citivas' summary really captures the differences well.
- Agree entirely that Wesleyan's uber liberal culture contributed to the press received over some isolated incidents. Whether it would be swept under the rug at Midd or Amherst is another matter. I don't know that to be true, but I am confident in saying it would be more likely to be blown off at those schools than at Wes if only because the Wes students are so loud that they even confound Roth, who is a classic student's Prez and a champion of those who are outspoken.
- It is confounding and so incongruent that Wes has any frats left. As others have pointed out, Midd, which has none, is entirely more fratty in its culture than Wesleyan, and yet here is Wesleyan so very late to the New England "put a bullet in a frat" party. I expect Dartmouth will soon be the last man standing as a full on Greek campus among elite schools in New England. Wesleyan having frats is like Berkeley having the most active Young Republicans organization among west coast universities.