What is a "Liberal" Student?

Could someone give me a definition that’s in simple terms?
also what character traits are in a person who will fit into a Liberal school?

When people say “liberal,” think “liberal” on the political spectrum. This includes things like support for social equality and civil freedoms (freedom of speech, religion, etc.). People defined as “liberal” are usually in strong support of LGBT rights, welfare programs, women’s rights, freedom of speech, etc. (think Sanders).

^Or Clinton. All the views you described would fit many centrists. I’m enough of a moderate that I wouldn’t vote for Sanders unless the alternative was a Trump/Cruz presidency, but I support the all the policies you’ve laid out.

A liberal student is probably further along the scale, with causes like: free or mostly free college education, significant expansions of welfare programs, income redistribution through taxation, harsh treatment of Wall Street and business in general, and more. Your average college student is certainly quite liberal.

When a school’s environment is described as especially “liberal” (eg., Wesleyan, Vassar, Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Hampshire, Reed, Pitzer, Skidmore, Berkeley, etc.), you can picture the following. The school may be racially and ethnically diverse-- students of many backgrounds. There may be some students who make statements with their attire-- hair dye, piercings, etc. There will be a variety of clearly expressed sexual preferences-- gay, lesbian, bi, trans, etc. There may be an environment that is “politically correct”-- i.e., students are especially alert to any potential inequities or mistreatment of racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities. Protests against such perceived inequities may be common. Students may be active in a variety of “social justice” causes, trying actively to improve their world.

Many students will thrive in this environment and find it welcoming. Others may be bothered that, despite being otherwise so liberal and welcoming, there is an “orthodoxy” of view that is socially reinforced.

And equally true, media loves to highlight and magnify liberal PC transgressions. My alma mater is a darling of the press about its liberal reputation – and was in the headlines for a bit this last year. But it ignores the truth of the many moderates and conservatives who also feel 100% enthralled to enjoy the school’s resources and the diverse student body. Certainly the powerhouse financial companies and banking industry has no problem filling their interview dockets among its graduates – squarely capitalist and even conservative sectors.

It is always interesting to me that treating other people equally and with respect is considered a “liberal” idea and not a centrist one. Just like feminism, which means believing women should be treated equally, is somehow a “liberal” idea, and not a centrist idea.

Why is that?

Actually, I’m not quite sure what the OP means. Polls show that the vast majority of college-age Americans hold bell-weather beliefs along the liberal spectrum, so much so that the term “liberal student” strikes me as somewhat redundant.

Therefore, before we get into a tizzy over liberal versus conservative political views let’s pause and ask the OP, is it possible that they are asking, what is a liberal ARTS student? That’s the more interesting question, it seems to me. The word, “liberal” itself has been in use for a at least the last couple hundred years to denote the virtues of representational government, scientific inquiry, basically anything promoting secularism in public life. To give you an example, virtually all the Founding Fathers (even the slaveholders) would have considered themselves liberals compared to say, a monarchist or a royalist.

The liberal “arts” are basically a name given a course of study at the college level where the goal is to broaden one’s horizons through the study of many subjects, among them, math, languages, history and fairly recently (meaning, the last 100 years) - laboratory science. Liberal arts students are the people who follow such a curriculum, and, in fairness to the OP, it is sometimes referred to as a “liberal” course of study.

“Liberal” is used as a badge of honor by some, and a near-expletive by others. There aren’t many labels that have a wider interpretation of meaning.

Given that HRC is far from liberal in many respects, and DJT is far from conservative (just to use two examples currently in the public eye), I prefer just to look at the person and his/her interests & values, and just scratch the labels.

The definition of liberal has changed over time. It’s no longer somebody who supports maximum Liberty. That would be a libertarian. Rather, a liberal would be somebody who believes in feminism, gay rights, the right to an abortion, supportive of gun control, emphasizes social justice, supports a single payer healthcare program, tuition free public colleges, a substantial increase in the minimum wage. Such positions are associated with modern liberals. Liberals, especially in college, tend to be activist type individuals who focus strongly on increasing equality whether it be socially or by income distribution. I’m getting the vibe that you might be trying to be liberal to fit in (correct me if I’m wrong) but my advice here is to base your beliefs off of what you think, be respectful, be independent, and be bold and you’ll get your fair share of admirers.

US liberals and conservatives both – except for maybe those who would wish for us to live under a totalitarian regime or under communism, which is heavily coercive by default – are generally under the Classical Liberalism umbrella, believing in liberty in most or all areas of life.

I think most US conservatives and most US liberals (and the centrists in between) have more in common than they think:

  • Equal rights under the law. There are still a few hot-button disagreements, but more things in common than differences.
  • Rights to opportunity, though not rights to specific outcomes. Even most libs believe that a variety of outcomes is part of being free.
  • Free enterprise/economic liberty. We argue over how much regulation and redistribution there should be, but most Americans believe that our economic system should be a brand of lightly-to-moderately regulated Free Enterprise based on the ideal of Economic Liberty. In other words, more Adam Smith and Milton Friedman than Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
  • There should be a public safety net. We argue over how long it should last, what it should include, and whether it actually reduces poverty, but most of us believe there should be public help for the disabled, elderly, and those injured or between jobs (provided that last group is looking). There should be one if for no other reason than this: private help cannot always be counted on and is not available everywhere.

I imagine the most major arguments might occur over things like abortion (never going to be overturned), the role of race, gun rights, and the role of our military. And that’s ok – both sides constantly reminding each other that they disagree. Some of those arguments are so entrenched that each side could probably give the other’s argument fairly well.

On campus, most professors are “US liberal” and there is some bias in their teaching, perhaps leading already center-left minds – because the young tend to think with their hearts – further left. That bias comes out mostly (and most aggressively) in the social sciences. So you end up with kids who support things that lead to increased government intervention/size/spending and less economic liberty through increased taxation and redistribution.

Generally agree with the above, but, it’s arguable that Keynes has had more influence over the long run than Friedman.

Are we sure the OP isn’t actually asking about a liberal arts student (eg, liberal arts curriculum)? The question is oddly phrased, so I was wondering.

A liberal student is someone who believes in tolerance for other views, as long as they’re views they agree with.

I think that’s a clever aphorism, so long as we’re agreed that there are, in fact, certain views that don’t deserve “tolerance” (whatever that means.) For example, I don’t think in this day and age that Holocaust deniers need access to any forum that may in any stretch of the imagination be associated with me. Same thing for people who believe in white supremacy, advocate criminal punishment for being gay or transgendered, that 9/11 was a Jewish conspiracy, that Obama was not born in the United States, that the earth is flat, that one race is intrinsically better looking, better at sports, or better at anything because “they were born that way.” There are lots of others.

The cro-magnons who hold views like the ones circuitrider describes are free to hold those opinions, free to express them, and free to find a soapbox in the park and preach their backwards worldviews till the cows come home. The flip side is that I’m free to tell them the 11th century ended some time ago and note in passing that tinfoil hats are unfashionable. I doubt they’re at much risk of stumbling onto a college campus.

Cro magnons were the first modern homo sapiens. Just because they lacked iPhones didn’t mean they were dumb.

Surely you’ve encountered figurative language before.

There is a much politeness on this thread so I won’t muddy the waters. TheGreyKing especially so.

To find out what a liberal college is, go to one and mention that you favor capitalism, free markets, a government limited by the Constitution, and free trade. The response you get will show you what a liberal college is.

@marvin100
Of course. I do it all the time. But cro magnon is a poor choice.

My D is a liberal student. She intends to “liberally” spend the money my wife and I have saved for tuition at a Liberal Arts College. My wife and I hope this experience will produce acts of spontaneous self reflection, a desire to think more honestly and justly, and a general cultivating of her still yet developed frontal lobe. So I think a “liberal” student is a lucky student! Traits that suggest success at an LAC? She asks me “why” all the time. Non-stop. And I reply “let’s look that up and think about it.” All the time. Perhaps a conservative student would have conserved her parents cash and remained silent. I’m not sure.