What makes a "southern" school bad?

<p>no i wasn't joking - cape may is below the line :-)</p>

<p>
[quote]
Or Michael Moore...or that Colorado Prof. who called the 9/11 vitctims "little eichmans"; people like that are just as deserving of pies in the face as Ann Coulter.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What's your point? I said throwing a pie at anybody's face was immature. I'm much more concerned with something like what's going on at UCLA now, where an organization is paying students money to hand over lecture notes so that "liberal" professors can be outed, denounced, and harassed. Nice, tolerant conservatives, huh?</p>

<p>
[quote]
My sister (who goes to a largely liberal college) has told me that it is the rule rather than the exception for liberal teachers (such as Women's Studies) teachers to fail students for disagreeing with the professor's opinions. She writes liberal papers on issues that she doesn't believe in, and gets A's. Those who have the guts to stand up to the intolerance of those liberal teachers get much less.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well I go to Dartmouth and members of the infamous and still highly vocal Dartmouth Review are treated no worse by even the most liberal professors (i.e. a female professor who is a member of PFAW). If somebody told me that most of those supposed instances of liberal professors "intolerance" were simply made up, I wouldn't be surprised.</p>

<p>Speaking on behalf of the entire Union Army, y'all can take ALL of New Jersey.--U.S. Grant, 1865</p>

<p>I think it is wonderful that nobody has mentioned the movie "Deliverance" in this thread.--TourGuide</p>

<p>Hey, I'm from New Jersey :P</p>

<p>
[quote]
Illegalization of every kind of religious belief and non-belief other than Christianity, revocation of women's and minorties' rights, establishment of a world wide theocracy where if you're not a Christian you either enslaved or stoned to death.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Thank you, Xanatos, for voicing my opinions for me. I never even knew I had them. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>I identify as moderately conservative, and I'm Christian. I'm not southern, not WASP, and I support gay marriage. My idea of "diversity of opinion" is that personal ethics should be separated from universal morality. That's why Michael Moore is a douche -- his statements are in general a whole lot of propaganda designed to create a cultlike "anti-Republican" mentality among the uninformed through outright lack of objectivity.</p>

<p>There are beliefs that are conservative and beliefs that are liberal, all to different degrees. A "conservative" does not hold all conservative beliefs, nor does a "liberal" hold all liberal beliefs. </p>

<p>Think for yourselves, kids. Don't be a tool.</p>

<p>Noooow that we're done diverging from the topic -- I think, where I'm from, there's a stereotype of southerners being Confederate flag-flying, uneducated rednecks with hick accents who secretly or not-so-secretly support the Klan. (Recall the Yale joke where the football player thinks the girl asks him to yell?) Only slightly better is the image of a school dominated by frat parties and mint julep-drinking pretty people. In general, students interested in academics aren't going to take such a school seriously.</p>

<p>I used to live in Atlanta, Georgia. The city is incredibly diverse...probably one of the most diverse cities in the South. That being said, there was a lot of self-segregation when I lived there (dunno how it is now...that was 7 years ago). At school, white and black kids almost never mixed unless they were athletes on the same team (mostly football/basketball). There was a decent amount of "respect," the kind where people basically say "You let me live my life, I let you live yours." But there wasn't much interaction between racial/ethnic groups. Also, watching the KKK parade annually didn't exactly make me feel welcome or safe, and there were a few incidents where I got spat on by people driving around in pickup trucks with confederate flags flying.</p>

<p>There are bigots everywhere. There are also people of good will everywhere and of all backgrounds. Visit the schools you are interested iin and decide for yourself whether their ethnic mix and style of interaction are right for you. </p>

<p>Speaking from my own experience as an adult I can tell you that all it takes is one person to make you feel alien and unwelcome. The state where I experienced that most clearly was, oddly enough, Vermont, where, several decades ago, the man in charge of the town dump was reluctant to let me deposit my father's household garbage, although my father was a longtime resident and I was driving his car. The man finally (pretended) to know who I was talking about by saying, "Oh yes, He's Jewish, isn't he?" Now, I am not even going to suggest that Vermont is a racist state or an overwhelmingly anti-Semitic one, but I am sure the dump superintendent was not the only person in the town, let alone the state, who thought my father was different and somehow less of a person than they were. </p>

<p>I don't know the South as well as I know Vermont, and I do realize that many stereotypes have their roots in some truth, however fragmentary, but I do dislike the use of "southern" on CC as a code word for drunken/racist/narrow-minded. To my mind that too is a kind of bigotry.</p>

<p>I find it ridiculous that conservatives find the existance of themselves a hallmark for diversity. You are much more likely to find "tolerant" liberals than conservatives.</p>

<p>First of all, conservatives aren't apathetic, we just make decisions based on logic rather than emotion. </p>

<p>Second, the reason you don't see conservatives demonstrating the same way you see liberals demonstrating/protesting/rallying is that protesting is a liberal passtime (see Hippies), but conservatives, particularly those in the South, know that it is ineffective, polarizing, undignified, and trashy. Demonstrate all you want, and in the meantime, we'll let our opinions be known the more effective way...networking, petitioning, and campaigning. (and please don't confuse "liberal" with "Democrat"...most Arkansans are registered Democrats but you will rarely see any protesting or demonstrating here because our Democrats know how to get things done just as much as any Republican up north.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
First of all, conservatives aren't apathetic, we just make decisions based on logic rather than emotion.

[/QUOTE]
</p>

<p>Quite the putdown. I like how many conservatives like to make blanket statements about liberals that usually insult their intelligence or logical reasoning skills...seems to be a common propaganda tactic.</p>

<p>Nothing wrong with demonstrating...look at world history, and you'll see how important it is for people to protest (non-violently). And there's nothing "trashy" about it. In fact, you have to be pretty brave to march, unarmed, against a bunch of soldiers with rifles and police shooting tear gas at you for a cause.</p>

<br>


<br>

<p>Terrry Schaivo. Creationism. Gay Marraige. Yea, conservatives are all about appealing to reason.</p>

<br>


<br>

<p>You left out bribery and money laundering.</p>

<p>How did this thread about Southern schools get to this political cat-fight?
Anyway, the attitudes expressed here are somewhat disturbing. Yes , there are racist people everywhere, yes, there are religious zealots everywhere, yes, there are ignorant people everwhere. I don't think you will find them any more prevalent in a Southern school. Seek out good people whereever you are and you will be fine.</p>

<p>I disagree, you will find more bigots and generally less aware people at southern schools. Imagine being Korean for example at a southern school like Alabama...my guess is people will be less excepting, you'll get fewer dates, etc at a southern school no matter how cool you are. Southern schools like diversity - as long as people are exactly the same.</p>

<p>Do you even realize that you just discriminated against anyone attending a Southern school the same way you "assume" they would discriminate against you? If you do not feel comfortable attending a Southern school then you should not attend one. I just don't think that you should paint everyone with such a broad stroke.</p>

<p>im frankly offended as a southern individual. its not the place the movies will make u believe. its a very friendly and tolerant environment. i wouldnt leave here in a heartbeat.</p>

<p>Let me tell you a story about southern schools. I was a snotty MIT-grad coming to work in the south expecting to kick everyone's butt with my "superior" northern education. My first direct manager was a 'Bama grad. I expected to be in his job in about 6 months. I had what is a typical cc-er's attitude about "elite" education and viewed myself as vastly more educated than most of those around me.</p>

<p>The first week of work was...shall we say....eye-opening. It became clear I was lucky to even be a member of the team I was assign to.....a team comprised mainly of "southern school" grads. In short order, it was <em>me</em> that was getting his butt kicked by these graduates of supposedly "second-rate" schools. </p>

<p>Over the coming months and years, I sucked up a lot of knowledge from those individuals. It was clear my MIT education was only the beginning of a long career in continued learning....and I was learning an awful lot from graduates of these schools. My original manager became my mentor....and I strived to become 1/2 the technical expert he was over the next 20 years of my career. He has retired at this point, and I could never begin to fill his shoes even today. So much for my snot-nose prediction of 6 months.</p>

<p>I bring this to everyone's attention so that maybe one person can learn a little something from my sobering experience. Please do not generalize about things like "southern schools" or become an "elite-college snob". Like all generalizations, they are ultimately incorrect when analyzed for any particular case. Southern schools have produced many, many brilliant graduates, and one day one of them may be your mentor...</p>

<p>I just realized that you were the original poster - and reread some of your posts that were less harsh LOL
I guess maybe I am curious why you say "Southern " rather than "less diverse" schools. I do understand that you may be looking for a more diverse campus and that some of the Southern schools do not provide that - hopefully you can find a school with just the right balance. Good luck.</p>

<p>I don't find acknowledging a trend that there are intolerant people anywhere to be wrong. I do agree that this exists in the North too (Miami of Ohio!).</p>

<p>OK,</p>

<p>Please all of you who have posted, give me your honest opinions about Washington and Lee, please not any of the regular published stats... as I know them. Give me your gut feelings</p>

<p>By the way, as far as diversity goes - 'Bama teeters back and forth between 18-21% Af-Am. "Mixing" (as in mixing at the lunch table, socially) is an issue, no doubt. But I perceive that "mixing" is a big issue everywhere, not just in the South. Change is slow. I can tell you this, there are many mixed race couples in my corner of the South, and it doesn't even raise an eyebrow anymore. Mixed race churches are becoming more common - most of the segregation is related to worship style and comfort. And, as anyone who is truly familiar with the South knows - as the churches go, so will the community go.</p>