<p>Most top schools are liberal except UVA.</p>
<p>In regards to the liberal half of the question, I would say that a list of the "most liberal" schools in the US would include the following...</p>
<p>Bard College (NY)
Bennington College (VT)
Brandeis University (MA)
Brown University (RI)
Hampshire College (MA)
Macalester College (MN)
Marlboro College (VT)
Oberlin College (OH)
Pitzer College (CA)
Reed College (OR)
Sarah Lawrence College (NY)
Smith College (MA)
Swarthmore College (PA)
University of California - Berkeley (CA)
University of Chicago (IL)
Vassar College (NY)
Wesleyan University (CT)</p>
<p>Alex I'm pretty sure UVA is more balanced. UVA law is the only t14 to not bend either way.</p>
<p>All professors are liberal....the student body may be conservative....or not. There is always a mix...and admissions tries to find a mix. </p>
<p>Lots of schools have a high percentage of conservative students....the question is whether the faculty will allow them academic freedom or punish them for their thoughts.</p>
<p>one of the most liberal schools is the Peoples Republic of Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>UVa has a high percentage of conservative students..but its pretty balanced..the faculty is NOT conservative however. Same at Washington and Lee.....yuppy rich kids ...a bunch from New Jersey, not all southerners as you might expect....but a liberal faculty.</p>
<p>Dont forget that most faculty members are liberal eggheads who wouldnt fit into the working world....not much they can do except teach..and some of them cant even do that.</p>
<p>screwitlah, I was responding to bartleby who said "I don't understand, however, why the politics of a student body is so important in college selection. Sure, a conservative kid probably wouldn't have the best time in the 1960s at Cal, and a homosexual or leftist probably wouldn't have the best time at BYU or Regent or Liberty or PHC. But in the vast majority of cases, such extremes are rarely found and easily avoided."</p>
<p>I was explaining why a conservative or a liberal might take politics into account when deciding on a college.</p>
<p>Much of the discrimination against conservative speech is exposed by he Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. - <thefire.org></thefire.org></p>
<p>The first two links refer to the examples I listed in my last post.</p>
<p>Here's a few specific examples:</p>
<p>San Francisco State University <a href="http://blog.case.edu/james.chang/2007/03/14/college_republicans_on_trial_at_san_francisco_state_university">http://blog.case.edu/james.chang/2007/03/14/college_republicans_on_trial_at_san_francisco_state_university</a></p>
<p>Colorado College
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-lukianoff/what-can-the-virginia-tec_b_95421.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-lukianoff/what-can-the-virginia-tec_b_95421.html</a>
The Controversial Flyer - <a href="http://www.thefire.org/pdfs/037438c8219a336c347bcc601d9c229a.pdf">http://www.thefire.org/pdfs/037438c8219a336c347bcc601d9c229a.pdf</a>
The Flyer it satarizes - <a href="http://www.thefire.org/pdfs/66b48367dce00830b700437a788de2ac.pdf">http://www.thefire.org/pdfs/66b48367dce00830b700437a788de2ac.pdf</a>
Tufts University -
<a href="http://www.academia.org/campus_reports/2001/dec_2001_5.html">http://www.academia.org/campus_reports/2001/dec_2001_5.html</a></p>
<p>From Cornell but discusses a number of colleges
<a href="http://www.thefire.org/pdfs/4990_3452.pdf">http://www.thefire.org/pdfs/4990_3452.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here's a list of the Top 10 most conservative colleges. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Here's the top 10 liberal list also</p>
<p>Top</a> 10 Most Politically Liberal Colleges - MSN Encarta</p>
<p>As far as the intellectual right goes, the University of Chicago is sort of the Mecca for conservatives and right-libertarians; almost every right-of-center intellectual has some sort of connection to the university (often either direct or familial) and the influence of the University on the development of the intellectual right cannot be denied (Milton Friedman, Leo Strauss, and Frederich Hayek all taught there). Its economics program is perhaps the best confluence of both political conservatism (based on those professors who teach in the department) and extreme intellectualism and quality (they don’t brag about those Nobel Prize winners for nothing).</p>
<p>Alex, the SF State case is your example of the college suing conservatives for their activism. Liberals could just as easily be sued. It does not prove your point about how liberals have a relatively easier time. It doesn't show that the whole academia is out to mainly rid the campuses of conservatives. Same goes for your other cases.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Dont forget that most faculty members are liberal eggheads who wouldnt fit into the working world....not much they can do except teach..and some of them cant even do that.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>and so everyone should embrace conservatism so that we would fit into the working world and teach well?</p>
<p>As for liberal, I read somewhere U of Colorado added a "conservative studies" teacher to its faculty to get a more conservative body. Apparently, they had something in the 90% liberal faculty and student body!</p>
<p>I also agree with zarathustra about U of Chicago. The economics department in its prime was strictly fiscally conservative and socially liberal. To me, many LAC's tend to be liberal, however private and public universities have enough people to create a more diverse environment. Of course excluding U of Colorado!</p>
<p>A "conservative studies" major would be awesome for Berkeley...it is sorely needed.</p>
<p>what do you guys think about Pomona?</p>
<p>I think this thread needs to define what it means by "liberal" or "conservative"--are we talking about the predominant political viewpoint of the student body and/or faculty, or acceptance and encouragement of discussion of other ways of thinking? By conservative, do we mean a place where most students or faculty are conservatively-minded or openly Christian, or where one can have liberal or conservative ideas and discuss them openly and freely, without any ridicule, and their views will not adversely affect their grades? Some of the colleges that have been listed as "liberal" like U Chicago and Washington U, seem to have a student body that is friendly and open to an intellectual discussion of all ideas, so I don't get the impression that a conservative would feel unwelcome there, but I have no idea about the faculty. Also, at some schools like Furman where the student body is considered mostly conservative, I have been told by students that their faculty is mostly very liberal and that some seem bent on changing the views of their students. I have heard it said at some of the traditionally very "liberal" colleges that it's fine to be a conservative, just keep your mouth shut and keep your ideas to yourself, or you will feel very isolated. I don't think either liberal or conservative parents want to pay tuition to any college where teachers use the classroom as a podium for their ideologies without a balanced presentation. I hear frequently about essay prompts where a liberal-leaning assumption is made and taught as fact, or required reading is only liberal or very demeaning to a conservative or a Christian way of thinking. I read a post on CC recently where someone said that "Christian Education" was an oxymoron! So many forget that most of the great universities have Christian roots. Read the mottos of most of them, unless they have been changed recently! Conservative thought places a great deal of importance on the value of higher education and knowledge of history (anyone read "The Conservative Mind" by Russell Kirk?) Any of the colleges with truly excellent and balanced history and classics departments and solid core requirements could be considered conservative in my opinion.</p>
<p>Kentucky mom is spot on the mark! Well said, mom! Indeed ALL of the Ivy League Schools had religious backgrounds....and most shocking of all Brown had a CONSERVATIVE Baptist heritage that somehow morphed into its ultra liberal and almost antithetical to religious values it propounds today.</p>
<p>One has to consider first whether you fit into the student body socially...and that includes but is not exclusive of political leanings. You might very well get a room mate of the opposite point of view....so its important to understand the genre of people going there. Its one thing to be liberal or conservative, but another to be an haranguing bore or an emoting zealot who cant get along with anyone. Second, its REALLY important to understand the ethos of the campus faculty. Are they liberal leaning but very intellectually curious and who encourage individual thought? Or do they use the podium to propound their own views and degrade others who dont agree? It can happen anywhere. And it does. Sadly, with regularity. Nothing is more obnoxious to me than a professor who is supposed to be about academic freedom, down grading (quite literally on exams and papers) someone who suggests a different perspective. </p>
<p>On the other hand, nothing is more rewarding and refreshing than having a professor who may be of one mindset and who encourages examples from the other side of the table. </p>
<p>The point is not so much whether the campus is one way or another, but whether it fosters open discussion, exchange of views, and a WARM AND FRIENDLY atmosphere for all. I suspect that most colleges fit this bill. I would avoid the colleges of one mindset, whether that is ultra liberal or ultra conservative. Also, I would avoid a college where it appears one sort of social class hangs there unless you are one of the flock of birds in that class and prefer to be with clones. Its a free country, still yet. </p>
<p>Some schools offer tradition and that is something of value. But their time and age is showing in an increasingly globalized economy where flexibility and openness to others is more important than fitting into a narrow social class or country club, which may have been important for job offers in the past, be that in the clubby northeast or the socially restrictive southern charmers.</p>
<p>Pomona is a great school. Simply fabulous. One of the wonderful things about it is that it is part of the Oxford like set up....several colleges, almost contiguously connected, all together. Pomona, Scripps, Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna (formerly Claremont Mens College), Pitzer. You will meet and study with people with various gifts and challenges and various backgrounds, but most of them extremely bright. There are people of all political leanings there and you wont find it hard to find people like you. Congratulations if you are going.</p>
<p>screwitlah,</p>
<p>Look the point I'm trying to make is that there are legitimate reasons for students looking at colleges to consider the politics of each school. </p>
<p>I've given you examples of colleges cracking down on conservative speech. Could a liberal be sued for stepping on an American flag? Sure. Did that happen? No. At SFSU, students were put through a stupid legal battle for protesting Hezbollah. What else do you need? Do I have to catalogue every single instance of political discrimination just to prove that conservatives have a more difficult time of it? </p>
<p>I have given you two major pieces of evidence to backup my point namely, the predominance of Democrats over Republicans in college faculties. (By the way this is kinda cool. Hufington Post has this map of campaign donors. I searched for all donors who listed their occupation as "Professor" and found that a little over 10 professors donated to Democrats for every one that donated to a Republican. <a href="http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=occ&occ=Professor&search=Search">http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=occ&occ=Professor&search=Search</a>)</p>
<p>I suppose I can't really prove that people find it easier to agree with their profs on political matters than disagree. All I can say is that I personally found it difficult to say something to my Latin teacher who always derides Republicans. It took a long time for me to finally call him on it. So... eh I don't know.</p>
<p>I've given you my evidence. You've shown me no data that contradicts mine. I think that given this, it is more than reasonable for a student to care how liberal/conservative his college is. </p>
<p>If you still think politics at colleges are no big deal, fine. Either show me something that disproves my data, or agree to disagree or something.</p>
<p>Princeton Review has two good lists that address this topic:</p>
<p>MOST NOSTALGIC FOR BILL CLINTON
1 Warren Wilson College<br>
2 Eugene Lang College--The New School for Liberal Arts<br>
3 Hampshire College<br>
4 New College of Florida<br>
5 Bennington College<br>
6 Bard College<br>
7 Sarah Lawrence College<br>
8 Marlboro College<br>
9 Reed College<br>
10 Oberlin College<br>
11 Pitzer College<br>
12 The Evergreen State College<br>
13 Macalester College<br>
14 Wesleyan University<br>
15 Lewis & Clark College<br>
16 Vassar College<br>
17 Mills College<br>
18 Swarthmore College<br>
19 Beloit College<br>
20 Clark University </p>
<p>MOST NOSTALGIC FOR RONALD REAGAN</p>
<p>1 Thomas Aquinas College<br>
2 Hillsdale College<br>
3 Grove City College<br>
4 Brigham Young University (UT)<br>
5 Hampden-Sydney College<br>
6 United States Naval Academy<br>
7 College of the Ozarks<br>
8 Wheaton College (IL)<br>
9 University of Dallas<br>
10 United States Merchant Marine Academy<br>
11 United States Air Force Academy<br>
12 Baylor University<br>
13 Samford University<br>
14 Clemson University<br>
15 University of Alabama--Tuscaloosa<br>
16 Texas A&M University-College Station<br>
17 United States Military Academy<br>
18 University of Mississippi<br>
19 Washington and Lee University<br>
20 United States Coast Guard Academy </p>
<p>Then there are some topics which may also answer the question.</p>
<p>GAY COMMUNITY ACCEPTED
1 Macalester College<br>
2 New College of Florida<br>
3 New York University<br>
4 Simon's Rock College of Bard<br>
5 College of the Atlantic<br>
6 Stanford University<br>
7 Wellesley College<br>
8 Mount Holyoke College<br>
9 Bennington College<br>
10 Emerson College<br>
11 Sarah Lawrence College<br>
12 Bryn Mawr College<br>
13 Eugene Lang College--The New School for Liberal Arts<br>
14 Beloit College<br>
15 Hampshire College<br>
16 Harvey Mudd College<br>
17 Lawrence University<br>
18 Grinnell College<br>
19 Swarthmore College<br>
20 Cornell College </p>
<p>ALTERNATIVE LIEFESTYLES NOT AN ALTERNATIVE</p>
<p>1 Hampden-Sydney College<br>
2 Baylor University<br>
3 Wheaton College (IL)<br>
4 University of Notre Dame<br>
5 University of Tennessee--Knoxville<br>
6 Grove City College<br>
7 Trinity College (CT)<br>
8 Samford University<br>
9 Washington and Lee University<br>
10 Seton Hall University<br>
11 Brigham Young University (UT)<br>
12 Pepperdine University<br>
13 Valparaiso University<br>
14 Hanover College<br>
15 Texas A&M University-College Station<br>
16 University of Utah<br>
17 William Jewell College<br>
18 Calvin College<br>
19 Miami University<br>
20 Purdue University--West Lafayette </p>
<p>JOCKS</p>
<p>1 Clemson University<br>
2 Penn State--University Park<br>
3 University of Florida<br>
4 University of Notre Dame<br>
5 Wabash College<br>
6 University of Nebraska-Lincoln<br>
7 University of Tennessee--Knoxville<br>
8 Wake Forest University<br>
9 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor<br>
10 Florida State University<br>
11 United States Naval Academy<br>
12 Iowa State University<br>
13 University of Georgia<br>
14 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<br>
15 University of Virginia<br>
16 University of Connecticut<br>
17 Villanova University<br>
18 Duke University<br>
19 University of Southern California<br>
20 Texas A&M University-College Station </p>
<p>And my favorite:
DODGEBALL TARGETS
1 Eugene Lang College--The New School for Liberal Arts<br>
2 Marlboro College<br>
3 Emerson College<br>
4 Bennington College<br>
5 New College of Florida<br>
6 College of the Atlantic<br>
7 New York University<br>
8 Sarah Lawrence College<br>
9 Stephens College<br>
10 Hampshire College<br>
11 St. John's College (NM)<br>
12 Reed College<br>
13 Simon's Rock College of Bard<br>
14 Bard College<br>
15 The Evergreen State College<br>
16 State University of New York--Purchase College<br>
17 Suffolk University<br>
18 Hollins University<br>
19 Lewis & Clark College<br>
20 Oberlin College</p>