Is it news to us on CC that most students go to college and develop more respect for differing viewpoints?
I guess so.
https://theconversation.com/does-college-turn-people-into-liberals-90905
I came to appreciate conservative ideas more when I was in college. But now in my 50s, I’m more liberal than ever. 
The idea that students are indoctrinated with liberal ideas from liberal professors has been floating around for at least 40 years. I certainly heard it back then when I was a student.
In my case I did become more progressive and open minded simply by being exposed to people other than those in my small midwestern hometown. That was certainly not a bad thing. In fact you might say that I was indoctrinated with conservative ideas before I went to college.
Exactly. The concern is that people’s kids will be indoctrinated in college. Its that they will be indoctrinated in college with ideas mom and dad don’t like. Welcome to having kids.
I think my liberal kid has become more liberal even though she’s in a conservative state and a lot of her friends are conservative. My conservative kid is in a conservative state and on a campus with a lot of foreign students and a big ROTC group. If anything, she’s more conservative since meeting her new friend FICA and having to share her earnings. She hasn’t been a fan of sale tax since she was 4 years old (‘Why does it cost more than it says on the tag?’) and these new taxes aren’t of interest to her either. Wait till she has to pay for insurance.
By the way, she doesn’t have to buy insurance any more. Congress repealed the mandate. So she’s welcome to not have health insurance if that makes her happy.
I hope this thread can stay on topic.
Me too.
While a larger % of students became more accepting of other views, a certain % became less accepting. So it’s not ALL the kids.
I think it is the topic.
Students go to college with some background on politics and life from their parents, from their communities, from their state governments. Most haven’t voted, haven’t had to pay for a lot of things like taxes or services that aren’t provided through taxes. Many have had no interest in politics or fees for services (jello waiting to be molded). They are bombarded with new ideas and influences every day. It may be the first time some have lived away from a military base or the first time some have had any contact with military groups. They may be getting introduced to new religions or meeting people with no religion for the first time. Hopefully, their professors are providing good discussions on all kinds of new material they have never had to think about before. It’s all exciting.
I have many friends who were pretty liberal while we were in college but became conservative, at least fiscally conservative, as they’ve joined the work force, had kids, had to decide how to direct their own money and morals. I do think they were influenced by the liberalness of college, were able to devote a lot of time to causes, and really would have liked the world to be a utopia. Now they are more conservative sometimes because of life events. One friend was very liberal while in college but married a conservative guy and a conservative religion became an important part of her life. She also has a Down syndrome child so that changed a lot of her views on government spending, right to life, inheritance laws (what he can accept), community services, what should be community services, education. Life happens, and it changes things.
@brantly, of course my daughter doesn’t think about how government works. She’s a student and still learning. Last summer she worked at an engineering firm and was SHOCKED how much a permit to run a sewer line costs a contractor. Absolutely shocked. In her classes she’s told a project needs sewer lines and utility lines and how many tons of concrete, but no one is focusing on the costs until they actually go to work. A million dollar budget seems like a lot to her, so a billion dollar budget of a government is incomprehensible.
I agree 100%!
@twoinanddone, I apologize if you thought I directed my comment at your post; I didn’t. Your posts are quite insightful and add to the conversation. Thank you.
I sent to a conservative Christian college and came out more liberal than I was before. I got along fine with the more moderate Republicans. The folks who thought the media should be required by law to have a “pro-American” bias, less so. I could deal with being one of the 10 or 15 percent who voted against Reagan.
When the vegan SJW is headed to Oberlin, they are applauded here. When a kid asks for suggestions for conservative-friendly schools, they are scolded for not being more be open-minded.
@snarlatron that’s not been my experience on CC at all.
When someone asks for conservative friendly schools they get suggestions ranging from Liberty and Hillsdale to Hope to “tech” schools to southern and midwest flagships to Catholic colleges. I can link dozens of these threads, a couple just from last week.
OTOH if a vegan socially conscious kid is headed to Oberlin I think we all says congrats. If the kid is asking for liberal-friendly schools they often hear “that’s most colleges”, then they’ll get Oberlin, Antioch, Reed, Vassar, Wesleyan, etc etc.
What was your point, exactly, relative to the topic?
And apologies to @sbjbsbjb if I think off topic but i just can’t help myself but i honestly think this one of the best reasons to stay emerged into the whole student body rather than isolating into like-minded folks (i.e. the Greek system)…now is the time to understand people as individuals…some like you, some not.
I agree, @SouthernHope. My MIT graduate certainly had a wonderfully diverse group of friends. He went in as a moderate and came out as a moderate, but he stays out of political conversations for the most part. He’s a people person with many friends, and is excellent at trying to look at many sides of an issue.
The conclusions don’t follow from the data. 50% showed more appreciation, but 20% stayed the same, and 30% got worse.
How Students' Views Changed on Liberals on Conservatives
Better attitude 47.8% 49.6%
No change 22.2% 19.1%
Worse attitude 30.0% 31.3%
^The net effect looks minor to me.
The net effect of what? What’s the conclusion that you are saying isn’t supported?