<p>I’m from the pacific NW (portland area) and I am used to the extremely liberal culture up here. Would going to UA be a huge culture shock for me? Would I be ostracized/judged for my left-leaning political views?</p>
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<p>Are you tolerant? Open minded? Respectful of differences? Eager to learn? Resilient? Free of crippling stereotypes? You know, the stuff that liberals claim to be.</p>
<p>If so, you’ll do just fine. My son is a liberal from Obama Central, the Democratic Republic of Hawaii. He’s entering his third year at 'Bama, absolutely loves UA, is in a fraternity filled with natives of the South, and described his transition to Alabama as an experience with “zero culture shock.” </p>
<p>I urge you to visit and soak in UA first hand. The only shock you may experience is the discovery that this is a place where it’s cool to be warm.</p>
<p>Welcome and Roll Tide.</p>
<p>Thanks! This is very helpful. I’ll definitely check it out.</p>
<p>My daughter is having a very similar experience to Malanai’s son. Although raised in Atlanta, she is quite liberal leaning politically (but not politically active). She is also Greek, but races triathlons, has 3 tatoos, and a nose piercing. I posted on a different thread (about religious differences) that she lived very happily last year with a devout Catholic who is extremely conservative politically. They both loved Alabama and thrived there, despite glaring differences. As Malanai said – your success will depend on your willingness to be respectful of others while respecting your own beliefs.</p>
<p>The campus was Obama Country in 2008. I don’t know if it will be so this year because Obama’s not nearly as popular this election. However, the students’ politics still run the spectrum. </p>
<p>I would imagine that most kids are somewhere in the middle, and the balance are either more left or more right. </p>
<p>The profs, like nearly all colleges, are more liberal than conservative. </p>
<p>Tuscaloosa’s congressperson is a Democrat.</p>
<p>Not to worry! My DS has lots of liberal friends at UA. His best (female) friend is very liberal.</p>
<p>We’re in North Carolina. DS’s political views seem to change daily; his dad and I are rock-solid conservatives (even though I’m from Massachusetts, and my late mom was so far left she was off the chart, lol). The South is pretty diverse these days.</p>
<p>Two words: Mallet Assembly. LOL!</p>
<p>I know the Portland/Vancouver area very well. The easiest way to describe Alabama’s political climate is to think of Eastern Washington/Oregon or Idaho. With the exception of Huntsville and some parts of the Black Belt (an area originally named for the soil), Alabama is a red state. There was some controversy after the 2010 election when many politicians who ran as Democrats switched political parties after the election. Alabama democrats are generally more conservative than those in other states.</p>
<p>I won’t say that there is much culture shock moving from the urban/suburban PNW to Tuscaloosa. If you can picture yourself attending a very spirited Wazzu located in a city much like Yakima or Wenatchee, you will like UA a lot.</p>
<p>Overall, the most left-leaning parts of the UA campus are the New College and Mallet Assembly. Outside of that, campus is more center-right. You will most definitely be able to find a comfortable place for yourself at UA no matter what your interests are. My advice is to take the differences in stride and learn from them. Consider UA to be an excellent way to experience life in a different part of the country where people may or may not have the same opinions as you do. If you start at UA and decide that it is not the best fit for you, you can transfer to a different college/university.</p>
<p>Other things to keep in mind about Tuscaloosa and Alabama as a whole is that people tend to dress more formally and that there is a 9% sales tax on almost everything, including food, which may surprise a person whom is accustomed to tax-free shopping.</p>
<p>Best of luck in the college search and Roll Tide! If you haven’t visited campus already, I highly encourage you to do so.</p>
<p>So ironic to hear that Mallet is now a liberal bastion, for when I lived there in the late 80s and early 90s, it was hard core Reagan/Bush conservative, or even neo-conservative. Place had been taken over by the right!</p>
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<p>Don’t be ridiculous. You would be welcomed with open arms. We are an understanding and welcoming family. Though I am as politically conservative as they come I for one would love to have a few more liberals like yourself on campus keeping us mean conservatives in check. Diversity is always beneficial to any university.</p>
<p>I’m not sure why the others forgot to tell you this but when you apply make sure the application and transcripts are sent to
The University of Alabama - Birmingham.
1720 2nd Ave South
Birmingham, AL 35294-0113</p>
<p>All transcripts get processed through that main office first and then sent to Tuscaloosa. It’s very important to follow this step otherwise things will get screwed up and it will take a while to straighten itself out.</p>
<p>Welcome and I’m so glad that YoU’re Applying to a school in alaBama.</p>
<p>awe, good times good times!</p>
<p>Welcome back, Casino. We missed you!:)</p>
<p>Thanks!! It was a long 10 days in the hole. The warden was an auburn grad and must have mistook me for a farm animal as he made advances at me. I was able to fight him off by holding up a book that didn’t have pictures or a box of crayons attached.</p>
<p>Casino is kidding. You don’t send transcripts to UAB. lol</p>
<p>Me kidding? Never</p>
<p>I coulda sworn I received an email from The University telling me of the latest change of address for applications and such. I think Mom2CK just doesn’t want you to apply to the right address because you’re a liberal. Shame on you Mom2CK, shame on you!! Liberals are almost people too you know.</p>
<p>lol</p>
<p>Have your most recent official high-school transcript sent to The University of Alabama, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Box 870132, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0132.</p>
<p>Casino, I almost just had (another) stroke. </p>
<p>I just yesterday sent an email to DD’s school requesting transcipts be sent to UA Tuscaloosa…and in my pre-coffee trance just now initially failed to notice you were kidding about the Birmingham address. Thank goodness M2CK pointed it out. I was ready to sent an email “correcting” the address! lol</p>
<p>And you wouldn’t want to thwart my DD attending 'BAMA, she’s a sure-fire future leader of the Young Conservatives Club if ever there was one. Tea Party On!!!</p>
<p>In fact, we are discussing getting matching Ronald Reagan tatoos! </p>
<p>(Now I am kidding…she is too young for a tatoo - but I certainly am not 
)</p>
<p>Ah yes, Ronald Reagan. Search YouTube and you’ll find a 1948 speech of his extolling Americans on the importance of electing Harry Truman and Hubert Humphrey to office, for Mr. Reagan was a liberal Democrat then. </p>
<p>As Winston Churchill so eloquently stated:</p>
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<p>My Cal Berkeley diploma, circa Peace/Love/Freedom, is affixed with the signature of then-Governor Reagan. It is a daily reminder of another Churchill nugget of wisdom:</p>
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<p>I love that my liberal son is experiencing an invaluable exposure to different points of view at UA and that his conservative peers are getting a dose of the same from him. It’s yet another example of the marvelous hidden curriculum at 'Bama.</p>
<p>If all goes well, these bright young folks will shed labels that ultimately confine and replace them with reasoned philosophies that embody their values and character holistically, regardless of where any given component falls on the liberal-conservative continuum. </p>
<p>Roll Tide.</p>
<p>Yes, the campus does lean a bit to the right, but there’s quite a bit of political diversity on campus. Even the libertarians are rather well-represented…</p>
<p>So glad to hear that the liberty movement (Libertarians) is thriving at UA.</p>