How conservative is Washington & Lee?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a straight, white son - could possibly play his sport there. He is progressive, despises Trump and his followers' anti-immigrant, anti-choice, anti-woman positions.

Can someone tell me how conservative Washington & Lee is? The Lee moniker makes it nearly a non-starter but trying to keep an open mind.

Well, for starters, he needs to be more open and learned about political differences in our country. Hopefully it’s only his mom who is bigot who gets her sounds bites from MSM. College is supposed to be about learning to think and argue from different points of view.

do you really think it's debatable that Trump and most of his supporters are anti-immigrant, anti-abortion/choice, and display poor behavior towards women?

I'm all for my son discussing conservative ideas -- smaller government, lower taxes, etc and debating with others who have different ideas. But he's not interested in the hatred that comes out of the right currently. And if you need more evidence for that hate, just look at the text message chains that were just released among leaders of the Young Republicans of America organization.

I'm not interested in political debates online; only interested in people's honest perspectives on how conservative W&L is, especially given that one of its two namesakes was a guy that took up arms against the government to preserve slavery. I think it's a legit question.

Are you the OP who just said you're "keeping an open mind"? Please. You're here specifically to pick the usual fight. There have been plenty of threads about conservative schools, do a search.
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1294963.page

+1 well said

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of the previous posters all have wrong assumptions. My kid goes there currently. 1/2 friends are liberal, 1/2 conservative. Sure there are a few frats/sororities that are more “southern”, but the majority are not. The beauty of having such a high percentage of Greek life is that it’s very laid back and welcoming as long as you don’t strive for the top 1 or 2 houses. Nothing like Southern SEC schools. Almost all that rush get a spot somewhere.

I graduated from W&L about 20 years ago and have stayed a pretty active and engaged alumni. I interview applicants for the alumni admissions program, so I have stayed current on what the school is like now and what kinds of students are considering it. I participate in regional alumni activities and think that over the past 20 years, the alumni body has gotten more diverse, both racially and socioeconomically. I am quite progressive. I am a woman and a POC. My experience was similar to this PP's, however, I would say that given that most college campuses are overwhelmingly liberal, a student body that is half conservative WILL feel far more conservative than the average college experience. The faculty is mostly liberal, like most university professors. The teaching is exceptional. Professors at W&L are there because they want to teach more than research, so they are overall very engaging and committed to connecting with their students and working closely with them. There were times when I found some aspects of the experience uncomfortable, though very few of my white male classmates struggled in that way. The high participation in Greek life does make the party scene more laid back in that most everyone participates, so it is less exclusive, parties are open and people have friends across many houses. The drawback is that if a student really doesn't want to consider joining, one can feel left out during certain social weekends that center on the greek events (like Homecoming). Overall, I would choose W&L again and would consider sending my child there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the previous posters all have wrong assumptions. My kid goes there currently. 1/2 friends are liberal, 1/2 conservative. Sure there are a few frats/sororities that are more “southern”, but the majority are not. The beauty of having such a high percentage of Greek life is that it’s very laid back and welcoming as long as you don’t strive for the top 1 or 2 houses. Nothing like Southern SEC schools. Almost all that rush get a spot somewhere.

I graduated from W&L about 20 years ago and have stayed a pretty active and engaged alumni. I interview applicants for the alumni admissions program, so I have stayed current on what the school is like now and what kinds of students are considering it. I participate in regional alumni activities and think that over the past 20 years, the alumni body has gotten more diverse, both racially and socioeconomically. I am quite progressive. I am a woman and a POC. My experience was similar to this PP's, however, I would say that given that most college campuses are overwhelmingly liberal, a student body that is half conservative WILL feel far more conservative than the average college experience. The faculty is mostly liberal, like most university professors. The teaching is exceptional. Professors at W&L are there because they want to teach more than research, so they are overall very engaging and committed to connecting with their students and working closely with them. There were times when I found some aspects of the experience uncomfortable, though very few of my white male classmates struggled in that way. The high participation in Greek life does make the party scene more laid back in that most everyone participates, so it is less exclusive, parties are open and people have friends across many houses. The drawback is that if a student really doesn't want to consider joining, one can feel left out during certain social weekends that center on the greek events (like Homecoming). Overall, I would choose W&L again and would consider sending my child there.

THIS:
"however, I would say that given that most college campuses are overwhelmingly liberal, a student body that is half conservative WILL feel far more conservative than the average college experience."

[Anonymous]

Based on your responses, all of which I agree with btw - I think there's a better fit out there for your kiddo. A dear friend went to W&L and is still quite conservative - she told me about a frat party that had black people pretending to pick cotton...I've never been able to think of W&L the same, and never even uttered the school's name to my DD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Based on your responses, all of which I agree with btw - I think there's a better fit out there for your kiddo. A dear friend went to W&L and is still quite conservative - she told me about a frat party that had black people pretending to pick cotton...I've never been able to think of W&L the same, and never even uttered the school's name to my DD.

I’m genuinely curious, when was this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the previous posters all have wrong assumptions. My kid goes there currently. 1/2 friends are liberal, 1/2 conservative. Sure there are a few frats/sororities that are more “southern”, but the majority are not. The beauty of having such a high percentage of Greek life is that it’s very laid back and welcoming as long as you don’t strive for the top 1 or 2 houses. Nothing like Southern SEC schools. Almost all that rush get a spot somewhere.

I graduated from W&L about 20 years ago and have stayed a pretty active and engaged alumni. I interview applicants for the alumni admissions program, so I have stayed current on what the school is like now and what kinds of students are considering it. I participate in regional alumni activities and think that over the past 20 years, the alumni body has gotten more diverse, both racially and socioeconomically. I am quite progressive. I am a woman and a POC. My experience was similar to this PP's, however, I would say that given that most college campuses are overwhelmingly liberal, a student body that is half conservative WILL feel far more conservative than the average college experience. The faculty is mostly liberal, like most university professors. The teaching is exceptional. Professors at W&L are there because they want to teach more than research, so they are overall very engaging and committed to connecting with their students and working closely with them. There were times when I found some aspects of the experience uncomfortable, though very few of my white male classmates struggled in that way. The high participation in Greek life does make the party scene more laid back in that most everyone participates, so it is less exclusive, parties are open and people have friends across many houses. The drawback is that if a student really doesn't want to consider joining, one can feel left out during certain social weekends that center on the greek events (like Homecoming). Overall, I would choose W&L again and would consider sending my child there.

When you say half the student body is conservative, do you mean more like country club republicans that are fiscally conservative, or conservative socially like opposing gay marriage, abortion, etc.? Is MAGA supported?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on your responses, all of which I agree with btw - I think there's a better fit out there for your kiddo. A dear friend went to W&L and is still quite conservative - she told me about a frat party that had black people pretending to pick cotton...I've never been able to think of W&L the same, and never even uttered the school's name to my DD.

I’m genuinely curious, when was this?

And - clarify - this was black students willingly pretending to pick cotton?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the previous posters all have wrong assumptions. My kid goes there currently. 1/2 friends are liberal, 1/2 conservative. Sure there are a few frats/sororities that are more “southern”, but the majority are not. The beauty of having such a high percentage of Greek life is that it’s very laid back and welcoming as long as you don’t strive for the top 1 or 2 houses. Nothing like Southern SEC schools. Almost all that rush get a spot somewhere.

I graduated from W&L about 20 years ago and have stayed a pretty active and engaged alumni. I interview applicants for the alumni admissions program, so I have stayed current on what the school is like now and what kinds of students are considering it. I participate in regional alumni activities and think that over the past 20 years, the alumni body has gotten more diverse, both racially and socioeconomically. I am quite progressive. I am a woman and a POC. My experience was similar to this PP's, however, I would say that given that most college campuses are overwhelmingly liberal, a student body that is half conservative WILL feel far more conservative than the average college experience. The faculty is mostly liberal, like most university professors. The teaching is exceptional. Professors at W&L are there because they want to teach more than research, so they are overall very engaging and committed to connecting with their students and working closely with them. There were times when I found some aspects of the experience uncomfortable, though very few of my white male classmates struggled in that way. The high participation in Greek life does make the party scene more laid back in that most everyone participates, so it is less exclusive, parties are open and people have friends across many houses. The drawback is that if a student really doesn't want to consider joining, one can feel left out during certain social weekends that center on the greek events (like Homecoming). Overall, I would choose W&L again and would consider sending my child there.

When you say half the student body is conservative, do you mean more like country club republicans that are fiscally conservative, or conservative socially like opposing gay marriage, abortion, etc.? Is MAGA supported?

More fiscally conservative, finance bros than anything. There are a few religious Christian student groups but they are not the majority. They are not extreme either. I have never seen a MAGA hat on numerous visits there.

Also the theater department regularly puts on shows with LBGTQ+ themes. The last several major productions in the past 2 years include Speech&Debate, The Prom, Hamlet 50/50(gender swapped and gender fluid roles) as well as others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the previous posters all have wrong assumptions. My kid goes there currently. 1/2 friends are liberal, 1/2 conservative. Sure there are a few frats/sororities that are more “southern”, but the majority are not. The beauty of having such a high percentage of Greek life is that it’s very laid back and welcoming as long as you don’t strive for the top 1 or 2 houses. Nothing like Southern SEC schools. Almost all that rush get a spot somewhere.

I graduated from W&L about 20 years ago and have stayed a pretty active and engaged alumni. I interview applicants for the alumni admissions program, so I have stayed current on what the school is like now and what kinds of students are considering it. I participate in regional alumni activities and think that over the past 20 years, the alumni body has gotten more diverse, both racially and socioeconomically. I am quite progressive. I am a woman and a POC. My experience was similar to this PP's, however, I would say that given that most college campuses are overwhelmingly liberal, a student body that is half conservative WILL feel far more conservative than the average college experience. The faculty is mostly liberal, like most university professors. The teaching is exceptional. Professors at W&L are there because they want to teach more than research, so they are overall very engaging and committed to connecting with their students and working closely with them. There were times when I found some aspects of the experience uncomfortable, though very few of my white male classmates struggled in that way. The high participation in Greek life does make the party scene more laid back in that most everyone participates, so it is less exclusive, parties are open and people have friends across many houses. The drawback is that if a student really doesn't want to consider joining, one can feel left out during certain social weekends that center on the greek events (like Homecoming). Overall, I would choose W&L again and would consider sending my child there.

When you say half the student body is conservative, do you mean more like country club republicans that are fiscally conservative, or conservative socially like opposing gay marriage, abortion, etc.? Is MAGA supported?

Most Republicans at Washington and Lee are country club Republicans.

[Anonymous]

VERY, still have mock NRC ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:VERY, still have mock NRC ?

They actually do Mock National conventions for both parties depending on who’s in office. They do the Convention for the party that is not in the presidency, so next election they will do a Mock Democratic National Convention (similar to 2020). Last Dem convention they had many prominent democratic politicians and journalists as speakers, Donna Brazile, Jim Acosta, and Trevor Noah among them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on your responses, all of which I agree with btw - I think there's a better fit out there for your kiddo. A dear friend went to W&L and is still quite conservative - she told me about a frat party that had black people pretending to pick cotton...I've never been able to think of W&L the same, and never even uttered the school's name to my DD.

I’m genuinely curious, when was this?

And - clarify - this was black students willingly pretending to pick cotton?!?

This was in the late '90s - and no, not black students...everything about it was offensive.

[Anonymous]

I’m like you, OP. I’d encourage my kid to look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Your gay son will be more comfortable, in my view, in a more diverse urban setting. I wouldn’t suggest W&L for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on your responses, all of which I agree with btw - I think there's a better fit out there for your kiddo. A dear friend went to W&L and is still quite conservative - she told me about a frat party that had black people pretending to pick cotton...I've never been able to think of W&L the same, and never even uttered the school's name to my DD.

And?

White frat boys do that at schools like Amherst too.

It's America.

And? What a nasty response.

Question was how conservative is W&L...not whether white frat boys at Amherst are racist. I guess that's another thread.

Students who graduate from largely segregated schools in MA and other New England states are not any more liberal or inclusive than students at W & L. If anything, students from southern cities are often more inclusive because they've attended schools with more diversity and formed friendships with those who may come from different backgrounds and have a variety of viewpoints.
https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/06/11/racial-segregation-massachusetts-schools