Carleton College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We liked Macalester and DS applied EA, but a question we had and that we were going to need to consider is whether there is any room for, or tolerance of, differing points of view there. DS is liberal and very politically engaged, but he is interested in a classical liberal arts environment and has no interest in going to a college where there is a political orthodoxy or monoculture, which seems like it might be the case at Mac to an extreme degree.

DS was accepted to his ED school (hooray!) so this is now not a question we are going to consider, but I figured I would offer it here in case it might benefit others who are looking at the school.

Bizarre post.

Not really. It’s a legitimate consideration, glad someone brought it up. See, e.g.:

https://themacweekly.com/80410/news/student-protest-sends-ripples-across-campus/

https://www.americanexperiment.org/macalester-through-the-looking-glass/

[Anonymous]

My son applied to Macalester and really liked it but my hesitation is that the activist bent will not suit him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We liked Macalester and DS applied EA, but a question we had and that we were going to need to consider is whether there is any room for, or tolerance of, differing points of view there. DS is liberal and very politically engaged, but he is interested in a classical liberal arts environment and has no interest in going to a college where there is a political orthodoxy or monoculture, which seems like it might be the case at Mac to an extreme degree.

DS was accepted to his ED school (hooray!) so this is now not a question we are going to consider, but I figured I would offer it here in case it might benefit others who are looking at the school.

Bizarre post.

Not really. It’s a legitimate consideration, glad someone brought it up. See, e.g.:

https://themacweekly.com/80410/news/student-protest-sends-ripples-across-campus/

https://www.americanexperiment.org/macalester-through-the-looking-glass/

You can probably find the same thing on every top LAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We liked Macalester and DS applied EA, but a question we had and that we were going to need to consider is whether there is any room for, or tolerance of, differing points of view there. DS is liberal and very politically engaged, but he is interested in a classical liberal arts environment and has no interest in going to a college where there is a political orthodoxy or monoculture, which seems like it might be the case at Mac to an extreme degree.

DS was accepted to his ED school (hooray!) so this is now not a question we are going to consider, but I figured I would offer it here in case it might benefit others who are looking at the school.

Bizarre post.

Not really. It’s a legitimate consideration, glad someone brought it up. See, e.g.:

https://themacweekly.com/80410/news/student-protest-sends-ripples-across-campus/

https://www.americanexperiment.org/macalester-through-the-looking-glass/

You can probably find the same thing on every top LAC.

Question that was posed is whether it might be more extreme at Kenyon, which is a legitimate consideration. Not sure Bowdoin, Kenyon, Hamilton as examples are places you would find the same thing, but maybe I’m wrong. I’m legitimately interested in the question, so please educate me if I’m mistaken. Is the climate at Mac no different from these other schools and other top LACs more broadly?

[Anonymous]

^^ “Extreme at Mac” I meant to say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We liked Macalester and DS applied EA, but a question we had and that we were going to need to consider is whether there is any room for, or tolerance of, differing points of view there. DS is liberal and very politically engaged, but he is interested in a classical liberal arts environment and has no interest in going to a college where there is a political orthodoxy or monoculture, which seems like it might be the case at Mac to an extreme degree.

DS was accepted to his ED school (hooray!) so this is now not a question we are going to consider, but I figured I would offer it here in case it might benefit others who are looking at the school.

Bizarre post.

Not really. It’s a legitimate consideration, glad someone brought it up. See, e.g.:

https://themacweekly.com/80410/news/student-protest-sends-ripples-across-campus/

https://www.americanexperiment.org/macalester-through-the-looking-glass/

You can probably find the same thing on every top LAC.

Question that was posed is whether it might be more extreme at Kenyon, which is a legitimate consideration. Not sure Bowdoin, Kenyon, Hamilton as examples are places you would find the same thing, but maybe I’m wrong. I’m legitimately interested in the question, so please educate me if I’m mistaken. Is the climate at Mac no different from these other schools and other top LACs more broadly?

Every college (nearly everyone on your list above and more) I looked at with DCs, either this summer or fall, had some sorts of actions going on. The actions ranged from students speakers on campus to posters renaming school facilities to Native American names or local political organizers to articles in school paper (pick those up on tours!). Where colleges are in that process is often related to how actively schools have been willing to interrogate their histories or resist doing so. A college may seem "more extreme" only because the admin has persistently resisted engaging with students on key issues, usually related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

There've been a number of student actions on our DCs' campus during their tenure and the administration has engaged accordingly. By the time the uprisings after George Floyd hit, the students were collaborating with the school on programming rather than agitating against it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We liked Macalester and DS applied EA, but a question we had and that we were going to need to consider is whether there is any room for, or tolerance of, differing points of view there. DS is liberal and very politically engaged, but he is interested in a classical liberal arts environment and has no interest in going to a college where there is a political orthodoxy or monoculture, which seems like it might be the case at Mac to an extreme degree.

DS was accepted to his ED school (hooray!) so this is now not a question we are going to consider, but I figured I would offer it here in case it might benefit others who are looking at the school.

I think is an important question. I’d also say my child is liberal and politicslly aware and interested, but enjoys discussing and friendly debating issues and won’t want there to be a heavy hive-mind and disparagement of differing views. Poster, where is your child going? (and congrats on his acceptance)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of our kids went to Carleton. Absolutely thrived and the school could not have been a better fit. It's tough and intense but not overly competitive. Warm and friendly. Kid was turned off by the vibe at east coast LACs Williams and Amherst. Many turn down ivies for Carleton. Kid even loved the food! Things to watch out for: It's small, Northfield is tiny (but proximate to twin cities) and the winters are brutal (which kid liked).

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We liked Macalester and DS applied EA, but a question we had and that we were going to need to consider is whether there is any room for, or tolerance of, differing points of view there. DS is liberal and very politically engaged, but he is interested in a classical liberal arts environment and has no interest in going to a college where there is a political orthodoxy or monoculture, which seems like it might be the case at Mac to an extreme degree.

DS was accepted to his ED school (hooray!) so this is now not a question we are going to consider, but I figured I would offer it here in case it might benefit others who are looking at the school.

Bizarre post.

Not really. It’s a legitimate consideration, glad someone brought it up. See, e.g.:

https://themacweekly.com/80410/news/student-protest-sends-ripples-across-campus/

https://www.americanexperiment.org/macalester-through-the-looking-glass/

FYI, the second source (americanexperiment.org) is a conservative think tank...Mediabiasfact check rates them as right-biased "based on editorial positions that routinely favor a conservative/libertarian perspective. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to the use of poor sources and a lack of transparency in disclosing their funders."