How to handle insults of my kid’s college choice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid was lucky to be going to one of his top choices of college (UT Austin). He’s a normal high stats kid with decent ECs, so we’re realistic about his chance for the T30. While his pipe dream school is my alma mater, UT Austin is his realistic dream school. We also like the area a lot. Unfortunately last week a classmate of his (they’re friends for some time, but have sort of drifted apart) gave him a lecture on why he would choose a college in Texas and went on to insult all Texans. I was like, WTF?! How to deal with crazy people like that?

No WTH is wrong with you?

Sending a kid to Texas in this political climate is stupidity and terrible parenting.

You think your kid will get a job in four years in a state run by Paxton and Abbott ??

Texas is absolutely booming…

It is simply amazing what politics does to some peoples’ brains.

+1
Some people are so dumb. Most large cities there are purple.

I agree with all this but I also know teens that get very emotional about the maga run states because they have family members that are very affected. For instance, if you are a kid that has a trans sibling or best friend, you may have certain feelings about Texas. Personally I wouldn’t knock UT off my list because of the Texas politics but I recognize some people have some feelings about Texas for particular reasons.
It does also have the most crazy anti abortion laws with the “report your neighbor” statute. So even on the red state scale, some of its laws are pretty over the top.

[Anonymous]

Are you living in the DMV and surprised by this?Your child selected a university in a state solidly on one side of the political spectrum (yes we know Austin is liberal but the rest of the state and their politicians are decidedly not). People, especially in the DMV, will have political opinions and voice them in this regard.

Late high school/college is the perfect age for kids to start finding their voices, expressing opinions, and getting more politically involved even in just discourse. This is a good opportunity for your child to learn how to stand up for their choices, opinions, convictions as well.

[Anonymous]

On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

And progressive, liberal and moderate students who actually care about keeping America free should go to the blue bubbles in light red states and try to turn the states purple, or even blue.

Staying in blue states is cowardly and self-defeating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

And progressive, liberal and moderate students who actually care about keeping America free should go to the blue bubbles in light red states and try to turn the states purple, or even blue.

Staying in blue states is cowardly and self-defeating.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

Magas always wear shoes to hide their webbed feet, too. They are like a different species, with all that crazy talk about Mayorkas not really closing the southern border, & Joe not being the smartest & hardest-working man in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

And progressive, liberal and moderate students who actually care about keeping America free should go to the blue bubbles in light red states and try to turn the states purple, or even blue.

Staying in blue states is cowardly and self-defeating.

These states are gerrymandered to hell back, so having more liberals in Austin won't affect things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

Some of it is coming from people who grew up in those states, left for a reason, and still have family in those states. My home state has a state legislature generally full of corrupt idiots, for example. Among other things, they've managed to basically wreck public K-12 education.
I wouldn't tell a kid not to go to school in my home state, or any of the other states with a lot of MAGA voters...but I can sympathize when someone is shocked by the viewpoints openly expressed by some of these politicians, and make some conclusions about the voters in those states based on that. I mean, we tell our kids you're known by the company you keep, so it seems somewhat fair to say that a state may be known (at least in part) by the politicians it elects, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

And progressive, liberal and moderate students who actually care about keeping America free should go to the blue bubbles in light red states and try to turn the states purple, or even blue.

Staying in blue states is cowardly and self-defeating.

These states are gerrymandered to hell back, so having more liberals in Austin won't affect things.

That’s what the Republicans want Democrats to think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

Magas always wear shoes to hide their webbed feet, too. They are like a different species, with all that crazy talk about Mayorkas not really closing the southern border, & Joe not being the smartest & hardest-working man in DC.

Bolded is certainly true, at least.

[Anonymous]

You can get plan B here and send it with him.

[Anonymous]

I would not care what rude comment a dumb teenager makes. UT Austin is a fine school.

Even if UT Austin was not a fine school, your kid's "friend" should keep his mouth shut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

Some of it is coming from people who grew up in those states, left for a reason, and still have family in those states. My home state has a state legislature generally full of corrupt idiots, for example. Among other things, they've managed to basically wreck public K-12 education.
I wouldn't tell a kid not to go to school in my home state, or any of the other states with a lot of MAGA voters...but I can sympathize when someone is shocked by the viewpoints openly expressed by some of these politicians, and make some conclusions about the voters in those states based on that. I mean, we tell our kids you're known by the company you keep, so it seems somewhat fair to say that a state may be known (at least in part) by the politicians it elects, no?

+1. I have no problem saying the Midwestern state I’m from sucks.

Would I discourage someone from going to school in that state because of it? No. But even then, the state is forcing huge cuts to university programs it deems unworthy, so it isn’t like you can escape it when you’re there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On this site, there is a lot of bias against schools outside the northeast. I'm guessing this is coming from people who have no idea what a big and diverse country this is. And they don't travel much.

But UT-Austin is a great school, and a very difficult admit for students. Same with Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Emory, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill and several others. And none of these schools are bastions of MAGA. Nor are the surrounding communities. Austin, Nashville, Houston, Atlanta, Charlottesville, Raleigh-Durham and so on are all extremely blue.

If you want to be surrounded by MAGA, go to a rural school in New England, the Midwest, or upstate New York. And anywhere in Pennsylvania. That's where you will find your MAGA people. Not some city in the South. And definitely not Austin.

And progressive, liberal and moderate students who actually care about keeping America free should go to the blue bubbles in light red states and try to turn the states purple, or even blue.

Staying in blue states is cowardly and self-defeating.

These states are gerrymandered to hell back, so having more liberals in Austin won't affect things.

That’s what the Republicans want Democrats to think.

Yup. Republicans seem to derive the most joy in "sticking it to the libs" and "winning" rather than trying to make America better for all. As much as Fox News will refuse to admit it, despite being treated like crap by MAGA, Biden at least made some efforts to help people who hated him. He spent a ton on infrastructure in deep red states. Trump thinks everything is adversarial and a zero-sum game. This is not OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure his going away package has condoms and Plan B.

There is abortion on demand in Austin. I think there are at least 3 planned parenthood locations in the city. But he should always use all precautions nonetheless.