Being Conservative At Grinnell

Plainsman
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:34:00 +0000

I give Nikolai kudos for guts, but there is an alternative view. It’s not all about being exposed to different points of view. I think it’s wrong to assume that all liberals think alike and march in lock step. It’s also about fit. College is a huge financial investment, and why would anyone want to subject themselves to four years and a significant financial cost to a place where they don’t fit in? My D is very liberal and would not even think of enrolling at say Washington and Lee University, an elite but predominantely conservative southern LAC. She wouldn’t go to W&L if they offered her a free ride. Money is one thing; misery is another.

Nikolai, are you thinking that all the top LACs are liberal, and that there is no alternative in the LAC space? That isn’t the case. Conservatives abound at LACs like Washington and Lee and even Davidson. All I’m saying is, at those schools you will likely find a much higher percentage of like-minded young people (Young Conservatives) than in the student body at Grinnell, or LACs even more liberal than Grinnell, like Oberlin or Reed. Ultra right-wing conservative pundit Michelle Malkin’s four years at Oberlin must’ve been a living hell for her, especially the way she talks about her alma mater as a place filled with left-wing crazies. Grinnell may not be quite as liberal as Oberlin (I’m guessing here, maybe its more liberal) but why go through that hell? I mean, I shudder to think what it’s like for a genuine liberal on an overhwelmingly politically conservative campus, especially a small school like an LAC, but I’ve heard horror stories.