Yale has been getting quite a lot of bad press lately. From screaming snowflakes to slave-owning progenitors, to racially unpleasant episodes of whites harassing black classmates in residential colleges. Does any of that have any impact on admissions or are those episodes just around the fringe and have no impact on the main business of Yalies being Yalies as it always has? Discuss.
I have one son at Yale. In my opinion, the school’s population is extremely left leaning and could use a good influx of different minded students to challenge those beliefs. The conservative and moderate population there benefits from this exposure. However, the left leaning extremists go unchecked imo - probably not a good thing for those students in the long run.
This article was recently published by Yale Daily News:
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2019/02/07/davis-marks-evil-is-banal/
I understand the spirit with which it was written, but I was surprised it was published “as is” by YDN.
My other son is at UChicago where there is an entirely different vibe - students diversified in thought and willing to listen to others. I do think think the admin dept is actively trying to seek this balance, and it shows.
There is certainly a liberal vibe at Yale (and a lot of grievance-mongering in the opinion columns of the Yale Daily News, which makes it seem more prevalent than it is). There are also plenty of moderate to conservative students there, as demonstrated by organizations like this: https://www.buckleyprogram.com/ and this: https://yaletoryparty.com/
Penn State got a lot of bad press in the aftermath of the Sandusky debacle. Applications dipped slightly for one year but rebounded and are at an all time high. Bad press is quickly forgotten.
If your child was admitted would you be disappointed if they attended?
The bad publicity involving Evergreen State College was devastating to their OOS applications. Time will tell if the incident is forgotten and applications rise again. The top schools are more supply and demand dependent, with the “Ivy” brand being as strong as ever.
This year, Yale got nearly 37,000 applications - a record number - for about 1,550 seats. Applications are up 24% since the 2012-13 admissions cycle. Undoubtedly, some students and families will prefer a different atmosphere, but it isn’t obvious that a liberal reputation is reducing the number of applicants: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2019/01/25/yale-receives-record-number-of-applications/
Squeaky wheel gets the attentions…meaning take what hits the presses with a grain of salt. My son entered right after the much discussed and villafied “screaming girl” Episode and did not find the campus intolerant of a diverse array of opinions.
No, I would hope she went, regardless. Hopefully we have brought her up to be a critical thinker. At least that’s been the goal…
@Ctdoctor, @Tonymom and @DeepBlue86 - What exactly do you mean by “bad press,” “grievance-mongering” and that Yale Daily News writing that should be “taken with a grain of salt?” Yale is full of students who love the school. Does that mean they shouldn’t publicly express their criticisms, for example, of the fraternity system, the financial aid program, incidents of sexual harassment by professors, etc.,? As someone who writes for the YDN, and believes that freedom of the press is under real attack on a daily basis in the United States, I reject the statement that what gets written in the YDN should be “taken with a grain of salt,” or that students who focus on aspects of Yale life that they believe can be improved, are “grievance-mongering.” This country needs people who are unafraid to point out, analyse, and offer ideas/policies to correct its very serious problems. Of course, we are young, and need to find ways of expressing ourselves effectively, persuasively. But because we live here, we know that amazing things happen every day on this campus, thanks to the staff, administrators, professors and students who give so much to this community. And it is precisely because we know how extraordinarily lucky we are to be here, that we risk criticism and even opprobrium to express our views publicly. I am personally grateful that Yale gives its students the knowledge, skills, and confidence to practice expressing their views openly, here on campus, so that we can continue to doing so more effectively after we leave.
@zoebrittany Not speaking for the others, but what I got from their comments was that the students who wrote for the the Yale Daily News were not necessarily (fully) representative of the student body as a whole. Specifically, the “moderate” and “conservative” voices are underrepresented. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
@damon30 yes, that was my point.
@zoebrittany I don’t doubt that you’re acting and speaking in good faith, but I would just note that at the time of my writing this, the “Opinion” section of the Yale Daily News website contains links to 11 items, which can be summarized as follows:
- A letter from the Association of Native Americans at Yale complaining about the YDN's description of the Native American Cultural Center
- A column about how being at Yale makes you feel uncomfortable about where you came from.
- A column about how Yale students aren't doing enough to enable victims of gun violence to tell their own stories.
- A letter alleging that a recent article in the YDN "misrepresented and maligned" an organization called Shabtai, its member and its purpose.
- A column complaining that Yale (in common with its peers) requires students otherwise on full financial aid to contribute a few thousand dollars (often colloquially called the "student income contribution") per year to the >$70k sticker price for their tuition, room and board.
- A column responding to a previous column entitled "In Solidarity with Palestine".
- A column that recommends that Yalies not obsess over choosing majors/classes that make them more employable and instead focus on the benefits of a liberal education.
- A column by graduate students opposing Yale's vision for the Jackson Institute of Global Affairs (now being elevated to a school).
- A column denouncing a conservative group called "Students for Carbon Dividends".
- A column alleging that Yale isn't doing enough to support its Program of Ethnicity, Race and Migration.
- A column about photographs taken on a vacation in France.
I believe this is a representative sample of the culture of negativity and complaint (albeit with exceptions) that one finds every day on the opinion pages of the YDN, and it bolsters the views of many students (some of whom I know quite well) that although there’s definitely viewpoint diversity at Yale, you wouldn’t necessarily know it from reading the paper.
@DeepBlue86 - Thank you for crediting me for “acting in good faith.” I appreciate that, and regret your disappointment, as an alum, in the YDN. Last year’s editor of the Op-Ed section was head of the Yale Political Union’s Conservative Party. He was an exceptionally thoughtful person. Anyone is welcome to write and submit a guest column, or a letter. There is no political “litmus test” for such submissions. There is a lot of very serious, excellent, investigative journalism in the YDN, as well as great sports-, cultural- and local community- focussed journalism. I am consistently impressed by the heart-felt convictions, as well as terrific writing skills, of the students who write for the YDN. We will just have to “agree to disagree” about the diversity of concerns and political viewpoints that are represented in its pages. Please encourage those students who “you know quite well” to join the YDN staff to ensure that such diversity of viewpoints and concerns remain fully represented in its pages.
@zoebrittany
Whoa! You totally misread my post. I was referring to the press some events at Yale receive inthe general media and that those aren’t indicative of some huge issue with the school in general.
I’m glad you are dedicated to a free and open press and bringing issues that are important to the students and the community forward but hold off on making assumptions about people’s motivations.
@tonymom I agree. And as far as “freedom of the press” being “under attack”, I consider comments in a heavily moderated public forum like CC to stand up well compared to those published on wood, and especially so compared to most student newspapers. We are all part of “the media”. (And it also helps to have thick skin.)
@tonymom - I did not mean to “make assumptions about people’s motivations.” I was only taking you at your word when you wrote “Squeaky wheel gets the attentions…meaning take what hits the presses with a grain of salt.” I agree that newspapers print things about colleges that get people’s attention. That doesn’t mean that what they print “should be taken with a grain of salt.” And if the coverage you see in the press misrepresents events that you have reliable information about, then it is a god idea to write letters to the editors to provide corrections. I apologize if I misunderstood your post.
@damon30 - everyone on CC is anonymous, and the site is rife with statements that no moderator can - or does - fact check. It is exactly the opposite situation at a student newspaper, where nothing gets printed without a byline and without being fact checked - including Op- Ed pieces. You are correct that it is necessary to be unconcerned about popular opinion if you want to be a journalist. Everyone is a critic!
@zoebrittany Hang out here for a little while. I think you would honestly be surprised what CC mods and other community members can “fact check”. It almost feels like having an editor. Not so much in this arena, which is probably boderline OT, but in the regular doling out of college advice. You WILL be corrected if you say something that’s wrong.