<p>St. John’s–like most liberal arts college–has many more students and faculty who are on the left than on the right. We do have libertarians and we do have Straussians (although the link between Strauss and neoconservatism is questionable at best and most of the students who are interested in Strauss that I know are also registered Democrats), but we have almost no mainstream republicans or paleoconservatives. I’ve been involved with campus wide voter registration drives since sophomore year and, in all that time, I doubt if I’ve registered more than two republicans. That said, as long as you’re thoughtful about it, nobody will humiliate you or call into question your intellectual credibility if you do sympathize with the right.</p>
<p>There are kinks that will need to be worked out throughout the first two years, but class conversations will improve exponentially as you move through the program and beyond Sophomore enabling. Tutors, on the whole, do demand rigor and clarity of thought. Generally speaking, you won’t get far if you are either lazy or senseless (unfortunately, character defects can be harder to sort out and eradicate).</p>
<p>St. John’s is as frustrating as it is rewarding. Good luck deciding!</p>