Where are the peeps?

wombatsoup
Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:29:25 +0000

Isn’t that pattern typical of a lot of schools in urban areas? The campus kind of empties out from people leaving to do things in the city/off campus?

I’ve heard a mix of things from students there actually–some people have described it the same way you do essentially and some people have actually said there’s a campus bubble problem (the guy who said this is a bike nut who goes into the city every weekend, though). Studying on Friday and Saturday is a bit stronger than they’ve put it, and most of the people I talked to seemed to do a lot of non-academic/non-school stuff. That being said Mac is seriously intense academically (which is something I like).

I agree with you completely on the living situation observation, that’s one of the main reasons I decided to go there. I have to stop reading AV Club Twin Cities because every time I do I find out about another amazing band that’s stopping in the area. When I visited during the spring sampler I looked in the paper: Spoon, Quasi, Dead Prez, and Rogue Wave all stopped by in the same week. Minneapolis/St. Paul is a pretty happening place from what I gather.

As for non-city things that differentiate from other LACs I can’t say much because Mac was the only one I really considered, partially because of the city and generally strong science departments. I’m doing neuroscience so the linguistics is definitely a plus. I would have to say that Mac is at the same time activist and not overly serious about itself, which is a pretty great combination. Understand that when I say activist I mean interested in solutions and action, I don’t mean “likes to protest a lot.” I suppose the second definition is true too, but as my host said “we could hold protests, but everyone would show up.” It’s a bit liberal if you haven’t heard–but not everyone there is political.

By the way, I’m a rising freshman, so this impression is based on research/visiting not going there.