Lewis & Clark College Top Questions

Describe the students at Lewis & Clark College.

Emily

The majority of the students at Lewis & Clark College are liberal and very open to new ideas and people. Students are very friendly and easy to talk to as a prospective student.

Sema

At Lewis & Clark, classes consist of students from different backgrounds and interests, but all are engaged, open-minded and willing to learn something new.

Stephanie

Excited to learn about the ciriculum. Able to adjust to assignments. Ability to ask questions.

Dylan

The student body is a friendly liberal bunch. I haven't found the cliquey qualities that other reviewers seem to take issue with. However like I said people aren't quite as enthusiastic about academics as I would have liked. Lewis and Clark boasts a large percentage of alumni who join the peace corp, which speaks to the mentality of many students here but not so great to the quality of job preparation. I think that's more due to the student body as opposed to the academics. I feel like most people would feel accepted here. As the amount of athletes is on the rise, so is the amount of conservatives, so they certainly exist here, although they are rarely verbal about their politics.

Kelsie

The predominant race here is caucasian, no question about that. However, L&C has an awesome international student program so the campus is sprinkled generously with students from all over the world-- from Japan to Norway. The student body however, is extremely clique-y. Even the dining hall has a feel of segregation to it; the "light" side (better lighting and closer to the food) has your typical sports fans and bros, the "dark" side has your art enthusiasts, the quiet ones, and the loners.

Elizabeth

Classmates normally either fit in one of two categories: hippie or hipster.

Jessica

They are a diverse group, fun and intelligent, lots of hippies and international students; a great group of people.

Liz

Smart, driven, friendly and fun people who care about one another.

Elizabeth

hippies

Reed

Diverse, engaging, active and focused thinkers, push you to learn, demanding, friendly, helpful, willing to share their notes, form a study group or hang out with you on the weekends.

Dakota

Liberal and friendly; really enjoyable.

Casey

Giraffe Theory, Lewis & Clark College's Juggling Club.

Katherine

Very relaxed and funny.

Tate

Everyone is accepted at LC. If you're laid back and open-minded, you'll have fun at LC no matter what. To class, students where anything from jeans and a sweatshirt to some random hippie outfit with lots of colors and mismatched socks. There's even a guy who where's a suit and carried a briefcase every day! Students are from all over the world. I have friends from Malaysia, Scotland, Oregon, Maine, Japan, etc. Though we are not extremely racially diverse, students are diverse in other ways. For example, students have diverse backgrounds, opinions, and religions. The amazing thing about LC is that all students interact. There aren't any groups that think they're "too cool" for other people. Though everyone is welcome and accepted at LC, most students are left of center politically. Another great thing about LC is that you never know how much money anyone has. No one talks about how rich they are, and you never know who is paying full tuition and who is on complete scholarship. Students are not concerned with how much money your family makes, and you can always have fun without spending money.

Sara

There is no religious tolerance for Christianity, but there is for other major religions, especially Islam and Judaism. There isn't much racism that I encountered and no problem with differing socio-economic status. The type of student that would feel out of place: Republican, conservative, Christian Attire: most students dress very casually. A girl wearing high heels is very out of place Yeah different types of students interact. It's a big international school, a lot of my roommates were at L&C from abroad. Four tables in the dining hall: TCKs, athletes, hippies, serious students Most students are from WA, CA, OR, some Midwest and many from abroad Financial backgrounds: many wealthy but also many not Students are very politically aware but not sure how active. THey are definitely predominantly left. I never heard much talk of how much students would earn once they got jobs.

Quinn

For boasting diversity L&C is pretty white. You see a lot of white people, fairly large number of people from Asia or of Asian descent, and then a handful of various others. I don't think I've ever seen any racism on campus though. Majority of the student body is pretty liberal and most people are happy to let people be as they are. Student dress is pretty diverse. I saw everything from suits to pajama bottoms on a regular basis. Standard L&C dress is pretty relaxed, jeans and t-shirts/sweatshirts. It's very "Portland." I'd say L&C students are pretty open to anything. L&C is rated highly in it's non-religiosity. I think that being highly religious (Christian mostly) might affect your experience at LC. You might feel like your views are being challenged in classes sometimes or that your views are at odds with the rest of the student body. I don't know if it would be a bad thing, but you'd definitely have to learn to really examine your belief system and either hold strong or change.

Whitney

I am the President of LC's United Sexualities, the queer campus group. We meet once a week, chat, eat food, talk politics and social issues, but mostly have fun. In the Fall we celebrate Coming Out Week, with student run activities. Then there is our new tradition of Queer Thanksgiving... just another excuse to hang out and eat together! In the Spring we organize an AIDS Awareness Week. This year we had the AIDS Memorial Quilt on display and Cleve Jones, the founder of the Quilt, as our keynote speaker. A group of Unisexies organized and participated in the production of the Laramie Project.

Hannah

LC is majority white and christian. And everyone is also pretty much middle-upper class. They do have a couple of foreign exchange students on campus, but they live in a separate dorm and don't really interact a lot with the other students. A few students wear pajamas to class. Mostly people wear whatever to class. All students interact in class. Not so much outside of class. A lot of the students at LC are from California and other parts of the west. But there are some people from a little further away than that. Students are politically aware but not very active. They are predominantly left I think. No one talks about how much they'll earn one day. I think they are trying to live more in the present and get the college experience.

Sam

Almost entirely caucasian student body except for the exchange students. Dress code on campus consists of a flannel shirt, jeans and no shoes. The typical Lewis and Clark student is laid-back and looking for some fun. Most kids come from an upper-middle class family but come from all over the world as well.

Andy

The Lewis & Clark student body is fairly globally-concerned or politically active (or both), and the campus is EXTREMELY politically correct. There are no jokes about homosexuality or race told aloud practically, and that sort of thing is pretty harshly looked down upon. The student body is pretty hippie-ish (during the warmer months many students come to class barefoot), but there are some preppier kids and a LOT of hipsters. Portland is the hipster capital of the world, and this trend is not lost on Lewis & Clark.