Lewis & Clark College Top Questions

the classes and professors are great here. they are by far the best part of school. if i could change one thing i would give the school a huge amount of money because currently it feels that so much of the administrations efforts are in making money and less on the best interests of the students. lewis and clark is a small school and i like it that way. sometimes i wish we had the resources of a large university but i like knowing my teachers. i feel having a personal relationship with my professors makes for better discussion and more full engagement with the material resulting in a better education. in terms of campus, campus life is pretty cool. there are a lot of good speakers and such but it gets a bit claustrophobic sometimes. but there is a school sponsored bus that goes down town every hour so that is vary vary useful. it makes the city much more accessible.

The best thing about Lewis and Clark are the class choices. I would change the professor's attitudes, they sometimes don't feel that the students are worth teaching. The school size is perfect, big enough so that you get the college experience but small enough so you know most people. People are impressed when I tell them I go to Lewis and Clark. I spend most of my time at Lewis and Clark doing school work, hanging out with friends, and wandering around Portland. The Lewis and Clark administration sometimes is distant from the student body and the students feel at times that the administration is trying to change the image of the school. The biggest controversy on campus was when some students were caught with drugs and the situation was not handled well or when a girl was raped but didn't file a report until the end of the semester, but some students felt the need to out the person responsible on facebook. There is school pride but not school spirit.

The best thing about Lewis & Clark is that if you were "normal" in high school, you are the exception here. At least for me, being from a small town. If I could change one thing it would be the ability to get into classes, but the small classes make them more interesting. It is just right for me, but if you are looking for a huge social scene, I would look somewhere else. Some people think I'm a hippie when I tell them, others are rather impressed (if they know the reputation of the college). The administration is a little sketchy just because they like to be quiet, but they aren't out to get us by any means. Maybe changing the reputation of the school is going a little to far because this school is exceptional that what makes it so appealing. There is a minimal amount of school pride, when it comes to sports, but I think most people like it here.

I think the best thing about Lewis and Clark would be its openness. To me, the size is just right so you can have small class sizes but still be able to meet new people frequently. When I tell people in the Pacific Northwest that I go to Lewis and Clark, the general reaction tends towards comments like, "Oh, that's a good school." Elsewhere though, nobody has really heard of it. On campus, I spend most of my time in the dorms but that's just because I don't really like working in the library. Lewis and Clark doesn't really need a college town because its so close to Portland, a very cool town. I think that the administration generally tries very hard to keep the student body satisfied. The biggest recent controversy on campus was a rape charge. I don't really feel like there is much school pride because many people here don't like to affiliate themselves with specific institutions.

Lewis & Clark is like year-long summer camp with classes. It's relatively small with a scenic campus. When it's warm, people chill on the lawns. When it snows, they have hella snowball fights. I can't imagine going to a school any other way. No one seems to ever have heard of Lewis & Clark where I used to live, but I don't really care since I came here to escape from there. Portland fucking rocks, so that's always nice. The focus here is academics and community, definitely not athletics. I wish it would stay that way, but the administration seems to be bent on bringing in athletes and buffing up the athletic department. It's so fucking weird seeing a bunch of kids in earth tones and hemp materials in the cafeteria and then just two tables of eight foot tall muscular dudes decked out in L&C basketball gear.

What I like best about LC is how passionate everyone is. Even though everyone has different interests, students are genuinely passionate about what they do. It's almost too easy to get involved in student clubs and organizations. It's hard for me to balance schoolwork (which isn't exactly light) with all of the amazing things I could be spending my time doing. There's always something going on around campus, from blacklight dance parties with free donuts to lectures, films, meetings, and community art projects. Being so close to Portland is a big draw, too. I go downtown about once a week. Portland is full of things to do -- a few weeks ago I went black-light mini-golfing at a place decorated entirely in a pirate theme and then went to Voodoo Donuts at midnight. Portland is very bike-friendly, and small enough that you won't feel swallowed by buildings, but big enough to be a constant source of exploration.

One thing I would change- we need better communication between the students and the administration. There are tons of students that have great ideas for the school and how to improve it, but getting to the administration seems to be hard. The school size is perfect. I love it- just enough people to not feel overwhelmed but still develop your own group of friends and still see new faces every day. And the size allows students to have a relationship with their teachers and get to know them on a personal level. The size of the campus is great too- large enough to find your own space away from people but there are also central areas of congregation- the different cafes, areas of grass... the campus comes alive when the sun comes out- students bring out blankets, frisbees, soccer balls, and on every area of grass (and there's a lot of it) there will be students soaking up the sun. Portland is amazing and I think, one of the best cities to be in as a college student. It's a smaller city, but that allows students that don't have cards to take advantage of the public transportation system and walking around. And we have the best book store in the world- Powells.

For me, it has been impossible to describe to anyone outside of the Lewis & Clark community exactly why I dislike it. Even within LC there have been few who I have connected with on this subject. LC is terribly awkward. I think it has to do with its size but more to do with the people who are drawn to it. In my opinion, LC falls just shy of being what it pretends to be. And I think stereotypically the student body falls just short of what they pretend to be. Because to me, that is what LC is, a congregation of people who want to be something. Some of them are really amazing down to earth people. But most of them are not. I love a lot of what Lewis & Clark has to offer, but I have realized that it works for very specific people. And unfortunately I am not one of them. I sometimes refer to my time at LC as the high school experience I never had. It can be suffocating.

The best thing about LC is the academics. This is also helped by the small size of the school. I think it is just the right size to foster the kind of intimate learning environment I really enjoy. When people hear I go to LC, half of them say "What's that?" and the other half say "I heard that's a really good school." I spend a lot of time in my room (I don't like studying in the library) or in the Pioneer Log office/lab where we layout our pages. The Bon (cafeteria) is also a popular spot but I try to spend less time there than I did last year because it sort of sucks the life out of people. Portland is not exclusively a college town but it is great for college students. There are lots of universities around here, so there are a lot of young people hanging around. However, there are lots of young people NOT involved in any school too just because of how cool, artsy, environmental and active Portland is. I think that the administration has changed bit since the stereotypes about the school were formed. The administration does not foster the "counter-culture" it once did, however it still supports individualism and learning. They are trying to change our image and become more prestigious, which is okay with me because then my degree will be worth more in the future. The biggest controversy on campus recently was actually a controversy that made it first from the Pioneer Log, then to Willamette Week, and then actually to Newsweek. There was a girl (a staff member of the Piolog) who was sexually assaulted by a male student here...Anyway it was a big deal, read about it. People made a lot of noise and are still making noise. This has basically been going on since at least November I think. School pride is different here than it is at other schools. Lots of people have a lot of bad things to say about the administration so they don't wear LC sweatshirts and sweatpants, but many people are still likely prideful and proud of Portland and what they do at LC. Students complain a lot about rules here. They hate being written up for drinking because they think our school doesn't care because Reed's administration doesn't care. People complain (and rightly so) because they think the clothing and products sold in the bookstore (which is unfortunately owned by Barnes and Noble) is a result of sweatshop labor. There is little resolve about this. Some people complain about particular departments, I've heard that the environmental studies major is "bullshit." Otherwise though, they are regular college kid complaints like too much homework and not enough money for beer.