Reed College Top Questions

Stereotypes are always based on some nugget of truth, right? In Reed's case: 1. There are a billion hot men and women on campus. It's true, though, that a certain nerdy aesthetic predominates. I prefer a man in glasses and argyle, so that's fine by me! We don't have a huge number of surfer-type boys or cheerleader girls (though they exist, as well). 2. Reedies aren't stuck-up. Mostly. Well, some are, I suppose. But there are jerks everywhere. Instead, many Reedies are awkward. Many Reedies are ridiculously bright. Many Reedies are too busy to hang out with you all the time. We're sweet people, though. Just get to know us! 3. I think that, by some, Reed really would be considered a boring place. For example, it isn't uncommon to overhear conversations about Plato or cell theory or Meyerhold in Commons (the cafeteria) or at a party. Some people might call that boring, but I call it absolutely wonderful. On the other hand, one of the great marks of a Reedie is extreme interest diversification (I just pulled that term out of my ass, but it sounds good). I am as likely to participate in a conversation about Family Guy or sexual positions or Obama or The Lord of the Rings as anything else. We're coooool peooople! 4. The last is, in my opinion, the least true. You cannot. Cannot. Cannot be a burn-out and still be a Reedie. To be perfectly honest, this place is much too freaking difficult. As far as drug use itself, I'm not convinced that there are more drugs here than in any other school in the world. Reedies are curious, so perhaps that accounts for some of the use. Also, we're honest, so that accounts of the visibility. I've never done hard drugs, and I've been here for 2.5 years already. I've never even been offered anything scary. So...in my experience, labeling Reedies as "druggie burn-out[s]" is just simply incorrect.

Pretty much, although I never had pink hair and I still don't have a tattoo, and I never did make it to a kegger in the library.

A Reedie discusses some of the stereotypes associated with Reed college and comments on their accuracy.

A student discusses some of the stereotypes associated with Reed college and comments on their accuracy.

A student discusses some of the stereotypes associated with Reed college and comments on their accuracy.

A student discusses some of the stereotypes associated with Reed College and comments on their accuracy.

-More or less true depending on your major -Not really true. The majority of Reedies do not use drugs (alcohol being a notable exception), but Reed gets a reputation for being a druggie school because Reedies are more open about drug use than students at other schools. Yes, drug use occurs, but no more than at any other college. It's just that the drug culture here is much less underground, and as a result, it's generally less seedy and dangerous. It's also more experimental. You have science majors taking acid not because they want to get "fucked up" but because they're interested in the neurochemistry that's taking place in their brains. In sum, most students don't do drugs, but the ones that do are pretty adventurous and open about it, and that's where the reputation comes from. Also Renn Fayre. -When I was a freshmen, I told a fifth-year senior I was having girl problems. He responded, "Reedies are the most awkward people you'll ever meet in your life." He was right. -Absolutely true. They're fucking brilliant to boot. -A little bit. It varies from person to person, but we do have a tendency to be snarky and sarcastic to people we consider to be ignorant. -Not really true, although I have met a couple of athiests who are assholes to Christians and other believers, but they're few and far-between. That said, Reedies are mostly non-religious, but the one's who are religious aren't evangelical about it. -Reed has a reputation for being a bastion of socialist thought, but the students today are far less politically radical than they used to be. That said, Reed is still a liberal school, so if you come here and you're open and out about being Republican, be prepared for some harassment.

Yes.

Most are not completely accurate, but are based on some grain of truth. A majority of Reedies are in fact white and from middle to upper-middle class, Reed has a permissive drug culture so it is more visible than at other schools

yes