Reed College Top Questions

When people who don't go to Reed find out that I go to Reed they usually either get excited and say what a great place it is or assume that it's a bad liberal arts school that they've never heard of. I live off campus, so I spend most of my time on campus in classes or the library, although I come to campus on the weekends because there are usually lots of good events. A big recent controversy was the death of a freshman from heroine over-dose. The response of the community was really touching and re-affirming to me of what a great place this is. It brought up a lot of discussions about what Reed is and what our drug and alcohol policy means, if it is effective, etc. IThe school takes risks with the freedom it gives its students, but it allows for genuine and mutual respect between the kids and the administration. There is, obviously, a ton of school pride and a sense of love and understanding and similarity between everyone (students, faculty, staff, alum, administrators, etc.).

We're a really small school. There are some wacky things that go on. Portland is an awesome city!!! but a lot of students don't go off campus that much. Lots of students spend a significant portion of their time in the library. People are proud of Reed, often to the point of looking down on classes and students at other, less-academic schools. There's a lot that's unusual about Reed--you should be creative, wacky, smart, and stable enough to deal with the excessive culture of stress. I've learned an amazing amount here.

Reed, eclectic, scholastic, scholarly, hidden away like an elf's fortress or some sort of secret. Home to the dedicated dedicated dedicated ones who will go without sleep four days in a row because they WANT to finish their work rather than because they will need to. Home to those who will lock themselves away for a week until they master a new puzzle, a new game. The ones who learn for fun, who delight in knowledge and share their knowledge and take you as you are and run with you as far and as hard as your willing to go. Home to those who know their shit like no one else I've ever met in my life. Interesting interesting people, mature, creative, powerful and open minded. Dedicated. Dedicated. Dedicated. Do I love Reed? Yes I love Reed.

Portland is a great city to live in. It's kind of european-modeled utopian, where people ride their bikes, care about sustainability, experience an excellent performance art and music scene, and are herbivores. Nature abounds, close to the city limits, and people actually appreciate it! Sigh... it just so *nice* to live here. (Except for the disheartening rain and the lack of racial diversity) Some Reedies never see Portland, in all of it's glory. Reed can be kind of a "bubble", in which students become encapsulated and lose touch with the outside world. I understand. Reed is a magical mystical land, unlike any other, where people ride around on flaming bikes, build really big monuments and forts in public places, grill hundreds of dollars worth of meat and give it away for free just to piss off vegans like me, make motorized couches, couches that double as bongs, embrace pyromania, chase and tackle people while naked and covered in blue paint, know nearly everyone's name because it's so freaking small, etc. There are a lot of resources and fun stuff to keep Reedies occupied, in all the free time they don't have, like the comic books library, pool hall, Gray fund trips (white water rafting, rock climbing, interesting-shit-you-never-needed-to-know-about-portland tours, and the like), I could go on but you could just go to the website. You could spot the legendary Doyle Owl and get into a knife fight over it! Kidding (though it seriously did happen). Reed is a very ...unique college experience, both due to the institution and its values and also because of the people who are attracted to it.

Reed College is a land where the work never stops. It's go go go and then break and then go go go and then break. The school is small but you definitely don't know or recognize everybody. Classes are usually from 6-25 people (lecture-based classes like the sciences are more 25-100 people). You get to know and love the profs, who you will be on a first name basis with. Telling people you go to Reed can evoke a multitude of responses from "Wow" to "Doesn't everyone do drugs there all the time?" to "Reed College?". Reed is the perfect school if you want to go into academia, and/or if you honestly like learning. We're in Portland here, but we rarely leave campus. Last biggest scandal was a recent heroin overdose - but that shit is really fucking rare, everyone has been in shock and there has been a lot of school arranged support groups and such. You get an education at Reed like you get no where else, and that inspires a definite cockiness and school pride bit in the students. We visit other campuses and wonder when people get their shit done, and the truth seems to be that they often have very little shit to do. So we laugh about that. Call it intellectual snottiness, if you will. Reed is a very strange place, as shown by the student body and by campus events. Ask any Reed kid (who isn't a freshmen) about Renn Fayre, Drag Ball, Paideia, Thesis Parade, thesis-ing, junior seminar, or qualifying exams and you'll here many a tale.

Reed is a tiny, liberal arts college. The campus is pretty, but small enough that once you've slept with someone, there's no way to avoid them. You'll keep running into them in commons, or the pool hall, or that class you thought they wouldn't take but they did and now you have to sit in the same room with them three times a week and pretend it isn't awkward. The population of Reed is big enough, however, that I'm still meeting new people in my year. The academics are phenomenal, and Portland's a fun city (although it helps to be 21). It's easy to get involved with student government, or just get some funding for a new extracurricular group. We don't have a football team, but the rugby players are all very dedicated to their sport. Ultimately, Reed is work hard, play hard -- we might stay in the library until 2 AM on a regular basis, but we also have more fun. There's nothing I would change about Reed, and having been here for four years, I can say with absolute certainty that I would make the same choice if I were picking a college now. That said, Reed is NOT for everybody.

Most Reed students ar really excited to be here, which enhances life for our whole community. It's great that people are really excited about and interested in not only their classes and assignments, but also about social activities at Reed. There are so many opportunities to get involved in the Reed community, like during Renn Fayre, Reed Arts Week, Paideia, etc. There's always some sort of dance party or event going on in the Student Union to liven up weekend nights on campus, and it seems that wherever you go there are groups of intelligent kids to hang out with, like at the pool hall, the scrounge, the paradox, the library lobby, the tutoring center, the department-specific lounges, even the reactor!

Reed is isolated. It's in a bubble, and never shall that bubble burst. It's unfortunate, since Portland is a truly amazing city with TONS to offer, and so few Reedies take advantage of that. Reed is also quite small. It tends to be very difficult to make friends at Reed, although I'm not entirely certain why.

People here tend to be interesting whether I like them or not, which is awesome. You can have a conversation with almost anyone and learn something. Most everyone works very hard, much harder than they did in high school, though a fair number of students (mostly freshmen) dick around a lot and have academic trouble accordingly. The work load is not exaggerated--if you do all the work you are supposed to do AND try to have a social life, you won't get a lot of sleep. Quite a few people drop out. The honor principle governs most interactions at Reed. There's a lot of trust in students' ability to handle problems, and so there's a lot of responsibility. When I tell people I go to Reed, I get a lot of different responses. Mostly tonal variations of the word "OH." Everyone knows we work hard here, but there are a lot of other connections that people make--drugs, radical left-wingers, awesome open-minded people, and so on. Reed has a reputation. It's not entirely accurate. There is a lot of drug use, and as a rule people are pretty liberal, but I know plenty of straightedge people and several libertarians (though, granted, very few Republicans).

Reed will give you student funds to spend on beer. However, I when I wanted to spend student body funds on giving books to prisoners, I was told by Finance Committee, "We don't give money for service projects." Reed will not let allow student organized charity drives to spend our extra board points to give food to the homeless. They are so afraid of liability that they couldn't care less if the people of Portland go homeless.

Reed is kind of small so everyone knows everyone and you can tell immediately who's a Reedie and who isn't when you see them. Also, it seems like you run into Reedies and Alumni all over the place in Portland and sometimes other random places. A lot of people have never heard of Reed, but those who have always have strong feelings about it. I spend most of my time in my dorm because sleep takes long times. Most recent big controversy was the hanging up of dummies in the trees in Eliot Circle.

A recent spate of resignations from top administrators has called into question the current president's reputation. I know from a number of professors that they do not like the direction the current administration is heading, but from their perspective I can't say what is really at stake in the long-run. I can say this: I've never met president Diver, although he did grow up in the same town as me; albeit in a different time. The only things I've heard from him have been about his "politically neutral" charades in which he has declined to divest school money from Coca-cola even though the majority, if not everyone, on campus has advocated for divestment. I think this supposed "neutrality" is a thinly veiled attempt to hold onto a corporate endowment package put together by Reed's financial "experts." Recently, race has played a big role in the college's public life. A poorly planned Halloween tableau involved hanging paper bodies from nooses in the trees at the center of front circle. It made its way onto the pages of the Oregonian, which inflamed the belief that Reed students are naive intellectuals (true) that don't care about what they do to others (false, as it turns out). There were apologies and discussions. The multicultural resource center hired a speaker to give a lecture on the significance of lynching symbols in America. I can't say I attended, so I don't know if anyone else did, but it was a relatively poor attempt to smooth over the past and return to our bubble-like intellectual naiveté. The question is: how do you fan a discussion over difficult topics when the entire "Reed experience" is essentially deconstructive, centered on the self as the fundamental unit of inquiry? Reed does its masochistic job pretty well. You'll come out with a fine ability to get things done and think about them. But I worry that people all too infrequently ask themselves: what can I do for you? It's cultural problem, but Reed's not helping.

The best thing about Reed is that it takes itself and its philosophy seriously. Reed tries to be a school that takes the community and academics seriously, and will do just about anything to make sure that they run well. The administration is very involved and helpful, and the level of bureaucratic inefficiency is generally pretty low. Portland is a great town - almost an epicurean paradise. Within a few miles, there are fantastic restaurants that are very reasonably priced (compared to Boston) and the bar scene is great. Portland is also known as Beervana. So many great local brews. Unfortunately, school pride is pretty lacking, although there's generally a pretty good turnout for the big school events. People definitely come to Reed to learn, and there's alot of people that do only that.

People outside the bubble and outside Oregon don't generally know where Reed is, much less what it is. However, grad schools seem to notice us. The student body ranges from total slackers to high-strung bookworms; however, the majority could be described as academically motivated students with a high tolerance for books, as well as a high affinity for parties. Commons (the cafeteria), the Paradox coffee shops, and common rooms in dorms are the most popular spots to chill. While Reed doesn't have any traditional signs of school pride like a football team and fraternities, most students feel lucky to be here.

Reed is an excellent school for several reasons. For one, classes are generally small and allow for student participation and the guarantee that your professors will get to know you individually. Although the student body is very intelligent, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of unhealthy, annoying competition between students over grades, because Reed doesn't give grades! This system is ideal because grades are actually recorded, but instead of relying on numbers or a letter system to gauge success, professors write more comments of each paper and test. This allows for one-on-one interaction between students and professors and for individual growth in the classroom. Reed also has so many awesome and strange traditions, such as the end of year Renn Fayre (which has nothing to do with usual Renn Fairs), Paideia, and several annual themed dances.

academics. All the students are here to learn, plain and simple. Though you may have "that kid" in one of your conferences the majority of REedies are intellectual, will challenge your views, and not afraid to express their opinions. The investment you make in learning here is the best investment you can ever make in your life. If you don't plan on going to grad school, a Reed degree in and of itself is not to important. Generally, Reedies come to this school to cultivate their minds, learn about the academic orthodoxy and how to counter it, and to head to grad school.

The best thing about Reed College is that there's no place like it. At no other college can you expect to find such a diverse and interesting group of people united at the prospect of becoming experts in their field, more enlightened members of society, and more capable human beings. You may get the impression that everyone you meet is on an epic quest. And you will frequently be impressed by the progress that your colleagues make. Everyone is transformed after four years. Everyone finds the instruction, facilities, and intellectual sounding boards required for progress. The espirit de corps is a manifestation of the rigor of the college. And everyone is glad for the challenge, indeed they pay for it. There's no other place like that.

I wouldn't change a thing about Reed. I enjoy telling people I went there, and having them react with shock and awe. When I was a student, I spent most of my time in class or in the library. I think Reed does a very good job of essentializing what is necessary for an education (i.e. a small number of students per class, close work with professors) and excludes all the distractions (i.e. textbooks, sports teams, the Greek system).

The biggest controversy on campus at the moment is the attempted change in the cigarette policy. There is a pretty much unsaid rule that you can smoke in the pool hall though it is a room in the GCC and technically illegal. Recently the administration tried to pull a fast one on the students and were charging kids 100$ for smoking indoors. Student Senate and the whole student body got really up in arms about the change in policy without consulting the students or even making an announcement. Then, the administration had to back down and revert back to the old policy. We're seeing our student autonomy slip like sand between out fingers and we're all crying as it slowly dies. Oh, and Portland is tight.

Reed is small. Only 1500 students. That makes for a very small average class size, which translates to some great student participation. For me, that is the best thing about Reed: your peers are thinkers, like yourself, and they share their ideas and insights. When you can regularly pick up a shared epiphany from a colleague, or a perspective that gives you chills for its subtlety, and helps you with your own exploration of the material, it is easy to get addicted to the Reed methodology. If I would change anything, it would be having the library stay open 24 hours a day. It's open until 2 am most days, but I think it's time for Reed to find a way to keep it open all the time. Reed is growing, and at a rate that I think is modest, and well-considered. The school prides itself on being small so growth is approached with great concern and restraint. People don't know anything about Reed except people in Portland. Because it is so small, it isn't well-known outside of the area. In Academia, it is well-known, and very favorably. That's what counts to me. Portland is the BEST town to be in! It's quirky, cool, and sophisticated. It's got the best bookstore on the planet a short 20 minutes away - what else do you need? And there are lots of great restaurants, cultural centers, and music venues nearby. The administration is cool, and the staff is astounding. This college really seems to take the time to make sure students get the important things taken care of. It is unusual in that respect. We have controversy on campus, yes. One case recently showed how adept the school can be in dealing with problems. Students were involved from the get go, and the solution was homegrown and sensitive. The issue continues to be discussed, and I think it was a learning opportunity for everyone. I am proud that the community came together the way it did. Super unusual? Reed's 'Renn Fayre,' and all out party after finals week. It cannot be compared with anything else. You just have to experience it for yourself.