Wesleyan University Top Questions

maybe the first two, but most of us do shower.

NO

There is a noticeable about of blind liberalism, which itself is just as ridiculous as the mentality it attacks. Most students are a lot more real than that.

It's true that on the whole Wesleyan students are liberal, but the diversity on this campus is pretty mind-blowing. There are a couple hippies, hipsters, athletes, artists, people of all kind. Even conservatives. And on the whole, the students have a very deep understanding of inequity and are tremendously self-critical in a way that allows for each person to truly transform over the course of 4 years. Although Wesleyan is probably one of the most politically active campuses in the country, many students expected there to be more happening on that front. That seems to be related to the general (apathetic) political climate, and seems to be changing for the better.

The first one is only partially true. Wes does admit a certain percentage of minority students, the exact number of which can probably be found in most basic college search books. I know that there is a push right now to admit more international students, and Wes has a very supportive queer community. However, I have found that some minority groups (especially racial/ethnic/international) tend to keep to themselves, and don't kid yourself into thinking that there are anywhere near as many non-white students as there are white students. What Wes really is, at least in my experience, is a sort of a microcosm of a city, where there is certainly tension, but also understanding and coming together. As for activism, there is a small group of Wes students who are extremely active politically, environmentally, etc., but it certainly doesn't dominate campus. In other words, activism could potentially define your Wes experience, but you could also spend four years here without being at all involved, and still leave with a great, fulfilling education.

watch the movie pcu. its based on wesleyan. now take that movie and make it 734852862757 times whiter (yes its possible, its sad) and 2486356293486916 jillion times more annoying and conservative on the low. yes, again it is possible i am sorry to say.

yes and no. definitely a very liberal social atmosphere.. there are a lot of radical thinkers and a generally accepted queer population. but there are many different "types" of people. many defy easy categorization. people dress however they want, which doesnt mean there aren't some preppy kids.

There are some students here who protest more or less indiscriminately. There are also plenty of students who remain completely apathetic. However, I have found that more than at other schools, Wesleyan students really care about world issues and when they do speak out, they have worked hard to gain a complete understanding of what they're doing. The sixties thing is kind of true though- Zonker Harris day was like a trip back in time. Colorful ribbons and ladies' underwear in the trees, furniture outside, bands playing, girls in fairy costumes, open drug use, frisbees flying. I don't think there are that many places where such an event would achieve such irony-free levels of participation.

Basically. But there's not as much militancy or emphasis on political correctness as you might expect--in general it's more a down-for-whatever hedonism, not as much yelling about communism communism rah rah rah. Also many of the students are as smart as they are pluralistic, so it's hard for a lot to take a hard stance on issues. If you want to make stuff about stuff you'll be great. If you want to talk about stuff, yes let's talk about stuff. And if you DO want to take up an issue you're passionate about and fight for it, the door is wide open.

In some cases, yes. Obviously, not all students fit the mold described above, and I think that, oftentimes, a few particularly loud voices become paradigms for the student body as a whole. Generally, lots of Wesleyan kids are very opinionated and enjoy flinging their opinions out into the community, sometimes just to see who gets riled up.