Wesleyan University Top Questions

hippies, techies, diverse

In general, I think people perceive Wesleyan students as super liberal-minded earthy crunchy hippies and New York hipsters. At Wesleyan, most stereotypes are represented--the jocks, the dorks, the stoners, the prep school grads, a few Republicans--and they often intersect

I think there's a stereotype that Wesleyan students are a collection of privileged stoners and hipsters who care more about criticizing and intellectually deconstructing mainstream society that with actually changing it for the better.

that we are all pot smoking, tree hugging, hippies

People think that Wesleyan is all about Hippies and Hipsters. People either too peaceful or too ironic to function.

we're ultra liberal, politically correct hippies.

Hippies, Weed, and Activism

Some might say that the Wesleyan student body is obnoxiously liberal and overly politically correct. Potheads.

There is a stereotype that Wesleyan students are a bunch of privileged hippies, trust fund liberals who are activists largely to piss off their parents. There is another stereotype that Wes students are major activists and that Wesleyan is generally a hot-bed of activism.

Wes is commonly referred to as "diversity university," which I believe refers to the student body's range of backgrounds and experiences, from racial/ethnic/international to class to sexual orientation. Wes students also used to be, if we aren't still, thought of as activists.