Posted by
Megan on Thursday, May 22, 2008 3:03:04 PM
I've returned from Pennsylvania and now I'm getting ready to go back!! Last weekend was amazing... We went to Scranton (yes, the home of The Office) for my friend's birthday. A lot of fun was had by all. I'm venturing back north for the long weekend tomorrow. Memorial Day Weekend is a big holiday in my town which I think has to do with the combination of an aging population (a lot of vets) and a strong attraction to alcohol (a lot of alchies). I'm taking a super-long weekend because the Freeland Mountain Pub Run is on Monday afternoon. It's in its 11th year and attracts participants from all over Northeastern Pennsylvania. This is the first year that my friends and I will be doing it which should make for an interesting holiday weekend.
On to more important things... The Western Michigan/Pat Buchanan/salad dressing event happened over a month ago, but I've had the liberal influence over our country's institutions of higher education on my mind. It's a concept that really baffles me. I don't understand exactly why colleges and universities are so liberal, why the professors teach based on left-wing ideas, and why conservatives aren't trying harder to sway higher ed profs to the right side. I have the blessing of a very unique view point on the whole issue...
At Catholic University (aka The Conservative University of America), the student population is almost equally divided between Republican and Democratic, but the Republican voice has always been the strong one on campus. Credit has to go to the current College Democrat regime at CUA for boosting itself this past year, but the College Republicans won't give up the limelight without a fight. It's very odd at a college that the College Republicans are one of the biggest, most popular, and recognizable organizations on campus, but that's the atmosphere at CUA. Yes, we have our fair share of lib profs, but there's always at least a handful of conservative students in every class who speak up against the professor. Professors at CUA know they can't really influence or sway anyone at the school and so they don't try. It's really very nice sitting in politics classes where the teachers try not to let their personal persuasions shine through - they know very well if they do that their reviews will be poor at the end of the semester from at least 50% of the students enrolled in their course. Most of the time it's almost impossible to guess whether a prof is conservative or liberal unless they share some background knowledge with you like having worked for a Democrat in Congress during college, or something along those lines. Overall, I would say CUA politics majors receive a fairly unbiased education on content like the Congress, voters, and the military - we don't get an overwhelmingly dose of opinion from self-righteous professors. If these profs like their jobs, it's in their best interest to keep any "non-Catholic" thoughts to themselves. Plus, the University only allows speakers onto campus who are in alignment with the Church's beliefs - aka pro-life politicians. While I can understand the argument coming from the College Dem's about freedom of speech - what did you guys really expect coming to The Catholic University of America?
My time at CUA is only half the reason why I claim a "unique view point" on the political dynamics on college campuses. No surprise here, I come from a line of Pennsylvania State University fans and grads and my twin sister happens to be currently enrolled at College Park. Although I personally don't attend PSU, I get a lot of the feedback from my sister about the antics coming from the predominately liberal school. Part of me is jealous that presidential candidates took the time to visit my sister's school and not mine (not that either of the Dem's would have been allowed), but I'm happy I don't have to listen to their empty rhetoric on my campus. Both Obama and Bill Clinton made appearances at PSU before the Pennsylvania Primary. In Centre County, where PSU is located, Obama won with 60% of the votes in the Democratic Primary. Centre County was one of only five counties that Sen. Obama won in Pennsylvania - which proves his popularity with college students. Just to note, my sister visited me in DC the weekend that Bill and Barack came down on PSU, therefore avoiding the craziness which I'm sure ensued.
There are a lot of reasons why I'm happy I didn't choose PSU like the rest of my family, like size, personality, and location, but I could have gotten past all of those things by focusing on athletics and school spirit. One thing I don't think I could have dealt with? The influence of left-wing professors. I'll take my non-biased education any day.