Lewis & Clark College Top Questions

The majority of the students at Lewis & Clark College are liberal and very open to new ideas and people. Students are very friendly and easy to talk to as a prospective student.

At Lewis & Clark, classes consist of students from different backgrounds and interests, but all are engaged, open-minded and willing to learn something new.

Excited to learn about the ciriculum. Able to adjust to assignments. Ability to ask questions.

The student body is a friendly liberal bunch. I haven't found the cliquey qualities that other reviewers seem to take issue with. However like I said people aren't quite as enthusiastic about academics as I would have liked. Lewis and Clark boasts a large percentage of alumni who join the peace corp, which speaks to the mentality of many students here but not so great to the quality of job preparation. I think that's more due to the student body as opposed to the academics. I feel like most people would feel accepted here. As the amount of athletes is on the rise, so is the amount of conservatives, so they certainly exist here, although they are rarely verbal about their politics.

The predominant race here is caucasian, no question about that. However, L&C has an awesome international student program so the campus is sprinkled generously with students from all over the world-- from Japan to Norway. The student body however, is extremely clique-y. Even the dining hall has a feel of segregation to it; the "light" side (better lighting and closer to the food) has your typical sports fans and bros, the "dark" side has your art enthusiasts, the quiet ones, and the loners.

Classmates normally either fit in one of two categories: hippie or hipster.

They are a diverse group, fun and intelligent, lots of hippies and international students; a great group of people.

Smart, driven, friendly and fun people who care about one another.

hippies

Diverse, engaging, active and focused thinkers, push you to learn, demanding, friendly, helpful, willing to share their notes, form a study group or hang out with you on the weekends.

Liberal and friendly; really enjoyable.

Giraffe Theory, Lewis & Clark College's Juggling Club.

Very relaxed and funny.

Everyone is accepted at LC. If you're laid back and open-minded, you'll have fun at LC no matter what. To class, students where anything from jeans and a sweatshirt to some random hippie outfit with lots of colors and mismatched socks. There's even a guy who where's a suit and carried a briefcase every day! Students are from all over the world. I have friends from Malaysia, Scotland, Oregon, Maine, Japan, etc. Though we are not extremely racially diverse, students are diverse in other ways. For example, students have diverse backgrounds, opinions, and religions. The amazing thing about LC is that all students interact. There aren't any groups that think they're "too cool" for other people. Though everyone is welcome and accepted at LC, most students are left of center politically. Another great thing about LC is that you never know how much money anyone has. No one talks about how rich they are, and you never know who is paying full tuition and who is on complete scholarship. Students are not concerned with how much money your family makes, and you can always have fun without spending money.

There is no religious tolerance for Christianity, but there is for other major religions, especially Islam and Judaism. There isn't much racism that I encountered and no problem with differing socio-economic status. The type of student that would feel out of place: Republican, conservative, Christian Attire: most students dress very casually. A girl wearing high heels is very out of place Yeah different types of students interact. It's a big international school, a lot of my roommates were at L&C from abroad. Four tables in the dining hall: TCKs, athletes, hippies, serious students Most students are from WA, CA, OR, some Midwest and many from abroad Financial backgrounds: many wealthy but also many not Students are very politically aware but not sure how active. THey are definitely predominantly left. I never heard much talk of how much students would earn once they got jobs.

For boasting diversity L&C is pretty white. You see a lot of white people, fairly large number of people from Asia or of Asian descent, and then a handful of various others. I don't think I've ever seen any racism on campus though. Majority of the student body is pretty liberal and most people are happy to let people be as they are. Student dress is pretty diverse. I saw everything from suits to pajama bottoms on a regular basis. Standard L&C dress is pretty relaxed, jeans and t-shirts/sweatshirts. It's very "Portland." I'd say L&C students are pretty open to anything. L&C is rated highly in it's non-religiosity. I think that being highly religious (Christian mostly) might affect your experience at LC. You might feel like your views are being challenged in classes sometimes or that your views are at odds with the rest of the student body. I don't know if it would be a bad thing, but you'd definitely have to learn to really examine your belief system and either hold strong or change.

I am the President of LC's United Sexualities, the queer campus group. We meet once a week, chat, eat food, talk politics and social issues, but mostly have fun. In the Fall we celebrate Coming Out Week, with student run activities. Then there is our new tradition of Queer Thanksgiving... just another excuse to hang out and eat together! In the Spring we organize an AIDS Awareness Week. This year we had the AIDS Memorial Quilt on display and Cleve Jones, the founder of the Quilt, as our keynote speaker. A group of Unisexies organized and participated in the production of the Laramie Project.

LC is majority white and christian. And everyone is also pretty much middle-upper class. They do have a couple of foreign exchange students on campus, but they live in a separate dorm and don't really interact a lot with the other students. A few students wear pajamas to class. Mostly people wear whatever to class. All students interact in class. Not so much outside of class. A lot of the students at LC are from California and other parts of the west. But there are some people from a little further away than that. Students are politically aware but not very active. They are predominantly left I think. No one talks about how much they'll earn one day. I think they are trying to live more in the present and get the college experience.

Almost entirely caucasian student body except for the exchange students. Dress code on campus consists of a flannel shirt, jeans and no shoes. The typical Lewis and Clark student is laid-back and looking for some fun. Most kids come from an upper-middle class family but come from all over the world as well.

The Lewis & Clark student body is fairly globally-concerned or politically active (or both), and the campus is EXTREMELY politically correct. There are no jokes about homosexuality or race told aloud practically, and that sort of thing is pretty harshly looked down upon. The student body is pretty hippie-ish (during the warmer months many students come to class barefoot), but there are some preppier kids and a LOT of hipsters. Portland is the hipster capital of the world, and this trend is not lost on Lewis & Clark.

All Lewis and Clark students are wasps playing hippie. They all come from small towns and have seem to be lacking real world experiences like having a job or doing laundry. Most students at Lewis and Clark would pay $500 for a pair of ripped jeans if it would make them look like they went shopping at goodwill without causing them the discomfort of shopping with the working and lower class. These trustafarians are in a brief hippie liberal anti-capitalism stage that they need to get out of their systems before taking at job at starbuck's corporate headquarters that mommy and daddy snagged for them.

Sadly, i think many extreme republicans would feel out of place at L&C. My own political bias aside, i really do think it is something L&C must work on. If made to identify with a certain political party, i would most likely identify with democrats, but i also believe in democracy. Without republican, independents, green party, and other political parties, democracy would not work. Sometimes i get the feeling many students would rather the world be democratic. Other than that, no person would feel out of place, unless you wanted to go to school to get lost int he crowd, because there's no crowd to get lost in. What i do like about students are their commitment to helping the world. Many students are politically aware, and not that many less are active. You can find them on campus, trying to rally people to stand up for what they believe in, and you can find them being linked together and abused by police in a protest over nuclear transportation. They all are different in most ways. While many of them subscribe to the ideas of the democratic party, some are taciturn, some are loud, some believe in religion, and some are atheist. Some love wildlife and some don't care much for nature. Some are extremely wealth, and some are familiar with the welfare system. Some are vegans and some are fervent carnivores. They come from Seattle, Washington and Upstate New York and everywhere in between. International education and exchange is a big focus of the administration, so there are many people from other countries, which is fascinating. I now have a couch to sleep on in Indonesia, Greenland, Holland, India, Ethiopia, Ireland, Botswana, Japan, Malaysia, Moldova, Jamaica, and Brazil. And to answer the last question in the "suggested" part of this category, I've never heard a student talk about how much they'll earn one day.

Chillas fo' sho.

I don't think anyone feels out of place at LC because there is something for everyone. People do tend to click together into people of similar lifestyles, but that can be expected anywhere. People from the same sports teams definitely tend to spend more time together. Or the kids that go bouldering eat at lunch together. Or foreign language majors, etc.

I've pretty much said all I feel like saying about this diverse group of students in the stereotypes section.

It is really hard to be Christian on this campus. Even though my politics are liberal, the instant mention my religious affiliation, the L&C student will assume that I am conservative and narrow-minded. When a Christian points out that it is hypocritical to call yourself "open-minded" and then pass judgment on someone's perspectives and intelligence based on their religion, the person will invariably not care in an effort to prove that they are "a rational atheist." There is a false assumption on this campus that Christians do not believe in evolution (I believe in evolution), hate gay people (I am an advocate for GLBTQ rights) and are overall unintelligent people. When I mention that I am Christian, I feel obligated to add a series of caveats: "oh! I'm not one of THOSE Christians who is trying to convert you!" "...but I'm liberal!" "...but I believe in women's rights and gay rights!" Even with those caveats, you run a tremendous risk of that person alienating you for the rest of your time at college with him/her.

The student body is small and organized into social groups. There are only a handful of attempts by the college to bring students together, especially transfer students. Students are generally from wealthy backgrounds and don't value what they have.

LC is very tolerant of minority groups, LGBT... etc. The only types that would feel out of place may be big football jocks or something, but even then there are some of those types here who get on fine. Most students are very vintage/boho... although there are some people who I actually cannot classify because I don't know what category they would fall into. Pretty much all students interact with each other, there are no social limitations. Most students are probably from California, but there are plenty of people I know from the East coast and the midwest. Everyone is pretty politically aware and active, predominately left. I doubt you'd find any republicans here. No one is really anal about academics, they are just here to learn and have fun.

This is a very white campus, and can be seen as quite clickish. There are clicks, but they are of people with like interests and not exclusive. People are very friendly and generally are very open to getting to know new people. We are also a very liberal campus. This liberal bias can also be experienced in the classroom as many teachers are not quiet about their political views. People are quite relaxed and go to class ready to learn if not yet out of their PJ's.

This school is predominantly white, and there are many people from a higher socio-economic group. I think there are probably every kind of person here, but some are harder to find. Anybody who's not into indie or is not a hippie may have a difficult time finding a group. There are definitely groups of so-called "geeks". I was always in a blend of orchestra/choir/band geeks in highschool and I have not found this group yet. Also, preppies may have a hard time finding social circles. Republicans, although there is a Republican club that has, like, 2 people. I feel like most people are friendly, but there are certain people who have a conceited attitude about their music preferences and dress and refuse to socialize with anyone outside of these tastes. Most students are from Oregon or Northern California. Most people seem to have a lot of money, but still insist on wearing the same clothes everyday.

LC is a very friendly campus. We have many groups including a unisex group and womens center. Although there are very few minorities here, people are welcoming to everyone. My favorite thing about this school as how friendly everyone is. If this wasn't a factor, my happiness of this school would be a lot lower. A majority of the students are from the west coast, mainly the bay area. It seems that a few people don't receive any financial service from the school sophomore year and therefore have to drop out. It doesn't make sense to me why the school stops supporting students, by the do.

Lewis and Clark is one of the Princeton Review's top rated schools where the students regularly deny religion. Although we do have some religious connections (a chapel, religious student groups), there is not a strong religious base. Although Lewis and Clark tries to boost it's "diversity", there is relatively little ethnic diversity or even diversity of political positions. I feel like there is a competition to be the most "green" student, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I also feel that people judge harshly on other students' efforts to be environmentally conscious.

The students here are mostly super liberal. It's rare to meet a republican or a conservative on campus. But I think that's exactly why a lot of students pick LC to begin with. There are quite a few LGBT students on campus (part of this comes from the fact that the guy to girl ratio is like 35:65, so there are a lot of lesbians, or lugs (lesbian until graduation)). I was surprised at the socio-economic diversity here. I thought it would be a lot of wealthy kids. And while there are plenty of those, I was surprised at how many kids are on scholarship, and how many kids are shocked to hear about my socio-economic status (both my parents are private practice doctors, so we're well off). There aren't a lot of jocks, and the few that there are stick out like a sore thumb. But they all hang out with each other. Students are very politically aware and active. They tend to organize and participate in many protests and marches in downtown Portland.

Everyone mixes and mingles. Most people have their set group of friends, but have no problem meeting new people and expanding their social horizons. Everyone's fairly accepting, and we have our share of eccentrics.

Most students at LC are from California or the Pacific Northwest. I don't really think that any student would feel distinctly out of place, though I know that some of the male athletes complain about the rest of the student body. There are a lot of cliques here at LC, and if you don't find one, then I think it would be easy to feel out of place. Students are predominantly left leaning here at LC and a fair number of them are vocal about politics. I'd say it's a fairly active campus and tends to be pretty liberal on most issues. LC has no religious leanings. Students who have strong religious beliefs are definitely outliers, though they're not treated any differently for having them. There's just not much of a network, I suppose.

Lewis and Clark is expensive and this fact is reflected pretty frequently by the student body. While the school tends to attract "trust fund hippies" and disaffected rich hipsters, there are also a lot of international students. However, on the whole, I would say that while they are of varying ethnic backgrounds, regions of the country, sexual orientations, and religious associations (or usually, lack thereof), it would probably be unusual to find somebody whose families don't at least make six figures a year. They are not your average trust fund kids, though. They tend to play it down really well, and unless you already knew, you'd probably never guess.

LC is liberal. We have Barrack rallies on a weekly basis. We have huge multicultural and gender and religious symposiums. Everyone is pretty open.

You will be told that LC is very diverse, which is true to a certain extent. White people definitely dominate the scene, though there are a large number of Asian exchange students and some from other parts of the world as well. If you're lucky, and you have a lot of patience, you may even see an African American person! Most everyone here is pretty well off financially, don't let the raggedy hippies fool you, they are not poor and you shouldn't give them any money. A very preppy student might feel a little out of place here. Most people come to class in torn pants and a T-shirt. There is a fairly high level of interaction between the various student species on campus, but people also like to stick together. If there were 4 tables in the dining hall, they would be the athletes (fairly small table), the nerds (larger table), the neo-hippies (very large table), and the hipsters (equally large table). There are so many freakin' Californians here, its ridiculous. There are also a lot of people from the Northwest. As far as politics go, most people are pretty liberal, but if you look under some rocks, you'll find a republican.

LC is seriously lacking in diversity... racially, politically, religiously; it is all very homogenous. It would be tough to be a conservative, catholic hispanic student here at LC, just because you might feel a bit out of place. But overall, I think students are open and willing to new opinions, and to other cultures. LC is a very left, non-religious, white, politically active, wealthy community.

LC is mainly white people on the upper half of the socio-economic ladder. Students come from educated, well-off backgrounds, which is good but also means very little diversity. People can tend to be very clique-y, especially at mealtimes. Most students tend to make friends with the people in their dorms and often don't ever break out of those cliques. It's hard to meet new people because you see the same people all the time and everyone has perceptions about people they don't know. The social scene can be a lot like high school; because it is so small, everyone knows who is dating who and has pre-formed ideas about what people are like. It's hard to make a fresh start or meet people outside your group of friends because of this. (The cheerleaders can't be friends with the Goth kids)

compared to other schools that we are compared to (reed, evergreen, CC) we are incredibly diverse. Very jocky and people who are too caught up in social heirarchies and looking "cool" don't fit at our school. People who want to get to know people and are down for whatever work much better. most people come from fairly wealthy backgrounds, but it never shows. No one ever flaunts money and it rarely ever comes up. Students are very politically aware and active. Many travel around PCNW for protests. More are very liberal. actually, we are all really liberal. Most students here will not be wealthy themselves later in life. Most people would rather explore more of the world and understand themselves better, settling for a job with a non-profit in nepal over a law intern in california. issue of money and class never talked about.

Students at Lewis and Clark are predominantly Left. Many students are liberal voting members of society. As someone who is different from most of the population, I have come in contact with people who say they are very open to new ideas and different views, but when someone has a different view from their own, they get very defensive and upset about being different. There are some who are moderate and take both sides into consideration and like where they stand, but that number is very small in relation to the number of people who get really upset about people not having the same view as their own.

All international students live in one dorm together, seperated from LC community. This is really stupid of Campus Living to organize it this way because international students can't benefit from as many close relationships as they would if they were integrated with the other students. LC students are also deprived because they do not get to learn the finer subtleties of other cultures. You can wear whatever you want to class and always be confident that someone looks more unkept and ridiculous than you do. No one cares what you wear. Athletes tend to think they run the joint. They are responsible for most of the off-campus parties. Most students are politically and environmentally aware, if not activists. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that everyone is liberal. Students are generally not interested in a lucrative carear, but are more interested in making a nice life forthemselves in general. Students are often interested in unique lifestyles and many of which do not plan to enter the work force directly after college.

A conservative Republican who hated diversity, gay rights, and being green would feel very out of place at LC. There are however groups for pretty much religion and activity. Most students are politically active to some extent and are left wingers. Students wear everything from sweats to skirts and blouses to class. Students don't really talk about making lots of money.

Very accepting of anything not Republican. Extremely vegan and gay friendly. Most students wear outdoorsy clothes. But there is a real mix. You can't put LC in a box. Most people are from Oregon or the bay area. However, there is an extemely diverse international community here as well. I am from New Jersey and I have met so many east-coasters too. My favorite thing about the students here is their active and engaged nature.

I feel pretty out of place here even though i racially fit into the large white majority. Being queer on campus tends to really suck. the community is nonexistent and the small amount of queer kids all seem to have slept with eachother at one point or another. i also am here on a lot of financial aide and i don't feel like most students here understand the value of money and how hard things can be. There are also very very few black or hispanic students. which is awkward coming from Arizona. Most students wear trendy hipster clothes or outdoors clothes (northface etc). Most students seem to be from California or at least the western part of the country. Most students are pretty rich and seem to be a rather hollow left. most students dont talk about money because that isn't "hip."

Being that LC is expensive, and in Oregon, it is definitely a white campus. I know the school is making an attempt to change that, but I can understand if you were hispanic from southern california and came and visited LC how it might make you feel like an outsider. Being from a conservative area in Texas, I was taken aback a bit at how some kids dressed, talked, acted, etc... but it is a great experience to live somewhere different than you are used to and it helped me become more comfortable in who I am. I think most importantly, as long as you are willing to stretch your boundaries, it is rewarding to interact with kids that have different backgrounds, political views and all around lifestyles than yourself, and that is a big part of what college is all about.

I think that most students would fit in at Lewis & Clark. I think just about the only kind of student that may not feel comfortable here is a very conservative one. We are a very liberal student body and also have many very liberal professors who do their best to keep politics out of the classroom, but sometimes it comes up and must be talked about. Admissions is doing everything they can to get the student body more racially diverse and it does not seem to be working. My feeling is that the student body is more geared towards helping others and making the world a better place after they graduate as apposed to making a lot of money.

Lewis and Clark talks about being diverse but the majority of students are rich white students. Almost all the students are liberal and quite a few have forgotten what a shower is since coming to college. The styles are diverse but in that way they are all the same. The students try to dress excentrically but in that way they all blend together. Most of the students are from the Northwest and they all fit that stereotype. Everyone is a relaxed dresser and jeans, a sweatshirt, and converse are the most common dress you see.

Although the student population itself is not very heterogenous, it is very open to any sort of race or religion or socio-economic group. The only type of students who would feel out of place at Lewis and Clark are the ones who do not like small schools. I don't know what the students wear to class! That all depends on the type of person you are, it varies! Different types of students do interact, to a certain extent. I don't quite know what you mean.... I would say that the dining hall is separated into (generally and stereotypically) the different sports team and the people who hang out with them, the "hipster"-type people, and everyone else's groups of friends. Most Lewis and Clark students are from the West (California, Oregon, and Washington). I don't really know what financial backgrounds are most prevalent. There are quite a few students who are very politically aware and active but not all. I'm not, for example. As mentioned earlier, they generally tend to be left.