Lewis & Clark College Top Questions

NO! Yes, there are people who are "hippies," but there are people from everywhere, and everyone is different. A true statement about the LC community is that everyone is laid back. Everyone fits in at LC because we attract open-minded, laid back, inclusive people from all over the world.

Somewhat. There are more types of students such as ones who are really focused on studying, those who party a lot, and some in the middle.

I don't think any stereotype can describe L&C students. L&C attracts a diverse group of students. Within its small student body you see just about every kind of person so I would say that these kinds of people do exist, but no, it does not describe L&C students in general.

While there are people who smoke (like there are at every campus) this definitely isn't true. One of my favorite things about LC is the diversity of experience all of my classmates have. There is no way you can classify all LC students or even the majority of them into some sort of stereotype.

no.

Somewhat. I felt like there were two distinct groups. First, the Dungeons & Dragons/ World of Warcraft type guys. I was actually surprised at new student orientation to see what a large group of D&D kids were there. They are all very nice, and always seem to have something to do. The second group are hippie but faux hippie, like designer hippie. People who have a lot of money and pay a lot of money to look like a hippie. I also got the feeling that some people could get away with more because they had money. I can't even count how many times I heard students complaining about something and say "Well, I'll just call my mother and have her complain to the dean" or "I'll just get my parents to donate a bunch of money, and this write up won't even go in my school record." Not everyone is like this but I met more of them in a semester than I ever wanted to meet in my life.

Truth is there is a huge community of students that wish they were living in the 60's. However, there are plenty of students who do other things and everyone seems to get a long really well. There is not much of a division between students. Lewis and Clark provides rigorous academics as well and everyone is focused on school no matter what other activities they enjoy in their free time.

A couple. Of course any school that's as expensive as Lewis & Clark is going to have a lot of kids with money there, so the rich/semi-spoiled rumors are true in some cases (more the "rich" than the "spoiled"). There are a lot of hippie-ish kids around for sure, so that one's also true.

Snobs

I find this stereotype to be less accurate as the years progress and new generation are ushered into the oasis on Palatine Hill, affectionately known to those who bare the Orange and Black as L&C. Sure, there are some hippies still in my grade, but that makes them all the more special and remarkable.

Yeah, a lot of people have dreadlocks, or have one or two little ones in their hair, and Birkenstocks are nice and easy to take off, weed is fantastic for conversations, and roly papers are always a quick find. There were more than just a few Fulbright scholars this year, and the curriculum is somewhat rigorous, again-when you look for it, that is.

to an extent since it's a very liberal campus, but I don't agree that you're either an athlete or a hippie, as some seem to feel the school is.

Well sort of. There's all kinds of people here though

My assessment of the aforementioned stereotypes: hippy/pot-head: You will certainly see hippy-like appearance and hippy-like behavior from a small number of students just about everyday; pot has a much smaller presence here than I expected; cigarettes, however, has a bigger presence than I imagined; other drugs can be found without too much effort (if one so desires). On the other hand, if you are annoyed by all things drug related, you can effortlessly turn a blind eye and pretend it doesn't exist (by 'it', I mean the harder drugs aside from marijuana). Liberal arts "bubble world": LC's geographical location certainly feeds that stereotype. It is situated in a quiet and peaceful forest like environment, in a wealthy part of southern Portland. If awesome natural scenery fits well with your study style, this is a serious plus. LC has, for the most part, a beautiful campus, especially during the summer. Wealth of the student body: There are no shortage of well-to-do upper-middle class students attending LC, but there are also plenty of lower income students as well. A large majority of the student body receives some kind of need-based financial aid from one source or another. Like every other student body, you'll find people who work part/full time to (barely) make ends meet. In my opinion, what perpetuates this (largely inaccurate) stereotype of a wealthy student body is the high cost of the school. The total cost for one school year could easily exceed $40,000: $30K tuition, ~$8K room & board, ~$500-$1000 books, ~$1000-2000 misc. fees, supplies, transportation/logistics, entertainment expenditures, etc. This certainly leans towards the high end as far as college education costs are concerned. Political orientation: Yes, as stereotyped, LC is overwhelmingly liberal. You can find EVERY liberal stereotype here: anti-globalization activists, extreme feminists, tiny grass-roots anti-establishment student organizations/clubs, over-zealous human rights activists, anti-war activists, socialists, idealistic philosophers, NGO volunteers, etc. However, at one point, I heard a professor comment that while there is certainly a strict adherence to the liberal/left wing ideology, it rarely translates into meaningful action. I hardly hear ANY sort of conservative leaning view points expressed on campus. I consider myself liberal leaning (especially on social issues), but sometimes LC leans too far even for my tastes. LC Academics: There are quite a few students at LC who have been awarded prestigious scholarships and fellowships at LC (i.e. Fulbright & Truman scholars). Plenty of students apply for and receive grants of all types to conduct independent research on a wide array of subjects from biology to international affairs. At the end of every semester, one would often see students who are practically living at the library (which is open practically 24/7), preparing for final projects/papers/exams. In short, there is no lack of academic rigor at LC.

Yes, to a degree. While the overwhelming majority of students are indeed white hippies, there are a lot of people here who do not come from wealthy backgrounds. There is even a small contingent of Republicans on campus. There are also several Christian groups on campus; however, many generally are annoyed with how Christianity is singled out as a terrible religion.

No. Lewis and Clark does not always help their students. They are more concerned with bringing money into the college than helping students adn keeping their promises. They are not willing to work with students to resolve issues on transferable questions. They try to take advantage of students, by making power plays and not giving students any options. They tell you what you want to hear, but don't fufill those promises. They use their positions of power to take advantage of students.

Somewhat, I think maybe a quarter of the class is actually like this. Although the more moderate people seem to hide so it can be hard to find them.

As is true at any school there are always people who will live up to the stereotypes, but I would say that for the most part people are showered and not under the influence of some substance.

It does seem like there are a lot of people who smoke pot-- you can often smell weed just walking around the school during the day. And on 4/20 there was a hundred people smoking pot outside in the daytime, while our campus security sat and watched. But, there's a substance free dorm, and you can find people who don't smoke pot all the time or at all. There do seem to be a lot of hippies, but people have recently been complaining that it's becoming more "preppie". I'm ok with that, because the hippies are trustafarians and I find them kind of annoying.

Partly, but people usually grow out of them by junior or senior year. Although many people smoke pot, everyone isn't consumed by it.

Yes, they are, to a degree. There are some "hippies'"--meaning kids with parents who are able to send them to a private liberal arts college and pay for their new Subarus and Priuses, but who continue to dress and smell like they have been living in the back woods for 3 years. There are also an abundance of preppy/jock types who sometimes clash with those who find themselves eco-groovy.

Not everyone here is a hippie. There are a fair amount of hippies and hipsters, and yeah, a lot of people smoke pot, but not everybody. I was actually surprised at the results of an on campus survey about marijuana: a lot less people smoke it than I thought. It's just that those who do smoke it do it a lot.

Yes. Emphasis on the hippy-stoner-academics

To a degree. There are plenty of kids who don't fit that mold, and the school's sorta polarized. The athletes tend to stay away from the hippies and there's a bit of a weird divide. Though the more recent classes tend to fit the hippie mold less.

While I am not going to deny that the student body on the whole is fairly liberal, I don't think I would call most of the students "hippies". On the whole, students are creative, motivated, and driven, even if they are a little idealistic at times, it is well intentioned.

Well, sometimes. It depends on what you consider a hippie.

No, but they seem to be at a glance.

Yes, in many ways. Although, I have found a lot of people outside this description

Yes, plus additional aspects. There are a lot of upper class people at LC, some of whom maintain that preppy elitist attitude, and some who try and adapt to Portland's liberal atmosphere and become hipsters or hippies. I can't tell you how many LC kids decide to grow dreads after their freshman year, yet they still drive around in their parents' Audi.

Yes, those people do attend LC, but not everyone fits into those categories. I like that most of my friends here are more educated than people back home and that we can have intelligent discussions but also have fun. There are plenty of snobby, stuck up rich kids from private schools, and plenty of smelly hippies who don't shower and sleep in hammocks, but there are also tons of people in between.

on a pretty general level, yes, there is alot of pot and most people are not in any real financial trouble

Not all students are hippies and there is less drug use than is thought. There are very few students who actually do drugs and do them on a regular basis. Student-athletes do NOT get preferential treatment. If anything, professors are much harder on student-athletes and aren't as forgiving. There is no promise of a good job right out of college.

1. True 2. False

To an extent. It definitely has a more liberal, hippie vibe but not to the extreme that people think. There is a nice variety and I really like it.

Not at all. I do not consider myself a hippie in any way. Most of the people at LC are not hippies either.

Unfortunately, LC is about 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} white. But, LC gives great financial aid, I know first hand.

Alarmingly so. In recent years the school has lost its real hippy atmosphere and has been replaced. We still smoke a lot of pot but i wouldn't want to get high with any of these underclassmen because they are way lame.

it's definitely an authentic extreme that exists on campus, and if that bothers you a great deal, come check it out. maybe you'll dig it. at first that sort of disgusted me--that people could walk around living in such a major haze and not do anything about it. sometimes that still bothers me--the greater amount of lc students are not DOers. but they are also not what we'd call big USers.

to an extent...it is a liberal arts school in Portland (which is a liberal city) so LC is bound to attract a certain type of student, but I think the stereotype is fairly overblown as the majority of kids at LC are pretty normal college kids, there is just an outspoken few that get more noticed and therefore people think that is how all LC students are

I would say this is not true at all. In my four years at LC I have hardly been exposed to pot and I had lots more friends in high school who smoked all the time in comparison to my friends here. As far as being a bunch of hippies, I think that we do have a large population of hippies, but by no means is our school all hippies. I think we have a pretty good mix of different kinds of people.

plenty of LC kids do relatively minor drugs such as pot and mushrooms but the administration sees this as a much greater problem and detriment to our community than it is.

For the most part, yes. The students are Lewis and Clark are separated and do care to socialize unless there is pot or alcohol involved. There are diverse students, but for the most part you will find the stereotypical Northwestern college student.

There are a lot of hippies, but there is a mixture of everything here. Also not everyone (but a lot) of people do weed. This is also a very serious school where people take their studies mildly serious. Everyone has a pretty good time.

While there is definitely a vocal "hippie" population, that does not, I feel, represent the majority of the student body. Although the general sentiment on campus does tend towards liberalism, there is still political variety.

Sort of. It isn't a homogenous student body. There are more people wearing birkenstocks and fewer wearing flip-flops here than you would find at the University of Texas, for example. And its less cloves than just regular old cigarettes that people smoke. The majority of students are some form of liberal, though libertarianism is not completely unheard of. Our school's chapel is used more for concerts or speeches than actual church, so I would agree that religion isn't widespread. I think the stereotype used to be more true five years ago than it is now.

1. most kids don't really "look" like hippies -- most students take care of personal hygiene and not very many have dreads and wear birks. A lot of students are 420 friendly, but if you're not, you won't be a total social outcast or anything. 2. this is scarily true. Very few students on campus identify as Republican or any other right-wing label. Those who do tend to be treated with disdain and incredulity by other students, and will find that LC students' "open-mindedness" extends to people who are similarly "open-minded." If you're a right-winger, you'll need to be really secure and comfortable with yourself, because you'll probably take a lot of shit for it. 3. while most students are agnostic or atheistic, many students identify with some form of religion. There are a surprising number of UUs, Jews, and Buddhists. A lot of kids get into meditation and Eastern philosophy type stuff. For the most part, students will respect your religious beliefs as long as you're tolerant of the same things they are. In other words, as long as you're politically liberal, you can be just about any religion you want, although kids may be a bit surprised to find out that you're Catholic but think gay marriage and abortion are fundamental human rights.

We definitely have people that dress like 'hippies' but if you really think they are legitimate or not... it's your call.

slightly but not completely

While these stereotypes apply to some people, they definitely don't apply to all. Most people here could be considered liberal but that does not make them hippies. Lots of people smoke weed but there are also a lot of jocks. Teams and organized sports aren't as popular as individualized sports, like running, swimming, snowboarding, hiking, etc.