Macalester College Top Questions

What is the stereotype of students at your school?

Charlie

Liberal, preppy, nerdy, P.C.

Kevin

That if they are not an international student they are a white midwesterner They are all non-attractive Everyone is very liberal and into the political scene It gets very cold in Minnesota You get to know everyone because the school is so small

Alex

Macalester is just a school for extrememly intelligent individuals who have no social life.

Alessandra

I suppose the stereotype is very liberal politically and socially and very environmentally concious. They dress hip and love small discussion groups.

Terry

Rich, White, Hippy, Yuppy, Multicultural

Royce

A few of the stereotypes are that we're full of pot-head hippies and an almost impossibly friendly LGBT community. The schools in the area around us tend to think of us as elitist snobs, while the more conservative liberal arts schools elsewhere seem to think of us as illegitimate successes. Mac is supposedly the place to go for those craving diversity and an engaging liberal student body with progressive world views; a place for quirky kids and those who want to make a real, lasting difference on some part of the world. Mac is for movers and shakers - it's a liberal arts school, and things like econ and the hard sciences aren't as important here as they are at universities. There are tons more, but I'm sure others will have covered them more adequately.

Nico

That people don't shower in order to save water. There are the "Mac Goggles," which means that while you're at Mac, since everyone is so ugly, you think someone slightly "normal" looking is cute even though if you were at an other school or around more attractive people in general, you might not think that person was very attractive. Everyone has their wordly experience, like helping build houses in Rwanda.

Parker

Treehugging potsmoking liberal freaks who wear sweatpants all the livelong day. The female stereotype is that they are ugly.

Ali

students are strange and socially awkward

Zach

Other students and the community view Macalester students as super-radical, liberal yuppies trying to change the world. Macalester has a reputation as the place where religion comes to die, where conservative people could never fit in. People also consider Mac one of the most gay-friendly communities anywhere, and consider Mac students politically active, and engaged in the community.

Jeff

The only stereotype I can think of is one that all extremely liberal liberal arts colleges share. The students are crazy liberal and obsessed with political correctness.

Gene

Everything is international/internationalism based. Everyone has a "thing," a cause, like environmentalism, immigrants issues, Democratic Party... something and that becomes your identity and has major social/academic implications from day one to graduation.

Julianna

Macalester is overwhelmingly liberal. Also, the Macalester administration spends a lot of time and effort talking about internationalism and global citizenship. Macalester students tend to be kids who did very well in high school without having to do very much work (which of course changes when they get to college...!)

Alex

Macalester students have the reputation of being very free minded and deeply involved in political issues. Within this reputation, Macalester students are thought of as being anti-corporate, anti-establishment advocates who can be radical at times. Macalester students are also respected for being at an intense school like Macalester.

Luke

That we are ugly, dirty hippies

Ash

We are global citizens and we rescue all the homosexuals of the world.

Candace

That everyone is completely liberal. We like to play bagpipes. We spend all of our time studying. There are no boys on campus

Casey

A lot of people are not familiar with Macalester, but some people probably believe that only wealthy kids can afford to go there. Also, partly because Macalester and various college review boards plays up the fact that there is a large international student population, I think some people perceive the student population to be more diverse than it actually is. Finally, through chanting phrases such as "Drink blood, smoke crack, worship satan, go Mac," at football games, the students have gained a reputation of being radical,atheistic, drug-abusing hippies.

Tate

That we are a all super-liberal hippies who smoke pot all the time.

Robin

we all smoke pot, are gay, vote democrat, and are ugly.

Casey

Macalester is generally considered to be an exceptionally liberal school full of activists.

Julia

That students are ugly, dirty, hippie, dorky, not athletic, ultra liberal.

Hannah

very liberal, potsmoking, white, upper middle class, think they're worldly,

Molly

Socially awkward Tree-hugging Hippies Politically leftist or radical Nerds International Many identify as LGBT/Q

Charlie

We are way too liberal and out of control =)

Emily

That they are hippies, stoners, activists, and rich kids from the East coast.

Caley

Macalester is often stereotyped as that "weird, liberal pot-smoking school" by kids who don´t go there and as a real chill place by those who do.

Holly

Macalester is filled with hippies.

Vick

Everyone is extremely liberal. There are a lot of hippies.

Greg

Liberal hippies who are stoned all the time.

Emily

Mac has a reputation for being really liberal.

Anastasia

A bunch a dirty hippies!! Awkward, but damn smart!

Amanda

Hippies, nerdy, international

Cameron

There is so little consistency with Macalester steriotypes, which perhaps speaks to how diverse the student body truly is. Some of my favorite steriotypes: High school history teacher: "I bet if you go there you'll come back with green hair and tattoos". High school friend: "You have to be from the Middle East or India to go there" Family I babysit for: "That's a good school, you must be really smart, I hope my kids get in" Somali immigrant I tutor: "That's where Kofi Annan went!" My guidance counselor: "Macalester...where is that?" But the more common (and more accurate) stereotype is that Macalester is an academically strong school that attracts a lot of international students and is often overlooked.

Emily

That we are extremely liberal, gay and hippies.

Casey

all talk and no action in terms of politics and social works

Jesse

They are activists and sometimes pretentious.

Keith

Macalester's stereotypes depend on who you talk to. Probably all the social conservatives would say Macalester's students are all a bunch of pot-smoking, Earth-worshipping, tree-hugging, peace-loving hippies. A lot of notable alumni or even high school teachers who have actually heard of the school would probably tell you Macalester students are hard-working, book-reading, no-social-life-having nerds. I think, also, Macalester has a reputation for being the "quirky," prestigious college.

Alex

The stereotype is probably that we are all hippies, homosexual, kind of weird.

Kelly

That we are all vegetarians, that we are well-meaning upper class European American kids, that we are sheltered, that we are always politically correct, that we are strange and awkward.

Liz

Macalester students are supposedly very liberal, very studious, and very nerdy.

Jody

I think that the main stereotype is that Macalester students are hippies and to the farthest degree of "left" that one can be.

Sarah

We're tree-hugging Birkenstock wearing liberals.

Carl

Hippie kids, extremely liberal, internationalism

Andy

Akward, rich and nerds, party hard

Marissa

Pot-smoking, liberal, hippies that dance around their hookas in the late-night hours discussing politics and racial issues. Either that, or socially inept and sexually frustrated dorks who play Magik the Gathering and frequently quote Star Wars.

Andi

Liberal, pot-smoking hippies. Average Mac student is either a midwesterner, a wealthy West/East coaster, or a wealthy international student. We are also considered the most queer-friendly campus in the US, which I have generally found to be true. There is also a HUGE Jewish population on campus who organize tons of events and even have a residential area called the "Hebrew House" or "HeHo." Oh, and we are AWFUL at sports.

Mark

I'd say that an "internal stereotype" of the school (one that is held by people within the community) is that Macalester aims for a progressive image, but in practice is not as forward-thinking, or does not match its "facade" of multiculturalism, equal-opportunity to education, environmental responsibility, etc. This stereotype is mostly propagated by students to characterize the apathy or inaction of the administration or professors, though it can also be applied by students to the rest of the student body.

Jeremy

This is a very liberal school, full of hippies.

Cody

We're all left-wing, politically active, smarty-pants protesters, hippies, and hipsters.