People's Republic of Madison
Written: Dec 22 '99 (Updated Jan 15 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent school
Cons: Very interesting student body
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| poseidon's Full Review: University of Wisconsin-Madison |
Disclaimer: The following is a huge bitch-fest and a very, very long post. I am writing this to prospective students considering attending UW-Madison. It is a fantastic school, however, you have to be a very special person to put up with the rest of the student body there.
Please, when you rate this opinion, if you disagree, add that disagreement to the comments. Thank you.
Don't get me wrong. I think UW-Madison is one of the finest public universities in the entire country, and my opinion is backed up by several resources that rate colleges nationally.
The problem is, I didn't fit in.
It wasn't that I am not nice, or that there's something wrong with me, or that I am not smart, funny (I could go on and on -- haha!).
The problem is I'm white.
The problem is I'm male.
The problem is I'm straight.
The problem is I don't drink to excess.
The problem is I don't get high.
The problem is I'm conservative.
The problem is I'm a Christian.
With all these strikes against me, it was very difficult to co-exist with everyone else on campus. Yes, I had friends, and yes, I got along. The problem was I was always being protested against for something. However, with 30,000+ students, that's probably got to be expected.
UW-Madison has the most left-wing student body in the nation. Sorry, Berkeley, you can't touch this. Hey Boulder? I live 45 minutes from you, and Madison makes you look like the Republican Congressional cloakroom.
Madison is its own little world. Ten short years ago, when I graduated, almost the entire student body is from Wisconsin. They've never left the state. Madison, population of less than 100,000, is the "big city" to most of these kids. They have no concept of what the real world is like.
Take into account the almost daily marches down State Street. I am not exaggerating here. These kids spend most of their time protesting something. They march from the bookstore, at one end of State Street, to the capitol building, which is at the opposite end of State Street.
In my junior year, I asked my roommate why he engaged in this silly overture. He said he is making a difference. I tried, unsuccessfully, to explain that if you march daily, pretty soon no one would take you seriously. He disagreed. So do many of the students there.
There was, in 1990, a huge amount of bigotry on campus. It went every direction. People hated Jews, Arabs, Christians, whites, blacks, Asians, the Amish, and especially anyone from Illinois. I certainly experienced my share of racism. I'm honestly hoping that's the first aspect of the college that they've changed.
I was constantly yelled at by ultra-feminists for being anti-female. I'm not sure where this notion came from, aside from the fact that I was a male. Thankfully, most of the women that knew me thought otherwise. I got an entire speech from a woman who chewed me (and every other male in the cafeteria) out because she shouldn't have to shave her legs to get a date. Interesting notion. I thought running a razor blade down her legs a few times could better channel a lot of that energy, as well as solve whatever interpersonal relationship problems she was experiencing.
I had to undergo "re-education" in my senior year because I turned down an offer of a date from another guy. I told him I wasn't interested in dating men. Apparently, I discovered Donna Shalala (yes, the same Donna Shalala in Bill Clinton's cabinet), our chancellor at the time, invoked a rule stating if you were deemed to be homophobic, you needed to take a special six-hour class. I wasn't aware that turning down a homosexual for a date would make me homophobic, but I was in error.
I was told how hateful I was because I was a Christian. I don't preach hate. In fact, I don't preach at all. I go to church on Sundays, and if someone asks me about my faith, I'm happy to share it. I don't condemn others, and I try very hard not to be judgmental. However, since I am a Christian, I was deemed intolerant. Funny how the ones chewing me out were the tolerant ones.
I didn't do drinking binges. Yes, I realize drinking goes hand-in-hand with kids on their own for the first time. However, many of the people in my dorm drank to excess. Getting drunk was an extra-curricular activity. Drugs were also running rampant throughout the residence halls.
I was told my political views were moronic, mean-spirited (they founded that word before Clinton did, but Al Gore will most likely say he invented it!), and wrong. I should have been supporting gay rights, animal rights, drug rights, civil rights, environmental rights, women's rights, womyn's rights (gotta get that one in!), and a multitude of everyone's rights except my own.
In conclusion, I would say go to Madison for the academic program. Unless you head to an ivy-league school, you're not getting a better education. However, be prepared for culture shock, and be prepared to be on someone's bad side just for being you.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
poseidon
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Jeffrey Schwartz
Location: Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA
Reviews written: 511
Trusted by: 1100 members
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