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From Bloomingdale's to Bloomington
WSJ ^ | September 5, 2008 | HANNAH KARP

Posted on 09/09/2008 7:17:08 PM PDT by oblomov

The nation's largest freshman class in history is moving into college dorms, hanging posters, meeting roommates and learning fight songs. In Indiana University's Assembly Hall last Friday, a remarkably large chorus hailing from private high schools in the Northeast was singing the school's ode to the "Cream and Crimson" in a pronounced New York accent.

Freshman Jess Berne, from New York's Westchester County, crosses the Indiana University campus. It's a striking byproduct of one of the most competitive college admissions sessions ever -- an influx of East Coast prep-school students in Indiana. Indiana University welcomed about 260 students from the greater New York City area to the limestone lecture halls on its lush, leafy campus last week, up 12.5% from last year. Another 175 came from New Jersey, up 25% from 2007, and 50 hail from Connecticut. While the numbers of students matriculating from in-state and other parts of the country are steadily increasing as well -- the school had some 500 more students accept admission offers than it had planned for -- the last three years have been marked by unprecedented growth from the Northeast.

As students arrived in the quaint college town last week, there was some low-key clashing of cultures. "It almost feels like something's not right here. Everyone's just so friendly," said Steven Glassman, a 46-year-old attorney from East Hanover, N.J., after kissing his son, Jason, goodbye last Thursday. Mr. Glassman and his wife say the school is "hot" on the East Coast right now -- especially among aspiring business students -- but will still be a healthy transition for their son, "coming from a city of mean rotten people who will run you over without thinking about it."

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; US: Indiana
KEYWORDS: academia; cultureshock; wasp
Having gone to graduate school at IU, I would say that Bloomington is the most left-wing town in Indiana, and perhaps even the Midwest after Madison, WI and Ann Arbor, MI. Nonetheless, conservatives had an active subculture there. The conservative activist Balint Vaszonyi ran for mayor. Though he lost, I met a lot of people on the campaign of the paleocon and traditionalist conservative variety. Also, the two largest used bookstores were owned by a libertarian and a conservative. Nearby is Bean Blossom, IN, home of the annual jazz music and bluegrass music festivals. The town is full of agrarian conservatives- "crunchy cons" in the term of Rod Dreher, or "reactionary radicals" to use Bill Kauffman's description.

Also, I had a professor who fought in the Hungarian resistance who was also close friends with Vaszonyi. He was a staunch anti-socialist, and I loved talking politics with him and a handful of European right-wingers that were in my graduate program.

I loved my time in Bloomington. Perhaps these New York prep school kids will have a conservative awakening similar to the one I experienced there.

1 posted on 09/09/2008 7:17:09 PM PDT by oblomov
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To: oblomov
IU is the "alternative" university for folks with roots in the Balkans ~ that's where I first met Serbs, Croats, Montenegrans, Bosniaks, etc. And, due to early Hungarian immigrants, the state has always been quite open to vowel challenged Eastern Europeans anyway.

Guys from the East Coast, in that light, ain't no thang!

Of note, up until last year IU was the only place in North America where you could study any of the Sa'ami (Lapplander languages). Noticed a lady now teaches something about them at Ohio State.

There are over 25 schools in Europe that teach something of these languages.

Then there are the (this is not a joke) the other 180 languages currently available to study there. I think you need them to run libraries or something, or maybe it's the Air Force intelligence program. If you are really into studying languages, this is your place.

2 posted on 09/09/2008 7:35:27 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah

Also, the Dalai Lama’s brother was a professor there, teaching Altaic language studies (he and his wife still live there and own/operate two Tibetan restaurants).


3 posted on 09/09/2008 7:58:30 PM PDT by oblomov
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To: muawiyah

When were you there, if you don’t mind me asking? I was there from 1989 - 1993.


4 posted on 09/09/2008 8:00:40 PM PDT by oblomov
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To: muawiyah

I both went to school and worked at IU and had a great experience. I’ve visited hundreds of college campuses and there are few any more beautiful than IU.

Myles Brand did his best to ruin the school, and I will forever have a difficult time fully moving past the Bob Knight firing, but it’s a special place. I loved the comment about people being more optimistic there. Yes, while a liberal campus, there is a strong undercurrent of good, conservative Midwestern values.


5 posted on 09/09/2008 8:03:41 PM PDT by cdga5for4
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To: oblomov

I know this wasn’t addressed to me but I was there from 89-93 as well.


6 posted on 09/09/2008 8:05:10 PM PDT by cdga5for4
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To: oblomov

I was there from ‘69 through ‘71.


7 posted on 09/09/2008 8:09:35 PM PDT by reg45
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To: oblomov

Been here since 87. Best steaks in the world at Little Zagrebs, and Billie Joel agree.


8 posted on 09/09/2008 8:14:27 PM PDT by Always Right (Obama: more arrogant than Bill Clinton, more naive than Jimmy Carter, and more liberal than LBJ.)
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To: cdga5for4
there are few any more beautiful than IU

Absolutely true. Is the Music School still as good as it was? The student opera company and the symphony orchestra were as good as many professional organizations.

9 posted on 09/09/2008 8:15:56 PM PDT by reg45
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To: Always Right

I love Little Zagreb. Also I like the Uptown Cafe and the Snow Lion. And Le Petit Cafe was good, too. The owner there was a conservative who would bemoan the decline of France into socialism.


10 posted on 09/09/2008 8:20:41 PM PDT by oblomov
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To: oblomov
Big story at IU a couple of years ago when the college Republicans had a bake sale with prices based on racial quotas.

It was hilarious seeing the lefties throw hissy fits over it.

Several of the CRs posted on FR at that time.

11 posted on 09/09/2008 8:27:00 PM PDT by sausageseller (http://coolblue.typepad.com/the_cool_blue_blog/)
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To: oblomov
"Also, the Dalai Lama’s brother was a professor there, teaching Altaic language studies (he and his wife still live there and own/operate two Tibetan restaurants)."

Are they still open? I remember one was the Snow Lion. It was great. I'd never tried Tibetan food before

12 posted on 09/09/2008 8:41:04 PM PDT by boop (Democracy is the theory that the people get the government they deserve, good and hard.)
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To: boop

I was there this last Spring, and it appeared that both of them were still open.


13 posted on 09/09/2008 8:44:04 PM PDT by oblomov
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To: sausageseller

Also, R. Emmett Tyrell founded The American Spectator in Bloomington. He lived across the street from some friends I had there (they said he acted like a jerk). He moved the magazine to the DC suburbs sometime in the early 80s.


14 posted on 09/09/2008 8:49:30 PM PDT by oblomov
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To: reg45

Yes, the music school is still outstanding. It is almost always mentioned among the top three with Juliard and Eastman. My wife has her doctorate from the IU Jacobs School of Music.


15 posted on 09/09/2008 9:54:08 PM PDT by cdga5for4
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To: cdga5for4

Hopefully over the next dozen years the dregs of the English department who decided Bobby Knight should be fired will, themselves, be removed. Fur Shur their budget is being shifted over to Uralic-Altaic studies~


16 posted on 09/10/2008 4:26:19 PM PDT by muawiyah
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