There were some incredible quotes in Killian’s N&R article on the divide between jocks and hippies at Guilford College. I admit I was surprised at the forthrightness of Aaron Futrow, Guilford’s dean of campus life:
“We are the most tolerant campus in the country,” Fetrow said, “as long as you agree with everyone else.”
Fetrow said the school’s less competitive Division III athletic program tends to draw students from smaller towns where sports are highly valued and politics lean to the right. He said while the campus has some liberal athletes, he thinks there are more conservative students in the athletic program, putting athletes at odds with the average “hippie” Guilford student.
“What nobody wants to say is that we’re intolerant of athletes here,” he said. “But the truth is that it goes deeper than that. A certain segment of the campus is intolerant of the type of person who is an athlete here.”
Sure enough, Guilford student P.J. Arnold backs Futrow’s claim with a statement that further enhances the college’s liberal stereotype:
“A lot of the students … come here because of a certain kind of community. If you come to this school because you think you’re going to be surrounded by people who care about education, who care about the world and want to make a difference, and you end up with more and more people on campus who want to play sports instead, that hurts the campus.”
Doesn’t sound like a fun guy to party with. But based on what I’ve heard about Guilford, I’m sure he really is.
