Mark a survey and Inform Staff

Peer Review:

Statistical Analyzer:

My experience at Kalamazoo College was not entirely bad; I met some great people and the love of my life, but let me make something clear: this school is not for you if you are mentally ill, disabled, or anything but extremely liberal.

The Disability Services is a disaster, to the point where I was told that my neurological disorder was not a disability, despite being medicated for it and it making me miss weeks of my class at a time. Not to mention that the school is on a hill, so if you use any assistive devices, look somewhere else. I even had one class where the professor basically told me that my disability was invalid and that I should have told her when I was in pain (even though that's literally every moment). I had a friend who lost points because she took her seizing boyfriend to the hospital, a friend who was accused of cheating because of her anxiety disorder, and the list goes on. This school has a major problem with its disabled students, and the intense coursework makes that even worse.

The other side of the coin is that the school is so politically one-sided. The school is so liberal that simply not knowing correct terminology will lead you to being immediately "called out" by people. The student body has a righteousness complex, and expects everyone to have the same passions as they do, and if you don't, you're considered a homophobic, ableist, sexist, etc. person (I've been called homophobic for saying gay culture even existed, and I am gay!). I wouldn't recommend this school to anyone even close to conservative. And this is coming from a very liberal, disabled, mentally ill LGBT woman.

On the flip side, if you are oppressed in some way, this college can be your safe space. LGBT students are absolutely accepted, to the degree where I felt no shame at my sexuality, and professors will respect they/them pronouns. Compared to my high school, this college is comparatively a lot nicer to students of color as well, though there is still a lot of work to be done with that. Casual -ist and -phobic remarks are not taken lightly at this school, and make of that as you will.

Overall, I don't know what to say about this school. It's intense, but it works for some people. If you're looking into getting into activism in college, this might be the place for you. Just realize that your ideas will be put to the test, and this might not be in a comfortable, understanding way.