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I graduated from Reed yesterday with my second master's degree. Prior to my time at Reed I taught at two different community colleges, a state school, and attended a large state school. The difference between these places and Reed is: 1. The quality of the students. Reed has some of the most driven, most intelligent, most engaging students I have ever met and 2. A policy of honesty and openness rarely found in any institution. While I agree that drug and alcohol use among all college students is frightening, the reason Reed is in the spotlight is because they allowed people on and off campus to interview and comment on this boy's death rather than hushing it up or ignoring it like so many other schools (that have strict, legal rules about these problems) I have seen. It is a shame, however, that Reed is in the news for this and not for the outstanding education it gives. As a school of roughly 1000 students it has one of the highest PhD matriculation rates, students receive Fulbrights and Rhodes awards every year. Before you condemn the "hippies" at Reed, think about what your undergrdauate expeince was like.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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