I’ve visited a lot of campuses this Fall and I’ve generally been impressed with most of the places I’ve visited. But I’ve got to say the gang at Wabash were special. It’s only one of three all-male colleges left in the country. And I have to say I think the country would be better served if there were more. Maybe because there are no women around the competitive nature of men gets focused more towards academics and argumentation. But I just found the kids to be more engaged and sharper than on many campuses with a higher national profile. Don’t get me wrong, there were some real oddballs too. But all in all I was very impressed.

Some other interesting tidbits. They have a very laidback attitude towards alcohol on campus, which runs absolutely contrary to national trends. They probably can get away with it because with no women around (and not that many places to drive to) the fear of date rape is much less. Relatedly, the kids insist that women get treated very well at Wabash when they visit (their Shelbyville-like rival is DePauw University from whom they claim to poach womenfolk) because they know that if Wabash gets a bad wrap with the ladies its curtains for everybody. Oh, and they say they have the longest school song in America.