Seattle Pacific University... (best cities, chapel, dorms)

[canudigit]

Would you consider it to be liberal or conservative for a Christian university, and what specifically would you base your opinion on?

Thanks.

[Vinylly]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Would you consider it to be liberal or conservative for a Christian university, and what specifically would you base your opinion on?

Thanks.

For a Catholic University, I would consider it very liberal. The reason I think it is, is because we attended a Midnight Mass in their chapel once. I was shocked at the sermon given by a 'female' priest. It was way beyond the pale of any humanistic anti-christian protestant minister I have ever heard. It's definitly not Catholic, only the shallow ritual resembled anything Catholic.
Other then that, as far as academics is concerned, it's considered a very fine University.

[canudigit]

Umm...well, Seattle Pacific isn't a Catholic university. Here is a link to their statement of faith. If you scroll down to point #3, you will see that SPU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, which is a Bible-based, evangelical Protestant denomination:

Statement of Faith - Seattle Pacific University

Perhaps you have it confused with another university in the Seattle area that is Catholic but not compliant? The Free Methodist Church doesn't have priests of either gender (they have pastors), so I'm SMH about a priest giving a sermon at SPU, or of them even holding a mass at all, as opposed to a Protestant church service.

[Ira500]

I'd say SPU is thought of as conservative. Earlier this year, a group of students who were lesbian and gay tried to get their organized recognized by the school, and a bit of controversy ensued. The school refused to recognize them, and homosexuality is banned amongst the student body. But a fairly large contingent of graduates came out in support of this group, as did a large group of faculty members. So the students and faculty may me more liberal than the administration.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by Vinylly

For a Catholic University, I would consider it very liberal. The reason I think it is, is because we attended a Midnight Mass in their chapel once. I was shocked at the sermon given by a 'female' priest. It was way beyond the pale of any humanistic anti-christian protestant minister I have ever heard. It's definitly not Catholic, only the shallow ritual resembled anything Catholic.
Other then that, as far as academics is concerned, it's considered a very fine University.

... Are you thinking of Seattle U? That is a Jesuit Catholic University. Definitely a very fine University.



One thing that I do remember of SPU was that they have (or had?) some sort of "contract" that the students were suppose to sign, basically promising good moral behavior (like not having kids out of wedlock, being married for sexual relations, et. c). I remember rolling my eyes and glazing over SPU because I wasn't really sure what to make of it and how it affects the student body.

[Vinylly]

Originally Posted by canudigit

Umm...well, Seattle Pacific isn't a Catholic university. Here is a link to their statement of faith. If you scroll down to point #3, you will see that SPU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, which is a Bible-based, evangelical Protestant denomination:

Statement of Faith - Seattle Pacific University

Perhaps you have it confused with another university in the Seattle area that is Catholic but not compliant? The Free Methodist Church doesn't have priests of either gender (they have pastors), so I'm SMH about a priest giving a sermon at SPU, or of them even holding a mass at all, as opposed to a Protestant church service.

Sorry, I screwed up, I was thinking of Seattle University, which is in my neighborhood.
My daughter went to Seattle Pacific, so I know all about that college as well. Both good Universities, but Seattle University is more liberal while Seattle Pacific is quite conservative. Specially when it comes to personal conduct while attending there.

[Bill Loney]

Originally Posted by Vinylly

Sorry, I screwed up, I was thinking of Seattle University, which is in my neighborhood.
My daughter went to Seattle Pacific, so I know all about that college as well. Both good Universities, but Seattle University is more liberal while Seattle Pacific is quite conservative. Specially when it comes to personal conduct while attending there.

Seattle University is more liberal than SPU. Take that to the bank. But it's still very clearly a Catholic University. They frown on partying in the dorms. My daughter is there now. It's a terrific school. small class sizes. The Jesuits stress critical thinking as the unifying single goal to each discipline. In other words, the material is great, but how does one apply it in the real world.

[canudigit]

Thanks for all of your responses. Our daughter is considering SPU as one of her "final four" college choices, so I was wondering what to expect. You can ask the staff at the university themselves, but you know how that can be, they will sometimes tell you what they think you want to hear, as opposed to how things really are.

We live in Michigan, so for our daughter to be as far away as Seattle for the first time in her life, I really like the idea of a school that has strict standards of behavior for its student body. She doesn't party at all and has taken it upon herself to adopt an extremely healthy lifestyle that includes daily runs and a strict vegan diet, so for a kid who won't even drink pop (that's probably not what you call it, I think it's a Midwestern term, lol), being surrounded by the rowdy, beer-guzzling lifestyle that prevails at most state and public schools would be a disaster for her, not to mention that we would be worried about her constantly. Not that there aren't risks anywhere these days, but it just seems that she would be safer in a more controlled environment.

Thanks again for the info. Vinylly, I hope I didn't offend you with my response to your post, but I was just confused about SPU's apparent lack of adherence to the Catholic church when it isn't Catholic, so I figured that you must have been referring to a different school.

[Bill Loney]

I will say one thing, SPU has a really great central location. It's an easy bus ride to downtown and all its trappings. She can walk to Fremont, an awesome Bohemian enclave teeming with little shops and lots of great food and amazing coffee (lots of vegan there).. And if your daughter ever changes her mind (college has a way of doing that to kids) wants to party occasionally, she can also easily get to Greek Row (UW frat parties are iconic). ha ha

And yes it is called pop out here too.

[lovingthegreen]

Sounds like SPU may be a great fit for her.

As far as veganism goes, I would highly recommend her visit many places in the U District (by UW, an easy bus trip or car ride from SPU). There are so many vegan restaurants and a vegan store there that she will absolutely love it there. Short list ... Wayward Cafe (breakfast/lunch), Pizza Pi (pizzeria), Araya's (Thai, has an incredible lunch buffet), Hillside Quickie's ("soul" food) and Side Car for Pigs Peace (the store). All 100 percent vegan. All awesome. Seattle is one of the best cities in the world for a vegan.

Seattle is also one of the best large cities to go running. So scenic.