I attended The Evergreen State College in two separate stints, once from Fall 2012 through Fall 2013, and again from Winter 2015 through Winter 2017. I first visited the campus as a high school junior in 2011. I was attracted to the college for it’s off the wall academic approach and the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. I graduated in 2017 with very mixed feelings, but overall I was proud of what I accomplished, and went on to attend graduate school at Southern New Hampshire University.
Evergreen has a very unique class system. Instead of having letter grades, they have a system of credits and written evaluations. Although they offer classes worth anywhere between 2 and 16 credits, the norm for Evergreen Students is to take one class worth 16 credits at a time. The most credits allowed to be taken at one time is 24; I had taken 20 credits on two separate occasions, receiving 19/20 credits each time. Some classes are pass or fail, where you receive either all 16 credits or none at all, although this is a somewhat rare practice and is typically practiced by older faculty. Usually you receive all or a portion of your 16 credits depending on how well you have done academically. For example, if you have missed a certain amount of classes your grade may be reduced by one or several credits. A final paper may be worth up to 4-6 credits, and failure to turn in said paper would most likely result in lost credits.
Another aspect of Evergreen’s grading system is the written evaluation. Even if you receive full credit for a class, there is no guarantee your evaluation will be stellar. This gives the faculty a chance to fully evaluate your academic performance. This is where a professor may reflect on your writing, seminar participation, and so forth. For example, if you had full attendance but rarely participated in seminar (seminar makes up half of every Evergreen State College class, it is a huge part of Evergreen’s structure) this may be reported on in your written evaluation.
Besides hard science classes, Evergreen classes rarely rely on textbooks. In my first class at The Evergreen State College, we had to read books such as “Hopes and Prospects” by Noam Chomsky, “Marx’s Concept of Man” by Eric Fromm, and we used “A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn in place of a history textbook we used alongside other readings. Typically at Evergreen, a full book is read every week or two weeks, with additional readings alongside it (usually in form of news articles, PDFs, etc). Most homework assignments are written papers for seminar, and essays for midterms and finals. Unless you are taking a math or science class, there are rarely any tests unlike most typical colleges. Never in my years as an Evergreen student was I forced to use a Scranton for example.
The Evergreen State College doesn’t have “majors” like a typical college. Because of this, you are allowed to take whatever classes you like, meaning no one is forcing you to take Calculus or Espanol. When I was an Evergreen Student I mostly took History and Political Science classes, with a few electives on the side. This gives the student complete academic freedom, making the student feel as though they are getting what they pay for. Students can also do “Independent Contracts” with agreements from professors allowing students to spend a semester on their own personal research project. These contracts are as respected as normal classes at Evergreen.
This college felt like a dream to me, and in a way it was. I am proud of my Alma Matter, and I think Evergreen, which is an accredited college, deserves complete respect in the academic community.
So why am I writing this essay?
Because there is another side to Evergreen as well. I could call out certain professors for referring to Hilary Clinton as a “white supremacist” or jest at some of my fellow classmates (and former friends) for joining Anarchist black blocs chanting “The Hate! The Hate! The Hates Inside of Me! All Cops are Bastards! ACAB!” But this isn’t mean to be a personal essay, but an essay of reflection.
While Evergreen has it’s share of nutty history, being the college Palestinian Rights Activist Rachel Corrie attended, the college where now famous feminist punk rock band “Bikini Kill” was formed, and so many other things, never has it ever received this much attention over a single event. Usually every spring semester Evergreen has a day known as “day of absence” in which black students leave campus for a day and do school related work outside of campus. This year Evergreen did something different: They had a day where white students were asked to leave campus for a day, reversing the usual role of day of absence at Evergreen.
There was one professor who objected to this event, his name was Bret Weinstein.
For not leaving during the day of absence and objecting to the event itself, students protested his class, forcing Bret to teach the rest of his classes off campus, being told by police that it was unsafe for him to continue being present at The Evergreen State College. Since then he and his wife who was also an Evergreen Professor have resigned, winning a $500,000 lawsuit in the process. The Protests that occurred during this time frame were so problematic it actually led to the campus being shut down for several days, and the class of 2017 graduation ceremony took place in Tacoma rather than Olympia.
The problem with The Evergreen State College is that is has become an echo chamber for the far left. Many times my “queer” friends told me they “didn’t feel queer enough for Evergreen.” Clinton supporters were treated like moderate Republicans. For some people, even Bernie Sanders wasn’t left wing enough, certainly not for the student group “Abolish Cops and Prisons.” Professors referred to themselves as “Marxists.” While most of this isn’t completely uncommon at traditional colleges, there is something different about Evergreen. Evergreen appeals to the lowest common denominator. I remember once hearing a complaint about professors using class time to talk about upcoming summer classes, and how this was privileged because many students could not afford the tuition demanded by summer classes. I mentioned that I had taken summer classes in the past and enjoyed hearing about the various opportunities. For this I was made fun of for my perceived wealth (I’m middle class) and was told to “go to Yale with the rest of the rich white cis scum.” I can’t imagine that sort of hostility towards something as inoffensive as a summer class at most mainstream colleges.
Evergreen should be known for its wonderful and rigorous academic program. There is no college like The Evergreen State College. It gave me seemingly infinite academic freedom and thoroughly prepared me for grad school. My time at Evergreen, whether spent in the library studying or at the “Track House” moshing to whatever crappy local punk rock band will always be treasured. What is happening at Evergreen can and will happen anywhere. If we allow a small illiberal group of radicals take over our spaces, we will lose the very thing that makes these spaces great in the first place: Freedom.
It’s your duty to stay involved, don’t shy away.
Centrists Fight Back 