Valparaiso University

This isn’t really a school. The business licence on file with the state tells it all. Valparaiso University is the Lutheran Church doing business as a school. Therefore, the primary focus of this institution is religious rather than academic.
This is reflected in the required theology classes, regardless of your major. The near total shutdown of every campus facility on Sunday mornings. During the summer, only one room– not a building, just a single room within a building– is open to student use on weekends or holidays. The largest and most iconic building on campus is not the library or any lecture hall– it’s the towering Chapel of the Resurrection, featuring a statue of Jesus flying through the air like a Marvel superhero amid gigantic panes of stained glass. This isn’t the heritage of the meek, this is the deification of ostentatious wealth.
Despite the religiosity of this establishment, there is a heavy focus on money. Tuition for some programs totals 60,000 dollars per year. Low income students do not receive full ride scholarships from the school. Ancillary charges include parking passes costing hundreds of dollars, fees for the usage of the school gym which exceed the membership rates at nearby health clubs, a bookstore that dates to charge ten times the
price for required textbooks and supplies. On campus housing rates rival rents in the nicer parts of Chicago, while offering only what you’d expect from a college dorm.
The buildings were not designed for the computer age. Desks in lecture halls lack power outlets for laptops. Desktop computers are housed in an overheated basement whose sole cooling unit is a single box fan in a windowless and ventless room, leading to frequent equipment failures. The campus email system exposes the email address of every student to every other student, past, present, or newly admitted. This makes your campus email a target for phishing scams. The IT department is unable to stop the flood of emails demanding students click a link and then reveal their login ID and password, financial and personal information. They barely manage to send out emails informing us to be watchful for such scams. They’ve also outsourced their responsibilities to Google, using gmail accounts instead of university domains, and designing every college related webpage to work best or exclusively in Google Chrome.
The architecture is beautiful. It is rarely pragmatic or functional. The top floor of the library features a sun deck they had to flee shortly after its completion, as the flooring fell apart the first time anyone tried to stand on it. Despite the substantive lack of this campus’ design, there remains an air of the elite about this place. The city’s mayor is on the faculty here at the School of Law. It is not surprising that during his tenure the campus has expanded greatly, taking over adjacent plots of land and turning them into parking lots, vast seas of asphalt where there once was greenery. Everything is heavily branded and marketed. The sports teams don’t seem to do very well, and yet are heralded as demigods, with an indoor sports complex that would make the NFL blush.
The story of Valparaiso University is the greatest story oversold.
To their credit, this school did protest against RFRA. President Heckler immediately condemned the measure, before he came under any pressure to do so. The school could have remained silent or neutral on the issue. Instead, they organized the student body, faculty and senior staff to march through the town to city hall, demanding an immediate repeal.
Throughout this school’s history, they have fought against the KKK. They have fought against bigoted governors at several points in this state’s history.
One thing you can say about Valparaiso University. Despite their faults, which are certainly many, they do have a moral compass. In this sense, the sometimes insufferable air of elitism on this campus is endurable. Those who stand up for the oppressed when it is risky to do are always deserving of our respect.

Sitting in the library doing my work. There is a fella sitting right across from me having a full voice conversation on his phone. This is the tempo here, money and no brains. Want an easy A, no real fun in a city, how about teachers that are biased to the richest? Come on to Valparaiso University.

It’s expensive, sure, but I can honestly say it was the best experience of my life. Great friends, great social scene, great academics, good location, and class sizes are manageable. You’re not a number here. And if spirituality means something to you, Valpo respects that. And not just for Lutherans. I loved the philosophy and theology requirements. The honor code teaches you discipline and integrity. Oh, and even back when I was there, the food was actually really good! In short, no complaints at all, except the weather and that is out of the administration’s control. I come back for Homecoming and basketball games whenever I can. I’m older now and the campus looks different but my feelings remain the same. GO VALPO!

Nice university. Great city.

Nothing but love.
Valpo taught me about life, love, myself, religion, the electric slide, roommates, oh… books…books too.
Seriously, had a fantastic experience here. The community is warm, close-​knit, and inviting; the professors are incredible; the Greek community is strong and has more depth than it probably does at bigger schools… I loved it. Also was able to get into a great law school after graduation.