However, WLU does have a very high percentage of students in fraternities and sororities (about 75% based on a recent CDS), which are sometimes seen as “conservative” (by the standards of college students, at least). But, regardless of any political leaning association with fraternities and sororities, students looking at WLU may want to decide whether a mostly fraternity and sorority based social environment at a small school is right for them, or if any specific chapters are right for them.
@ucbalumnus absolutely! Though, it is said that b/c so many kids participate in greek life, it is not exclusive/exclusionary as it can be at other campuses. In other words, supposedly everyone who wants to can find a fraternity/sorority that fits them. Again, I don’t have first hand experience with W&L.
One list that’s published:
https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=election%3f-what-election%3f
Unfortunately for the OP, all the Claremonts exist in an ecosystem that includes Southern California where all political battles are seen as a zero-sum game. CMC has the second smallest number of URMs of the consortium, but notably shares a macro-campus with Pomona and Harvey Mudd which have among the largest percentages in the country. By accident or design, CMC self-identifies as the conservative counterweight to the Claremont archipelago of liberal, liberal arts hothouses. Personally, if I wanted to avoid political division I would keep it on my list of Do Not Pass Goes:
https://claremontindependent.com/open-letter-harvey-mudd-claremont-mckenna-presidents/
https://claremontindependent.com/cmc-president-releases-anti-racism-initiative/
Isn’t that a list of (perceived) political apathy? Being politically apathetic does not necessarily mean that one is centrist, or leans left or right.
The OP has to ask themselves just how much does DD need or want to pay attention to the constant squabbles of the day? Being a centrist implies the ability to see both sides of an argument. But, does she really want to be that deeply involved in the weeds of policy in order to do that? If not, it’s called, apathy.
My understanding of OP’s concern is intolerance of different points of view.
In any case, it’s all relative. CMC may be “conservative” compared to Pomona, but it’s still decidedly liberal, just as a college like Wheaton may be to the left of Liberty U but still far to the right of Hampshire.
In 2015, the political affiliations of CMC freshmen were as follows:
45% Liberal
35% Moderate
15% Conservative
4% Far left
1% Far right
The political leanings of CMC freshmen and seniors are virtually identical to those of peer schools (“Private/Nonsectarian 4 year Colleges-very high selectivity”). In fact, CMC actually had a higher than average percentage of seniors identifying as liberal compared to peer institutions.
See pages 8-9:
https://www.cmc.edu/sites/default/files/student-imperative/Diversity-Data-for-2015-16.pdf
I would re-frame your question: which schools are tolerant of opposing viewpoints? UChicago is probably left leaning in terms of student body, but is known for being tolerant of minority/less popular viewpoints.
By contrast, some schools have a tendency to want to censor viewpoints that are out of the mainstream/controversial. A student at a Jesuit university in NYC was recently punished for posting instagram posts supporting the Second Amendment, and the school had to backtrack on sanctions imposed when the student filed a lawsuit. This school is now under investigation by the Feds for potential free speech violations.
Well, think about it. That’s 65% of the student body that eschews the label, “moderate”.
i consider myself very liberal (around reed-oberlin ‘level liberal’) and plan on transferring to an LAC, so i feel like i should voice what i know from my own research and info from people i know.
I have friends at a few LACs across the country and ALL of them can acknowledge that their schools are very liberal-leaning and recognize exclusion towards those who do not share the same views as most of the college. will you find other centrists and non liberals on campuses? of course, but they are probably much smaller in number contrary to non-LACs.
college students generally lean towards the left, but at LACs it is MUCH more prevalent. if you don’t want your daughter being an ‘outcast’ for her views, you should look into religious-affiliated LACs or schools in areas that tend to not lean left (franklin and marshall comes to mind).
with all of that being said, you should ask her about her political views; many centrists would be more than fine attending ‘liberal-leaning’ LACs depending on their views. If she leans left on social issues she would probably fit right in with the students there.
@transferx wrote:
Social issues are the main bones of contention. If DD leans left on those issues, there’s no point to this thread. I have yet to come across a demonstration or march either for or against the real property transfer tax even though it affects millions of people. Economic policy just doesn’t fire people up in the same way.
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This makes no sense. The government is not allow to restrict speech but a Jesuit school would be private, and there is no protection for private limitations.
“Funny things” happen when an institution accepts federal funds.
That is why Hillsdale College accepts no federal funds, for example.
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A few notes:
Pepperdine might be worth considering. It probably doesn’t qualify as a true LAC but it is smaller, with a community feel. It is a Christian school, but it’s in SoCal, so it’s not like it’s going to be Bob Jones or Oral Roberts.
TCU is a bigger school (about 9000 students) with the sports experience of a large state school, but it has a very small school feel. They actually assign Thomas Sowell in their economics classes, but several students had to spend time on the fainting couch when Stephen Crowder set up shop on the edge of campus a couple of years ago, so you’ll get a mix there.
You may also want to check out St. John’s College in Annapolis and Santa Fe. It teaches a “Great Books” curriculum, which should be non-political, but is probably considered reactionary by some in today’s climate.
F&M has been mentioned, and I don’t know much about it, other than one of their sorority girls is being charged with felonies for her participation in rioting following a police shooting in Lancaster. Probably an outlier anecdote.
Davidson - again, anecdotal, but a friend’s daughter did their tour last year and everyone was asked to give their preferred pronouns, if that tells you anything about which way the wind is blowing there.
Good luck!
They chose to accept federal funding, and thus needs to comply with federal law in order to continue to receive funding?
Comments from the Fiske Guide To Colleges 2020 regarding Claremont McKenna College:
“Most conservative of the Claremont schools.”
“Although CMC is the most conservative of the five Claremont schools…There is a good mix of liberals, conservatives, and libertarians, and different viewpoints are welcomed.”
“The school (CMC) accepts applicants on a need-blind basis and guarantees to meet the demonstrated need of all admitted students.”
CMC awards a limited number of merit scholarships averaging $17,000 per year.
97% of CMC students live on campus.
Despite the recent reactions detailed in post #23 above, CMC is an accepting environment.
Recent events caused uprisings throughout the nation. CMC was not the only school which responded to student demands.
Everything is relative and must be taken in context.
Indeed not. But, that doesn’t exactly make the OP’s decision any easier. It’s possible we could use some clarification, but it’s worth repeating the salient part of the original post:
Political activism exists at CMC. As the school paper states, it was founded on the principle of producing leaders in economics and government. It may have a somewhat different dynamic than Wesleyan’s where the focus is on all the liberal arts; but, my point - and, you apparently join me in this - is that most of the T20 LACs in the country have an active interest in politics, current affairs, social issues - whatever you want to call it. The question for the OP is whether this is what they are looking for?
Denison has been mentioned a couple of times in this thread, and I agree that your daughter might want to take a look at the school. My S19 is a centrist sort, and he is very happy there. He attended a small IB school overseas and was looking for a college with small, engaged classes and a friendly atmosphere, as well as strong athletics. We visited a lot of schools during his junior and senior year, from Maine to California, and he was very put off by the activist atmosphere he sensed at a couple places. Having grown up overseas and attended international schools, he’s used to being in environments where people have a diversity of views and experiences and enjoy discussing them, and he has found people he can do that with again at Denison. It’s an inclusive sort of place with a great president.