^^ Not sure the fact that Ohio went red was the big reason for the decline. After all NC had the very controversial bathroom bill which cost the state a lot of lost revenue with sporting and other events pulling out of the state, yet Duke had a record number of apps and other NC schools did not seem to suffer.
Oberlin may be having a problem specific to the conservatory. But do agree the press seemed to jump on the Oberlin story (and the Yale one) more than Hamilton’s and other schools. Could have to do with fatigue for these kind of stories, but also probably had to do with the complaints on food names. That was an easy headline to showcase and mock, and even though it wasn’t the primary demand of the students, it was the most memorable and a bit silly which kept it in the news