Lville has come a long way since that article, I would be shocked to hear that they still allow confederate flags and I don’t think it has an “old boy” feel at all (anymore). I think all of the schools you are looking at are doing their best to have open and accepting communities, but they could all still use some work. Part of the issue is that schools are bringing together hundreds of students from various backgrounds and locations and expecting them to all be understanding of each other on day one.
A few things I would research for each school:
Look into current and past student presidents/councils. Which students are being chosen to represent their community? You will find for Lville, it’s definitely not the “old boys”.
Peruse through the course catalog. Lville offers a wide variety of courses that encourage discussions about social justice, including “Design for Social Justice”, “Civil Liberties and the American Constitution” and “Immigration Stories/Theories” (the descriptions of each are more important than the class name, but I’m not going to copy and paste it all on here). You can get a really good feel for a school based on their course list.
Check out the Black @ “school” instagram accounts. Many of the stories are heartbreaking, but also recognize that some of the accounts are from many years ago, when these schools weren’t as open and accepting.
Most, if not all, of these schools now have a Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, and often a student representative as well. Look through the school’s website to find out what their Dean (and student representative) is doing to make the community inclusive.
Finally, read the student handbooks. Lville has a very strong stance against harassment. I encourage you to specifically read the “Speech and Respect for Community Members” portion, and I would assume all of the schools on your list have similar inclusions in their handbooks.
Good luck with the process!! For me, the most important thing is teaching my own kids to be open and accepting, and to tell them how important it is to speak up (and follow through as needed) when someone isn’t being treated fairly.