Colleges left helpless as students rule out schools due to state politics

[Lori Dee]

Colleges left helpless as students rule out schools due to state politics
Link to Full Article
The Hill - Lexi Lonas Cochran
10/24/24 6:00 AM ET

Colleges and universities find themselves increasingly trapped with the politics of the state where they reside.

As state legislatures pass sweeping measures on everything from abortion to LGBTQ rights, more than a quarter of students, representing both sides of the aisle, are writing off schools simply based on where they are.

And there's not much the colleges can do.

A poll from the Art & Science Group released this month showed 28 percent of students ruled out a school due to the politics of the state the college is in. Among those who excluded certain schools, 75 percent of liberals avoided ones they saw as too far to the right on abortion rights or LGBTQ issues, while 66 percent of conservatives crossed off colleges in states they labeled as too Democratic, too liberal on LGBTQ issues or too lenient on crime. 

Texas was the most frequently excluded state, with 31 percent of those who eliminated schools based on state saying it was a dealbreaker for them. The other states that were ruled out by 15 percent or more were Alabama, California, Florida and New York.

---------------

The one thing that this article does not mention:
Maybe kids want to know where they can pee.

[Karen_A]

Texas was the most frequently excluded state, with 31 percent of those who eliminated schools based on state saying it was a dealbreaker for them. The other states that were ruled out by 15 percent or more were Alabama, California, Florida and New York.[/color]

Interesting that Massachusetts was not on the list... I doubt many (any?) write off Harvard or MIT (if they can get in) because of the liberal area...

- Karen

[Sephirah]

Ideologically I hope this gets way more traction. And it actually matters. But 28%, in the long run, doesn't matter. Not when what college you went to matters more than why you went there. When it comes to getting a job. Until that changes, this won't change. But I think that might be a way to get some of these 17th century witchfinders to call off their witch hunts. Prestigious colleges aren't likely to be short of applicants. Because people are more than capable of sucking it up just to say they went there.

Texas... yeah... you kind of asked for it, though. Putting the "Lone" in Lone Star State.