Hi, so I’m only a Junior so this may seen out of place among all the admission decisions and scholarship posts. So congrats to all of you :). But I was just wondering what the general political climate at case is because I’m strongly considering this school. I tend to lean pretty conservative, yet the high school I attend now is very liberal and the recent election has made me a target even when I’m not even sharing my views. I have no problem attending a school that is liberal, no problem at all. But is Case a school that accepts diversity in all sorts? Even ideological? Thanks!
Here is a similar question:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/4049954
I think college kids in general are more liberal leaning, but there is a College Republicans club.
College Republicans
The Case College Republicans is Case’s official branch of the College Republicans organization. As the premiere conservative group on campus, we work to provide a broad discussion about many of today’s political issues, as well as advocate on behalf of Republican candidates and office-holders. Furthermore, we strive to be a positive influence in Cleveland’s community.
casecollegerepublicans on Facebook
Great question! This is an issue that I’m pretty invested in and passionate about, so sorry if this response gets long.
I’m a current freshman at Case, and I lean Conservative on most issues and voted for Trump. While I have never felt threatened or discriminated against for my beliefs, I definitely don’t broadcast them. I came from upstate NY, so we had a pretty even split between liberals and conservatives at my high school. Holding conservative views here is more frustrating than anything - most students and all of my professors were in a state of mourning in the week or so following the election. The discussion about politics during that time presumed that everyone was against Trump and devastated that he won, so I just kept my mouth shut rather than starting a debate. However, in the months since, liberals’ emotions have settled, and I am a lot more willing to talk politics. That being said, I’ve only been at Case in the months surrounding the election, so I can’t speak to what it could be like for the majority of your four years.
Outside of general attitude and the election, Case itself is liberal. All freshman have to go through “Diversity 360” training during orientation, which was basically educating us on microaggressions and making sure were are politically correct. It was annoying and I didn’t agree with most of the ideas on the most basic level, but it was just a minor inconvenience. Racial and cultural diversity is a huge priority for the administration, but that has never crossed a crazy liberal line in my opinion. I could go on and on listing little ways that the university shows its bias, but I’ll leave it there.
In addition to the administration, students in general are pretty liberal. Our Young Democrats club is popular and active, as is the Radical Student Union (basically young socialist’s club). Our student government recently passed a resolution advocating for Case to become a sanctuary campus. That being said, it’s not like conservatism is dead at Case. Our College Republicans Club is small, but active. The Israeli club holds open, public events and isn’t harassed for it. I know that 4 of my friends hold conservative views, and while that’s a small minority, I do have people who relate to me ideologically.
All in all, Case is liberal, but not intolerably so. I wouldn’t let if effect your decision to apply or enroll here. I’d be happy to answer any more questions that you have!
I’m going to paste urls for a couple articles that might give you a good picture of ideological diversity here:
http://observer.case.edu/rutecki-cwru-should-embrace-ideological-diversity-including-conservatives/
http://observer.case.edu/ltte-cwru-already-embraces-ideological-diversity/
http://observer.case.edu/chabad-radical-student-union-events/
http://observer.case.edu/radical-student-union-labelled-anti-semitic-by-off-campus-group/
http://observer.case.edu/costume-reignites-campus-debate-on-free-speech/
@SoCcErTrAcK2016 Thanks!
I am a parent, with a senior at Case. I see that Case is slightly socially more conservative than East coast or west coast colleges , in that most kids live in single sex suites. Religion seems well accepted by even liberal Case students, and many students attend church. My sons friends regularly go to Catholic, Jewish and Protestant services for instance. I think the Trump situation is a little unfair as its not a “normal” Republican candidate, and with the Republican Convention police housed on Case Western’s campus last summer, that got quite a few students really unhappy. They actually moved students out of the suites up on 115th for policemen to live in their rooms, in case there were riots at the Republican Convention! Case attracts a number of conservative students in my experience
and many POLITICALLY INACTIVE students who are focused on studies. Its not a hotbed of liberalism in my visits,
and its a small scale city so the city itself is much quieter than say New York City or even Baltimore with all the activism that spills over from Washington DC. With that, Cleveland as a city votes solidly Democratic, as would be expected. The rest of Ohio is quite conservative, and Trump won in Ohio, as we know.
This shows that the racial diversity at Case Western lags way behind the diversity of the state of Ohio for African Americans. I don’t know that this is addressing OP question, but an add on to the freshman’s comments above
which were very thorough and interesting.
Case is not exactly “lily white” but its not exactly “Columbia University diverse and liberal”.
Its in between.
It seems that Case represents black students almost 2.5 times less than blacks are represented in the general population of the United States. Since Case is a private school that attracts students from all over the USA and the world, I think the comparison on a larger scale is warranted.
I am curious about the number of black students that apply versus the number that are accepted. Is Case not receiving enough black applicants, enough qualified black applicants, or is CASE being discriminatory?
Additionally, it appears that Asians are over-represented and Whites are under-represented…
Did you know that Case (well, Western Reserve) enrolled its first African American Student in 1832?
https://students.case.edu/traditions/learn/history/story.html
Or that Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Case graduate, was the first African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives from Ohio?
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I would like to echo the sentiment of other posters in this forum. Case is pretty much like any higher education institution in that there is a liberal bias to it. People here are all relatively PC and safe space here. There is still a very anti-Trump sentiment that pervades the campus. For example, the College Republicans had a booth set up during TSO, and 20 people crowded them harassing them for being conservatives and voting for Trump. Also, a student posted on Facebook criticizing conservatives and moderates for screwing up the world. Also, I was called a right wing for not supporting the sanctuary campus resolution. You will find tons of one-sided liberals here especially with administration and faculty, but people are open to a good political conversation.
@Pancho98 Just an opinion, I am in no way associated with Case beyond being a parent of a white student.
Many small colleges struggle to recruit well qualified minority candidates. There are programs like MITES, Quest Bridge and others that help the very top schools like MIT find the best minority candidates. The midwest has some powerhouse schools like Michigan, UIUC,not to mention Ohio State and I think many minority candidates are winning more scholarships at Flagship public programs. I do not think Case Western is discriminating in a negative way. I think they do their best to diversify, but all small private schools in the midwest are struggling to reach out to minority candidates.
However, given that there are many minority candidates right in Ohio,I do find CWRU’s numbers slightly troubling. Cleveland has very divided neighborhoods, with some having much better public schools. Charter schools seem strong in Cleveland. I am wondering myself if CWRU does reach out to all the best high schools in Ohio. I don’t know the answer. Most of Case’s undergrads are coming from the northeast and midwest and Texas. All the places Case gets the most students have very strong public flagship universities that will cost less than Case Western, for instate students. So it may be about the amount of scholarship money available. Schools like Stanford and MIT can afford
to give very generous aid, and as they do not offer merit. Case Western offers moderately good aid, and outstanding merit based awards.
Case, like many other colleges, has a diversity recruitment program.
Case Western Reserve University
Fall Invitational Program
Location: Cleveland, OH
Program: Case Western Reserve University invites high school seniors from diverse backgrounds to visit our campus in the heart of Cleveland’s University Circle.
Spend Sunday making connections with prospective and current students and exploring campus.
Join the Open House on Monday to learn from faculty and discover how a CWRU education will prepare you for a successful future in the arts, business, engineering, humanities, natural sciences, nursing or social sciences.
Participants accepted to the Fall Invitational stay overnight in a residence hall with a student host, engage with faculty and learn about the many opportunities available to students in and around CWRU (which is located in Cleveland’s University Circle).
On Monday, participants will join many other prospective students at our Fall Open House, where they will learn more about the ways in which students from all backgrounds contribute to classroom discussions, participate in meaningful extracurricular activities, and participate in hands-on learning.
The cost of meals, lodging and transportation (for those outside of driving distance) will be covered by the university for those accepted to the program.
Application Deadline: October 10, 2016
Program Dates: November 13-14, 2016
Application: Click Here
Diversity Weekend aka a time for Case to bring all URMs together.