Katharine Meyer, a fellow in the Brown Center on Education Policy at The Brookings Institution, said she thinks the country is “in a place and a time where colleges are increasingly being seen as political places.”
“So, it makes every sense that students would be aware of this as they’re making decisions about where to enroll, and that they would factor that into whether or not this is an institution they want to apply to.”
A poll from last year found similar results, with 1 in 4 college applicants eliminating schools based on the politics of their state.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices are banned at state universities in Florida and Texas, which also have two of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans.
California and New York, meanwhile, are among the bluest states in the nation, with legislators there approving a bevy of liberal priorities, including extensive protections for abortion rights and transgender Americans.
“I think, you know, some institutions are likely trying to emphasize that despite what may be happening in the state, there are different realities in their particular area, and that there is a greater diversity of students and viewpoints that you can find there that creates somewhat of an island, as it were, within the greater context, political context of the state,” said Kevin McClure, associate professor of higher education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
But McClure also said, “there are certain laws that are going to be passed that are going to have ramifications for college students.”
The Hill’s Lexi Lonas has more here.
