Washington and Lee vs Claremont McKenna: Conservative Arts College

[Anonymous]

OP, are you seriously asking which is more conservative: the college with a confederate soldier in the name (in the year 2025) or a college in California?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Note I am not a troll, but these are real comments by W&L alum and parents. I have never seen a more vile group of comments and clear racist culture than the 5 seconds I spent researching on this topic. OP, I’d strongly consider what you believe to be “tolerant.” This community’s the opposite. And with that…the comments:

You are so right. My oldest daughter graduated in 1996, her husband in 1995 and my youngest daughter in 2005. Back then you had to be a stellar student to be admitted. Clearly that’s no longer the case. President Dudley is a spineless wimp. He has been all too willing to bow down for DEI. When I heard that a fund had been created in the name of George Floyd by black alum I was livid. How dare they create a fund named after a common criminal with a felony conviction and who had every drug under the sun in his system at the time of his death when he was actively resisting arrest?? And, at the same time some horribly misguided MALCONTENTS were busy petitioning the Board to remove Robert E. Lee’s name from the school!!! At that moment of sheer disbelief and utter anger we stopped all our annual contributions to W&L. Gone are the days of pride in the school and Robert E. Lee. In its place has been decidedly forced shame and appeasement. My daughter and son-in-law were married in the LEE CHAPEL in 1999 and not in “The Chapel”!!
I am disgusted with Washington and Lee. I am disgusted that DEI has taken precedence over academic excellence as a requirement for admission. I am disgusted by the noisy minority of malcontents who refuse to shut up. They knew where they were going. Why go to a school named after someone you very misguidedly abhor?? Leave and go somewhere else!!
I’ve also heard that the mere existence of the Honor Code has been called into question. Why?? Because black students are “complaining” that they are being singled out for violations of this code that has been in place since 1865!!! No surprise there.
In case I haven’t made it abundantly clear I loathe what has transpired at W&L. Not only for clearly lowering the academic standards for admission but m more importantly for all the school stood for, the Honor Code and traditions. My husband and I were always so proud to say our two girls were graduates of this very unique and special school. It meant everything to us. Our girls have taken the Honor Code with them into their professional and personal lives.
Now thanks to the insidious and malignant cancer that is DEI our school will never be the same. Shane on President Dudley, the Asians the abhorrent left wing faculty members who have taken every possible step to ruin what was once a school of excellence, tradition and honor!! Shame on all of you !

I find it very sad and it also angers me how W&L bends over backwards to appease and accommodate DEI and the student they bring in. Whether the administration will admit it academic excellence is no longer a priority. My last child graduated in 2005 and at that time you still had to be a stellar student to gain admission. That’s gone by the wayside.
Everything we loved about Washington and Lee has disappeared all in the name of DEI. This administration won’t change. DEI will still be a priority. I was once so proud that my two daughters graduated from W&L. Now I don’t even wear my W&L T-shirts anymore. They don’t represent the school I knew and lived.

Academia is infected with an awful mind virus. The faculty at W&L was in favor of removing the name Lee from the college by about 4-1. They’re gone. The only way to treat it is to radically remove them and the leaders of the institution.

The BOT lacks that courage.

Our beloved college is changed forever.

DEI is why trump won.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Note I am not a troll, but these are real comments by W&L alum and parents. I have never seen a more vile group of comments and clear racist culture than the 5 seconds I spent researching on this topic. OP, I’d strongly consider what you believe to be “tolerant.” This community’s the opposite. And with that…the comments:

You are so right. My oldest daughter graduated in 1996, her husband in 1995 and my youngest daughter in 2005. Back then you had to be a stellar student to be admitted. Clearly that’s no longer the case. President Dudley is a spineless wimp. He has been all too willing to bow down for DEI. When I heard that a fund had been created in the name of George Floyd by black alum I was livid. How dare they create a fund named after a common criminal with a felony conviction and who had every drug under the sun in his system at the time of his death when he was actively resisting arrest?? And, at the same time some horribly misguided MALCONTENTS were busy petitioning the Board to remove Robert E. Lee’s name from the school!!! At that moment of sheer disbelief and utter anger we stopped all our annual contributions to W&L. Gone are the days of pride in the school and Robert E. Lee. In its place has been decidedly forced shame and appeasement. My daughter and son-in-law were married in the LEE CHAPEL in 1999 and not in “The Chapel”!!
I am disgusted with Washington and Lee. I am disgusted that DEI has taken precedence over academic excellence as a requirement for admission. I am disgusted by the noisy minority of malcontents who refuse to shut up. They knew where they were going. Why go to a school named after someone you very misguidedly abhor?? Leave and go somewhere else!!
I’ve also heard that the mere existence of the Honor Code has been called into question. Why?? Because black students are “complaining” that they are being singled out for violations of this code that has been in place since 1865!!! No surprise there.
In case I haven’t made it abundantly clear I loathe what has transpired at W&L. Not only for clearly lowering the academic standards for admission but m more importantly for all the school stood for, the Honor Code and traditions. My husband and I were always so proud to say our two girls were graduates of this very unique and special school. It meant everything to us. Our girls have taken the Honor Code with them into their professional and personal lives.
Now thanks to the insidious and malignant cancer that is DEI our school will never be the same. Shane on President Dudley, the Asians the abhorrent left wing faculty members who have taken every possible step to ruin what was once a school of excellence, tradition and honor!! Shame on all of you !

I find it very sad and it also angers me how W&L bends over backwards to appease and accommodate DEI and the student they bring in. Whether the administration will admit it academic excellence is no longer a priority. My last child graduated in 2005 and at that time you still had to be a stellar student to gain admission. That’s gone by the wayside.
Everything we loved about Washington and Lee has disappeared all in the name of DEI. This administration won’t change. DEI will still be a priority. I was once so proud that my two daughters graduated from W&L. Now I don’t even wear my W&L T-shirts anymore. They don’t represent the school I knew and lived.

Academia is infected with an awful mind virus. The faculty at W&L was in favor of removing the name Lee from the college by about 4-1. They’re gone. The only way to treat it is to radically remove them and the leaders of the institution.

The BOT lacks that courage.

Our beloved college is changed forever.

DEI is why trump won.

If we are going there then - W&L is one of the few selective schools where:

1. the percentage of Asians(91) = percentage of African Americans (89).
2. number of Hispanic (164) is almost the same amount of Asians + African Americans combined (180)
3. Number of White students dwarfs all the other three with 1286

https://my.wlu.edu/prebuilt/fall-2025-enrollment-report.html

So the rest of us are skeptical when we hear

insidious and malignant cancer that is DEI our school will never be the same

; Is 20% minority too DEI for you? Virginia is about 40% minority.

How did you all keep the Asian population out from a selective school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of the two, which is the more conservative college/promotes more free speech open ideals? DS wants to be in an open tolerant community and know his peers entered from academic excellence. Of the two, which would you recommend?

Definitely CMC. At Washington & Lee, LGBT has to name themselves something like "pink elephant" to barely exist on campus. CMC is relatively more open and tolerant.

Open doesn’t actually want open and tolerant. They want a place where conservatives won’t be called out for being intolerant.

OP, you want W&L.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of the two, which is the more conservative college/promotes more free speech open ideals? DS wants to be in an open tolerant community and know his peers entered from academic excellence. Of the two, which would you recommend?

Definitely CMC. At Washington & Lee, LGBT has to name themselves something like "pink elephant" to barely exist on campus. CMC is relatively more open and tolerant.

Open doesn’t actually want open and tolerant. They want a place where conservatives won’t be called out for being intolerant.

OP, you want W&L.

+1, CMC fits the profile of a “Bulwark” conservative or never trumper, and while there are trump supporters, they aren’t the most liked (for many reasons).

W&L will give OP the maga crowd they seek. Frankly they should just consider hillsdale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of the two, which is the more conservative college/promotes more free speech open ideals? DS wants to be in an open tolerant community and know his peers entered from academic excellence. Of the two, which would you recommend?

Definitely CMC. At Washington & Lee, LGBT has to name themselves something like "pink elephant" to barely exist on campus. CMC is relatively more open and tolerant.

In other words, you think CMC is more liberal, but that is not the question.

CMC actually allows a diverse range of voices and lived experiences. Claremont McKenna students aren’t offended that black people exist at their college, while there’s a decent subset of W&L students and alum who can’t stand that there are people of color walking around. W&L is a bit bizarre with how much they suppress open thought in the wrong way. Open thought is about considering both sides

I think you are making clear just how open-minded you are.

+1
The PP is the usual suspect who sees "W&L" in any thread and goes off on her unhinged rants.

I get that you disagree but that doesn’t mean calling someone unhinged is actually justified in context.

But it is justified here. Whenever W&L and mentioned in this forum, a poster (s) allege that the school if full of racists and the alt right because Lee is in the name and the student body has a very high percentage of white students. These posters rarely (ever?) have a direct connection to the school itself. Then a parade of alums and current parents post that 1) the school actually tries to increase socioeconomic and racial diversity through its very generous financial aid and merit scholarships 2) the school's faculty and adminstration is very liberal and that the current student body is at least 50% Democrats and 3) give personal ancedotes of the current atmosphere of tolerance and open mindness on the W&L campus. And yet this never stops the posters with no connection to the school from trolling.

The post quoted in earlier comments does not contain sentiments that I agree with. However, I will note that the poster was a parent, not a student. Also, every single college in this country has alums/parents/students that have views that in no way reflect the views of 99% of the alums/parents/students associated with the school. Smearing the entire school because of the views of one anonymous parent is ridiculous.