How liberal is UIUC? (Chicago, Peoria: transplants, houses, schools)

[ChicagoBurbs]

I have been giving this some thought lately, and I was wondering what your impression of students general political leanings at UIUC. I would assume it would be extremely liberal since it is the flagship for such a liberal state, but being on campus sometimes makes me feel differently. Obviously Obama stickers are everywhere, but not so much as on campuses in more moderate states like at UW-Madison or UMich.

So, UIUC alumni/students/parents/staff/etc, how liberal are students at UIUC, especially compared to state schools in surrounding states?

[madpaddy]

Like a lot of schools, the far-left liberal minority makes the most noise while the silent majority is much closer to the middle of the spectrum, with a mix of liberal and conservative attitudes depending on the subjects. That's my take, anyway, as a former student and current area resident.

Illinois is not a liberal state. Illinois is a conservative-leaning state which happens to have a very liberal Alpha city within it's borders. In the most recent election for governor, Pat Quinn (Democrat) carried only Chicago's Cook County + 3 downstate counties, losing the other 98 counties including Champaign County where the University is located. He got so many votes out of Cook County, however, he still won the election.

It's also worth noting that a fairly sizable portion of the student body comes from the conservative collar counties, probably many more than come from Chicago proper.

[Zoness]

Probably very moderate; my school is a private liberal arts school and its also vaguely right-leaning. I think its mostly because of where most of the kids are from.

[Midwest for Life]

Originally Posted by Zoness

Probably very moderate; my school is a private liberal arts school and its also vaguely right-leaning. I think its mostly because of where most of the kids are from.

Bradley?

[linicx]

There are two colleges, a medical school, two nursing schools, several trade schools, and 2-year college in Peoria. Bradley is one.

[Zoness]

Originally Posted by Midwest for Life

Bradley?

Correct.

[Aerio]

Originally Posted by ChicagoBurbs

I have been giving this some thought lately, and I was wondering what your impression of students general political leanings at UIUC. I would assume it would be extremely liberal since it is the flagship for such a liberal state, but being on campus sometimes makes me feel differently. Obviously Obama stickers are everywhere, but not so much as on campuses in more moderate states like at UW-Madison or UMich.

So, UIUC alumni/students/parents/staff/etc, how liberal are students at UIUC, especially compared to state schools in surrounding states?

Eh, from my time there I didn't think of the campus as particularly liberal or conservative, but rather moderate. I went from 2006 to 2012. As others have said, you see both camps and in fact, on "Quad Day", you'll see many RSO's (student clubs) that cater to both crowds and then some. I would say the administration itself tries to uphold a "left-leaning" attitude when it comes to multiculturalism and "diversity", often promoting the "Inclusive Illinois" program (what it did I have no idea, I merely saw posters for it) along with other social programs (for example, free lunches at the cultural houses).

My experience with the UIUC bureaucracy didn't leave me thinking it was decidedly left or right, I mean, bureaucracy is bureaucracy. You have to be aware though that many locals (and therefore the secretary or janitor or manager you might work with) are either from Champaign-Urbana itself, or the surrounding towns, with a few transplants that have decided to stay. You will get a mix of people but I think the general culture is to moderate your opinions / attitudes and be reserved about them.

Now, I won't say you won't meet outright leftists or rightist. For example, when I was entering my house I had an older lady passing by on the sidewalk and we greeted each other. She started some small talk and I revealed I teach ESL. She said, "good, they should learn English" in a rather negative manner. That left me thinking she was probably conservative, but who knows -- I knew the woman for about ten minutes. Another example: I used to work at a refugee center and there are many "undocumented" people in the area, yet go to the local Wal Mart and you'll see the biggest hicks ever -- I wonder what conflict that would start up, as I am aware many uneducated types might be against illegal immigrants (but then again, so could educated folks too...). I also had a former acquaintance (Champaign-Urbana native) who was, I believe, a raging feminist. My point is, you'll see many walks of life and the student body isn't any different. As long as you keep your opinions reserved as is the culture there (from my experience at least, do not generalize my words to what you may expect I must warn you) then you should have a decent time. You will have arguments with certain people but I really don't think this is indicative of UIUC but rather people in general, I don't feel I had many political differences with people there as I do in the "real world" outside of the college bubble.

I cannot say how the school compares to other schools in the area. I would imagine quite similarly, as many students come from larger cities (Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Milwaukee) but a sizable minority come from smaller towns (too many to count, but ranging from podunks to ~ 30,000). I had a classmate that came from a village of 250 and thought Champaign-Urbana was huge. He was, in my judgment, rather conservative but didn't blow his views everywhere and neither did many leftists either from the class (it was an animal science class)

[plates]

It's in possibly the most Democratic county in Central Illinois.

If you live in Champaign, why are you asking?

[beardown54]

Originally Posted by ChicagoBurbs

I have been giving this some thought lately, and I was wondering what your impression of students general political leanings at UIUC. I would assume it would be extremely liberal since it is the flagship for such a liberal state, but being on campus sometimes makes me feel differently. Obviously Obama stickers are everywhere, but not so much as on campuses in more moderate states like at UW-Madison or UMich.

So, UIUC alumni/students/parents/staff/etc, how liberal are students at UIUC, especially compared to state schools in surrounding states?

UIUC is more liberal than Indiana and Purdue. More conservative than Wisconsin and Michigan. Illinois is NOT a liberal state once you get outside Chicagoland. The only reason Illinois votes consistently Democratic is because of all the Cook County votes.

Originally Posted by plates

It's in possibly the most Democratic county in Central Illinois.

If you live in Champaign, why are you asking?

Champaign County is definitely the most Democratic county in Central IL. The counties with other mid-size cities are all more conservative--Macon (Decatur), Vermilion (Danville), McLean (BloNo), and Sangamon (Springfield). And all rural counties lean heavily conservative.

[ChicagoBurbs]

Originally Posted by beardown54

Illinois is NOT a liberal state once you get outside Chicagoland.

I just want to say that this is irrelevant. It doesn't matter that much of the state is red BY AREA, but the majority of the people BY PERCENTAGE is liberal and the state is therefore liberal. You would think that drawing off a population that went something like 65% for Obama would be a more liberal campus than sonething like Iowa, which went for Obama by a very small margin. Area is irrelevant to how liberal a state is.