This post is part of CampusReform.org's guide to the nation's top 100 colleges. Each day, CampusReform.org profiles a different college, examines its political climate, and offers items of interest to conservative students, parents, and alumni. Click here to see the full list of college profiles.
Purdue University was founded in 1869 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue enrolls approximately 40,000 student and has the largest international student population of any American public university. Purdue takes pride in graduates' involvement in space and aviation (22 Purdue graduates have become astronauts, including Neil Armstrong), and its Boilermaker men's and women's basketball teams, which have won more Big Ten Championships than any other conference school.
Campus Life
Purdue has 15 liberal student groups and eight conservative student groups.
The liberal groups are Purdue ACLU; Amnesty International; Anti-Capitalist Theory Project; Campus Progress, Purdue Chapter; College Democrats; Feminist Action Coalition for Today; National Organization for Women; National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana; Peace Action; Purdue Alliance of Libertarian Socialists; Purdue Organization for Labor Equality; Purdue Organization for Women's Equality and Rights (POWER); Purdue Students for Justice in Palestine; Queer Student Union; and VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood.
The conservative groups are the College Republicans; Republican Women; University Conservative Action Network; American Committee for Law and Justice (ACLJ); the Conservative Coalition for American Values (CCAV); the conservative student publication, The Purdue Review; Students for Life; and Young Americans for Liberty (YAL). The italicized groups are affiliated with CampusReform.org's Campus Leadership Program, which provides groups with advice, assistance, and support.
