1892: Early Activism
The earliest student presidential campaign activity documented in the archives is 1892’s contest between Grover Cleveland (D) and Benjamin Harrison (R). WRU’s students rallied around the Republicans, while the country went Democratic.
The snippet (right) taken from the Adelbert College student newspaper The Adelbert (left), reveals the sentiments of the majority of the undergraduate men students at WRU. William McKinley was the governor of Ohio at the time.
The women undergraduate students at WRU voted for the Republican ticket. This snippet (right) is taken from a page in The College Folio (left), student publication of the College for Women.
| Ohio Popular Vote | National Popular Vote | Electoral Vote |
| Benjamin Harrison (R) 405,187 (47.7%) Grover Cleveland (D) 404,115 (47.5%) John Bidwell (Prohibition) 26,012 (3.1%) James B. Weaver (People’s) 14,850 (1.8%) | Grover Cleveland (D) 5,551,883 (46.05%) Benjamin Harrison (R) 5,179,244 (42.96%) James B. Weaver (People’s) 1,024,280 (8.5%) John Bidwell (Prohibition) 270,770 (2.25%) | Grover Cleveland (D) 277 Benjamin Harrison (R) 145 James B. Weaver (People’s) 22 |
Information was compiled by staff of the Case Western Reserve University Archives, September 2004.
