polling US college students

["Ian Murray" <seamus2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

Published on Monday, January 28, 2002 in the Los Angeles Times
Poll Says College Freshmen Lean Left
UCLA Survey Finds Highest Percentage of Politically Liberal
Students Since Early '70s

by Rebecca Trounson

More college freshmen today describe themselves as politically
liberal than at any time since the Vietnam War, a nationwide survey
by UCLA researchers has found.

A resurgence of liberalism among U.S. freshmen also is reflected in
their shifting attitudes on a range of hot-button political and
social issues, according to survey results released today.

"It's a real change, a broad-based trend toward greater liberalism
on almost every issue we look at," said Alexander W. Astin, a UCLA
education professor who started the survey, the nation's largest,
in 1966.

The researchers measured "liberalism" by asking students to
describe their political views and to take positions on certain
benchmark issues.

For instance, a record proportion--57.9%--believe that gay couples
should have the legal right to marry. The highest portion in two
decades--32.2%--say the death penalty should be abolished. And more
than a third--the highest rate since 1980--say marijuana should be
legalized, although 75% also say employers should be allowed to
require drug testing of workers and applicants.

Still, about half of the class of 2005, in line with their recent
predecessors, view themselves as "middle of the road" politically.
And 20.7% consider themselves conservative or "far right," while
29.9%--the highest figure since 1975--say they are liberal or "far
left."

The latter figure has risen steadily since 1996, said Linda Sax, an
education professor and director of the 36th annual survey. But it
pales compared with the peak year in 1971, at the height of the
anti-Vietnam War fervor, when 40.9% of those polled called
themselves liberal.

The American Freshman Survey, based this year on responses from
281,064 students at 421 four-year colleges and universities, is the
nation's oldest and most comprehensive assessment of student
attitudes. It is a joint project of UCLA's Higher Education
Research Institute and the American Council on Education, based in
Washington.

Freshmen usually fill out questionnaires during orientation or the
first week of classes, so their answers often reflect more on their
high school experiences than on those in college.

Almost all of this year's forms were completed before Sept. 11, so
any changes in student attitudes as a result of the terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon would be
reflected in next year's results, survey directors said.

Among the more striking findings of this year's poll was a reversal
in a long slide toward political apathy on college campuses,
probably attributable to the dramatic 2000 presidential contest,
Sax said.

A growing, though still small, percentage of students now say they
frequently discuss politics and that it is important to them to
keep up to date with political affairs. And a record 47.5%--three
times greater than when the question was first asked in 1966--said
they participated in organized demonstrations in the previous year.

Contrary to common perception, Astin said, there are more
demonstrations now--albeit smaller protests--than during the era
best known for student activism.

"They feel freer [to protest], and there's an environment that's
acceptable," he said.

UCLA freshman Ricardo Gutierrez, who took part in a recent campus
rally to support lower tuition for illegal immigrants, explained
that students "need to be involved if we want laws passed that we
agree with."

"It's important to show people what we think," said Gutierrez, 18,
who is from Lamont, near Bakersfield. He said he tries to keep up
with political issues.

Not all agreed. UCLA freshman Nate Skrzypczak said he paid close
attention during the presidential race, then quickly returned to
what he called his "usual disinterested self."

"I don't see that [politics] really directly affects anyone," said
the 18-year-old from San Diego. "It just doesn't have that big an
impact on my life."

Whether or not they are politically involved, many college freshmen
are anything but disengaged when it comes to community service.
This year's class reported record levels of volunteerism, with
82.6% saying they had done some volunteer work in the last year.

Although many high schools require community service for
graduation, and it can boost the prospects for a college applicant,
Astin said the desire to help appears to go well beyond that.

Despite continuing evidence that today's students are relatively
materialistic--73.6% said they want to be very well off
financially--they also seem to want to find an outlet for what
Astin called their "higher selves."

"They're much more inclined to express their concerns about other
people," he said, in contrast to previous generations of students.

Volunteering "helps get your mind off yourself," said Christie
Tedmon, a UCLA freshman and a member of its top-ranked gymnastics
team. During high school in Sacramento, Tedmon joined many of her
classmates in helping repair the homes of elderly people and also
volunteered at a local hospital.

"We owe it to the community to help out a little," she said.

Patrick Hamo, 18, spent many hours in high school tutoring
disadvantaged children in a Glendale program started by his older
brother. "It really opens your eyes," the UCLA freshman said. "It
makes you realize how much you can do."

Other trends emerged in this year's survey:

Of this year's freshmen, 70% said they had socialized with someone
of another racial or ethnic group in the last year--the highest
rate since the survey began.

Fewer students than before--19.5%--said they believed racial
discrimination was "no longer a major problem" in the United
States, and fewer thought affirmative action in college admissions
should be abolished.

A record 15.8% of freshmen said they have no religious preference,
up slightly from last year and more than double the figure in 1966.

More students than ever appear to be academically disengaged. A
record 41.1% said they were frequently bored in class, and only
34.9% reported spending at least six hours a week hitting the books
as high school seniors. In 1987, when the question was first asked,
47% said they studied at least six hours each week.

This year's students continue to show signs of stress, worrying
about completing all the tasks confronting them. A gender gap
persists, with more than twice as many young women--36.6%--as young
men--17.4%--reporting feeling "frequently overwhelmed by all I have
to do."

"These students never really get a chance to calm down," Sax said,
especially in the final, frenzied years of high school. "They're
multi-tasking on everything at once, trying to build these strong
resumes before they even get into college."