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Poll Says College
Freshmen Lean Left
By REBECCA
TROUNSON, TIMES EDUCATION WRITER
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."
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