College students have always been known for political activism and interest. But according to a recent study, nationwide, the Class of 2010 will do more than just carry on the tradition. They have been found to be even more politically aware, vocal, and polarized than freshmen of the previous two decades.
The study, conducted by the Graduate School of Education at UCLA, surveyed 271,441 students from 393 four-year colleges and universities, weighting the responses of the students to represent beliefs and behavior of America's 1.3 million college freshmen. In reporting their findings, researchers focused on the political beliefs and participation, as well as the increased financial concerns, of today's college freshmen.
The study found that 33.8 percent of college students discussed politics frequently in their last year of high school, the highest percentage of such activity ever recorded in the survey's 40-year history. Freshman Julia Gmeiner said she thinks Tufts students follow this trend.
"I think that I discuss politics with my friends more than the average American citizen," Gmeiner said.
Freshman Rafael Broze attributes this increase in political awareness to events that his class has watched unfold as they have grown up. "We're socialized to know about politics," he said.
"The first presidential election we really understood was the 2000 election," Broze added, remembering the enormous publicity and controversy that introduced his class, mere sixth-graders, to the nature of modern-day politics.
Freshman Gabe Frumkin attributes this increase in political discussion to a heightened awareness of world events due to the prevalence of the media in daily life. "One of the contributors may be a greater sense of urgency. Students read the newspaper and watch TV, and they're seeing increased troop levels, Hurricane Katrina, and Jack Abramoff," Frumkin said, listing events that have been the subject of many an on-campus political discussion.
Frumkin added, though, that not everyone here at Tufts involves themselves in political banter. "I think I do, but I have friends who are not in accordance with me," he said.
Sophomore Matthew Diamante said that he does not see a palpable difference in the political awareness of his class and that of 2010. "It's not as if there's a light year of difference [between the two classes]. We're all in this together!" he said.
The study also noted a move away from the middle of the political spectrum among those freshmen that are politically minded. Only 43.1 percent of students identify themselves with moderate politics, the lowest number of moderates ever recorded by the survey, while 28.4 percent of college students call themselves liberal, which is the highest number of college liberals since 1975. At the same time, 23.9 percent of college students identify with conservative politics.
Freshman Shana Hurley attributed the move away from the center to current events. "We live in a polarized time. There's the war, which makes more apparent people's disagreements," she said. "We live in a time that we feel is dangerous."
This polarization is apparent to freshman Alana Epstein, who believes that the dialogue of opposition spawned by the split leads to an even greater schism between campus liberals and conservatives.
"Political conservatives are a minority here. They need to be out-conservative, they can't just be wishy-washy," Epstein said.
In accordance with the greater overall polarization, the study found a deep divide between freshman liberals and conservatives on issues like gay marriage, abortion, the death penalty, the legalization of marijuana, and the concept of a nationalized health plan.
But conservatives and liberals found more common ground on the issue of affirmative action, as 52 percent of conservatives and 44 percent of liberals believe that the policy should be abolished.
Another main focus of the study was the financial concerns of today's freshmen. Two out of three students worry about their ability to finance the costs of their education.
According to the study, a plurality of students chose to attend college in order to make more money. Freshman Amy Dora said that many of her peers are no strangers to monetary concern. "We actually have to pay for [college] with student loans. We have a reason to be more concerned [about money] because we're directly affected by paying for college," she said.
A final component of the study shows the Class of 2010 to be nothing if not prideful. A whopping 72 percent of males and 66 percent of females surveyed claimed to be at least "above average" academically as compared to their classmates.
