Among the nation's freshmen, interest in politics has plunged to a 32-year low, according to UCLA's annual survey of first-year college students. Researchers found that the percentage of freshmen who believe that "keeping up to date with political affairs" is important fell to 28 percent in 1997, compared with 58 percent in 1966. The survey also found that a record 39 percent expect to pursue graduate degrees, which survey directors see as a sign of pragmatic careerism.
The poll of more than 250,000 students reveals that freshmen are increasingly conservative on social issues. Support for abortion declined for the fifth straight year, and half the respondents called for affirmative action to be abolished.
To put these national findings in perspective, we sought reaction here on campus. A sample of what we found:
Condoleezza Rice, provost and political science professor: I don't really think those trends are representative of Stanford. The one that rings true is not the social conservatism but the pragmatism, the sense that there has to be a job at the end of this four-year period. For some students that makes a lot of sense because they have known what they wanted to be since they were 6. Higher education is expensive; people want to get some kind of return on their investment. I can't blame people for being pragmatic. I just wish that parents, faculty and fellow students would give room to those who don't want to take that course.
Richard Lyman, president emeritus and professor emeritus of history: [Pragmatism] is disturbing because you want students at universities to be less fixated on careers and more concerned with developing their intellectual capacities. That's what universities are all about. The most dismaying finding is the political apathy. It sometimes seems as if undergraduates can only occupy one of two positions: vehement protest or apathy. I wish there were more middle ground.
Americans have an unreal expectation that they can somehow solve political questions without practicing politics. But it won't do you much good to prepare for a lucrative career if the polity in which you live is falling apart because citizens refuse to take part in their own governance.
Hubert Marshall, professor emeritus of political science: This is a continuing trend toward increasing lack of confidence in government. It's a tragedy because there was a time when we used to feel government could work for people. Stanford students probably have a more positive outlook. People talk up public service on campus. There are interns in East Palo Alto and an entire campus in Washington, D.C. But even though Stanford students may have a different attitude, they're not immune from the national trends.
Caroline Conway, freshman: I was surprised to hear about the political apathy. I don't think it applies to the freshmen I've encountered here. I'm definitely interested in politics, and other freshmen are much more knowledgeable than I am. I run into a lot of people who have worked for senators or are interested in pursuing government careers. They don't distance themselves from politics.
People tend to say that Stanford is cut off from the world. It's definitely pretty insulated. I volunteer in Palo Alto and it's not as if the program is overflowing. People are very conscious of where they are and perhaps not so aware of the larger area around them.
Erika Check, '99
