POLL SAYS COLLEGE FRESHMEN LEAN LEFT

Attitudes: UCLA survey finds highest percentage of politically liberal
students since early '70s.

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."