To Students, Congress Tops ‘American Idol’
College students are regularly criticized as being ignorant, self-absorbed and interested only in pop culture. But a new national study — conducted by Tufts University researchers — found that students know more about politics and civic life than many fear they do, and more than those in the same age group who are not in college.
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The survey was conducted of people aged 18-24 who are not in the military. Half of those surveyed were in college full time and half were not. Demographics matched the population as a whole.
Among the findings:
Half of the college students and 40 percent of the non-college students could name their respective members of Congress. Nearly two-thirds of college students and more than half of the non-college students could name at least one of their two U.S. senators. In contrast, only about 15 percent of the young people knew the name of the most recent winner of “American Idol” and about 10 percent knew the winner of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Approximately 79 percent of college students and more than 73 percent of non-college students said they had voted in the November 2006 elections, but only 10 to 12 percent of respondents reported ever voting in “American Idol” and significantly fewer had voted in “Dancing with the Stars.”
At least some of students’ Web activity is political. On average, college students belonged to almost four Facebook advocacy groups. According to the Tufts study, Facebook tends to be used more for advocacy of Democratic political candidates and liberal or Democratic causes than for Republican candidates or conservative or Republican causes.
More than 61 percent of college students had participated in online political discussions or visited a politically oriented Web site.
Of college students, 58.6 percent reported being somewhat, moderately or very involved in their communities, compared with 36.7 percent for non-students of the same age. More than 47 percent of college students reported involvement with community service organizations compared with slightly more than 24 percent of non-students.
To be sure, surveys abound about the ignorance of college students on key facts of American history and civic life, and the Tufts survey wasn’t trying to find out if students stay up at night arguing over the most significant of the Federalist Papers.
But Tufts researchers were encouraged by the findings. “Young people seem to know more about politics than they know about popular culture,” said Kent E. Portney, project director and professor of political science, in a statement. “This level of political knowledge stands in stark contrast to the image of young people as uninterested in and ignorant about politics and government.”
— Scott Jaschik
Comments
American Idol? Dancing with the Stars?
I’m a college senior and I don’t know a single other student who regularly watches American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. (I also live in DC and don’t have a senator or a real representative so I guess they would have me there.)
Jack, at 10:01 am EDT on April 5, 2007
I always thought it was ridiculous to think that college students were politically apathetic. While it is stupid to watch TV or care about popular culture, in some ways caring too much about politics might hinder a student’s ability to learn analytical skills that would help them later on.
Larry, at 10:25 am EDT on April 5, 2007
No excuses
With the proliferation of information available to students today, we should have the most informed youth in the history of the world. With satelite TV, Radio and the internet, people are inundated with information, both substantive and non-substantive, 24/7.Now, if I could just get my students to identify where there classes are we would have a winner.
Cynic Professor, at 10:26 am EDT on April 5, 2007
http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/04/05/tufts
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Harvardian Lifestyle Surveyed, Compared
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HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES
Study finds Harvard students healthier than peers
By William J. Cromie
Gazette Staff
Students at Harvard drink more, smoke less, and have less sex than students at other colleges, according to the first nationwide survey of college lifestyles and health behaviors. Harvardians also are more depressed, get into fewer fights, and are slightly more likely to be homosexual or bisexual.
The American College Health Association did the survey by sending questionnaires to 28 schools last year; 16,024 undergraduate students responded including 904 from Harvard.
"We were pleased to see that we are no worse and slightly better than other schools," said David Rosenthal, director of Harvard's University Health Services (UHS).
Slightly more than 75 percent of Harvard students described their health as excellent or very good, compared with 61 percent of the national sample.
"Smoking is a problem," admitted Rosenthal. Although only 15.6 percent of Harvard students said they smoke, compared with 25.3 percent nationally, "I was surprised at the large number of our students who smoke," he said.
"We see smoking increasing as students move from their freshman to their senior year," noted Michael Hoyt, coordinator of health resources at UHS. "This is a huge issue because students are at the age where they're starting to form lifetime habits."
"Alcohol is also a big issue," Rosenthal said. Slightly more than 72 percent of Harvard students reported drinking alcohol in the 30 days before completing the questionnaire, compared with the national average of 68 percent.
"The thing that keeps me up at night is concern about students injuring themselves or others after drinking too much," Rosenthal noted.
About 8 percent of Harvard students reported driving after drinking. Fourteen percent admitted injuring themselves as a consequence of drinking, compared with 17 percent nationally. Two percent said they injured another person, compared with more than 4 percent nationally. At Harvard, 30 percent of the drinkers forgot where they were or what they did at times; the national average was 28 percent.
Alcohol use affected the academic performance of 5.5 percent of students at Harvard, versus 7.9 percent nationally, according to the survey.
Drinking and sex
Drinking that leads to unwanted sex is a problem on every campus. One percent of Harvard's female undergraduates reported use of force or threats of force to have sex, less than half the 2.3 percent national average.
At Harvard, 0.8 percent of the women reported they were raped, compared with 1.8 percent nationally. "The 0.8 percent amounts to 52 students," Hoyt pointed out. He noted that less than a half-dozen rapes were actually reported. "That is the kind of information we need in our efforts to get the number down to zero."
Thirty-nine percent of Harvard males and females said they had no sex partners within the past school year, compared with 29 percent of males and 27 percent of females nationally. Five percent of Harvard men and women reported having four or more partners in the past school year, compared with national numbers of 11 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
At Harvard, 2.6 percent of students describe themselves as gay or lesbian versus 1.4 percent nationally. For bisexuality, the numbers are 2.2 versus 1.5 percent. Some students said they were "not sure" of their sexual orientation - 1.7 percent at Harvard, 1.5 percent nationally.
Living away from home and meeting academic standards can be stressful for many students. Nationally, 23 percent reported they have been diagnosed with depression within the past year, as opposed to 34 percent at Harvard. Approximately 34 percent of the Harvardians are in therapy or taking medication for depression, versus about 19 percent nationally.
Rosenthal attributed the higher numbers of those in treatment to a Harvard outreach program begun last year. "We have the students watching out for each other," he noted. "The faculty - even dining-service workers - are alert for signs of depression. And we have increased the number and hours of availability of mental health professionals."
Rosenthal also expressed concern about diet and physical activity on campus. More than a quarter of Harvard students (29 percent of the males, 21 percent of the females) said they are overweight. Two percent checked "very overweight" on the questionnaire. Forty-two percent of Harvard students, and 50 percent of students nationally are exercising to lose weight; for dieting the numbers are 23 and 26 percent.
Harvard has been working to improve all its numbers, said Hoyt and Rosenthal. "Surveys like this one provide us with information we need to spot trends and to evaluate the health services we provide," Hoyt noted.
"Our numbers are good," added Rosenthal, "but we still have a great deal to do."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2002 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
HOME : Science Prev issues | Contact us | Harvard News Office
Current Issue:
October 04, 2001
News
News, events, features
Science/Research
Latest scientific findings
Profiles
The people behind the university
Community
Harvard and neighbor communities
Sports
Scores, highlights, upcoming games
On Campus
Newsmakers, notes, students, police log
Arts
Museums, concerts, theater
Calendar
Two-week listing of upcoming events
HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES
Study finds Harvard students healthier than peers
By William J. Cromie
Gazette Staff
Students at Harvard drink more, smoke less, and have less sex than students at other colleges, according to the first nationwide survey of college lifestyles and health behaviors. Harvardians also are more depressed, get into fewer fights, and are slightly more likely to be homosexual or bisexual.
The American College Health Association did the survey by sending questionnaires to 28 schools last year; 16,024 undergraduate students responded including 904 from Harvard.
"We were pleased to see that we are no worse and slightly better than other schools," said David Rosenthal, director of Harvard's University Health Services (UHS).
Slightly more than 75 percent of Harvard students described their health as excellent or very good, compared with 61 percent of the national sample.
"Smoking is a problem," admitted Rosenthal. Although only 15.6 percent of Harvard students said they smoke, compared with 25.3 percent nationally, "I was surprised at the large number of our students who smoke," he said.
"We see smoking increasing as students move from their freshman to their senior year," noted Michael Hoyt, coordinator of health resources at UHS. "This is a huge issue because students are at the age where they're starting to form lifetime habits."
"Alcohol is also a big issue," Rosenthal said. Slightly more than 72 percent of Harvard students reported drinking alcohol in the 30 days before completing the questionnaire, compared with the national average of 68 percent.
"The thing that keeps me up at night is concern about students injuring themselves or others after drinking too much," Rosenthal noted.
About 8 percent of Harvard students reported driving after drinking. Fourteen percent admitted injuring themselves as a consequence of drinking, compared with 17 percent nationally. Two percent said they injured another person, compared with more than 4 percent nationally. At Harvard, 30 percent of the drinkers forgot where they were or what they did at times; the national average was 28 percent.
Alcohol use affected the academic performance of 5.5 percent of students at Harvard, versus 7.9 percent nationally, according to the survey.
Drinking and sex
Drinking that leads to unwanted sex is a problem on every campus. One percent of Harvard's female undergraduates reported use of force or threats of force to have sex, less than half the 2.3 percent national average.
At Harvard, 0.8 percent of the women reported they were raped, compared with 1.8 percent nationally. "The 0.8 percent amounts to 52 students," Hoyt pointed out. He noted that less than a half-dozen rapes were actually reported. "That is the kind of information we need in our efforts to get the number down to zero."
Thirty-nine percent of Harvard males and females said they had no sex partners within the past school year, compared with 29 percent of males and 27 percent of females nationally. Five percent of Harvard men and women reported having four or more partners in the past school year, compared with national numbers of 11 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
At Harvard, 2.6 percent of students describe themselves as gay or lesbian versus 1.4 percent nationally. For bisexuality, the numbers are 2.2 versus 1.5 percent. Some students said they were "not sure" of their sexual orientation - 1.7 percent at Harvard, 1.5 percent nationally.
Living away from home and meeting academic standards can be stressful for many students. Nationally, 23 percent reported they have been diagnosed with depression within the past year, as opposed to 34 percent at Harvard. Approximately 34 percent of the Harvardians are in therapy or taking medication for depression, versus about 19 percent nationally.
Rosenthal attributed the higher numbers of those in treatment to a Harvard outreach program begun last year. "We have the students watching out for each other," he noted. "The faculty - even dining-service workers - are alert for signs of depression. And we have increased the number and hours of availability of mental health professionals."
Rosenthal also expressed concern about diet and physical activity on campus. More than a quarter of Harvard students (29 percent of the males, 21 percent of the females) said they are overweight. Two percent checked "very overweight" on the questionnaire. Forty-two percent of Harvard students, and 50 percent of students nationally are exercising to lose weight; for dieting the numbers are 23 and 26 percent.
Harvard has been working to improve all its numbers, said Hoyt and Rosenthal. "Surveys like this one provide us with information we need to spot trends and to evaluate the health services we provide," Hoyt noted.
"Our numbers are good," added Rosenthal, "but we still have a great deal to do."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2002 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
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