ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 13, 1997 TAG: 9701130137
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
The nation's largest annual survey of college freshmen portrays a class that is more civic-minded, more self-confident and more supportive of a range of conservative social values than students have been in decades.
The survey, an important gauge of attitudes and aspirations among college freshmen since it began in the 1960s, reveals many striking trends this year: Record numbers of them are doing volunteer work, interest in law or business careers have hit new lows, and students seem to think more highly of themselves than ever. A record percentage of students also reported being frequently ``bored in class.''
On social issues, the survey shows that student support for keeping abortion legal has declined for the fourth consecutive year. And the percentage of students endorsing casual sexual relationships has dwindled to a new low.
More than 250,000 freshmen at nearly 500 universities nationwide took part in the survey, which is being released today by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. The results are based on responses that freshmen gave to hundreds of questions on their interests, issues in American society, and their plans for the future.
In recent years, college analysts have expressed dismay with the growing apathy that students have shown in the survey about government and politics. That remained low again this year; only about 30 percent said they considered keeping up with current events ``very important.'' But it did not decline, as it has for most of this decade.
In this year's survey, researchers said they were heartened most by the rise of community service. About 72 percent of freshmen said they had performed volunteer work in the past year, which is 10 points higher than it was in 1989. About 38 percent said they volunteer once a week. Both figures are the highest the survey has ever recorded.
College officials said they believed the trend is the result of growing campaigns in the nation's high schools to encourage, even require, students to do community work. ``There is clearly more genuine interest in that among students,'' said Robert Canevari, dean of students at the University of Virginia. ``We're seeing much more of it on campus, and I don't think it's just for most students to pad their resumes.''
The survey also reports that today's college freshmen are much more self-confident than those of a generation or so ago. Perhaps too confident, it suggests.
More freshmen than ever rated themselves ``above average'' or in the ``highest 10 percent'' of their class in academics, public speaking and leadership, and artistic skill. In 1971, for example, only about 35 percent of freshmen in the survey said they had strong leadership ability. Now, 54 percent say they do. Overall, 58 percent of freshmen said they were ``above average'' compared to their peers.
One reason for that, researchers said, could be grade inflation. The survey reports that the nation's high schools appear to be awarding students higher marks than at any other time in the survey's history. For example: In 1969, only 12 percent of freshmen said they had ``A'' averages. Now, 32 percent say they do. In 1969, about 33 percent of freshmen said they had ``C'' averages. Now, only 15 percent do.
On social issues, survey results were mixed. Strong majorities of freshmen want more gun control, tougher environmental laws, and support gay rights. But on other prominent subjects, many more students are embracing staunchly conservative views.
Support for abortion rights, for example, continues to decline after peaking at 65 percent in 1990. This year, 56 percent of students favor it, one of its lowest levels since the survey began. Support for abortion was similar among male and female freshmen. Seventy-two percent of freshmen also said society shows ``too much concern for criminals.'' About 80 percent of them want to keep the death penalty.
Support for casual sex also has reached a new low. It peaked in 1987, when 52 percent of freshmen in the survey agreed with the notion that ``if two people like each other, it's all right for them to have sex even if they've known each other for a very short time.'' This year, less than 42 percent agreed with that statement.
``It's just too scary out there for them,'' Canevari said. ``The rise of sexually transmitted diseases has made many students more conservative in their sexual mores.''
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