More college freshmen than ever say they participated in demonstrations during their final year in high school, according to an annual survey of incoming students.
The 25th annual survey by the University of California at Los Angeles’s Higher Educational Research Institute and the American Council on Education revealed that 39.4 percent of this year’s freshmen took part in demonstrations, up from last year’s record level of 36.7 percent. The new figure is more than double those charted during the late 1960’s, often considered the height of student activism, the report says.
Nearly 200,000 students on 382 two-year and four-year campuses were surveyed.
Record numbers also were recorded for those saying it is an “essential” or “very important” goal to “influence social values” (42.9 percent) or to “influence the political structure” (20.6 percent).
Nevertheless, 73.2 percent of those surveyed said “to be able to make more money” was a “very important” reason for attending college--another record high.#
Copies of “The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 1990,” are available for $19 from the Higher Education
A slight majority of students who attend colleges that are primarily populated by another race say they would select the same school if they had to start college again, according to a survey on campus racial issues conducted by the Southern Regional Education Board.
Nearly 52 percent of blacks on predominantly white campuses and 53 percent of whites attending historically black colleges said they would choose their school again.
But only 28.2 percent of the blacks and 33.5 percent of the = whites attending those schools said admissions counselors “accurately described the types of experiences I encountered here.”
Nearly 5,000 students at 20 predominantly white and 20 historically black institutions were surveyed in 1988.
The study also found that a vast majority of black and white students at all campuses believe blacks and whites should meet universal admissions standards. But only 10.5 percent of whites on predominantly white campuses nd 13.2 percent of whites at historically black schools said special consideration should be given to blacks for entrance into professional schools, compared with 44.1 percent of blacks at predominantly white schools and 50.4 percent of blacks at historically black institutions.
Copies of “Racial Issues on Campus: How Students View Them” are available from the sreb, 592 10th St., N.W., Atlanta, Ga. 30318-5790.--M.P.
