“This survey shows that a growing number of students arrive at college ready to become involved in community service,” says Dr. Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. “While earlier studies suggest that too few students sustain such commitments into their advanced college years, these new data should encourage educators to redouble their efforts to create new connections between academy study and challenges in larger society.”
This group of freshmen also appears to continue a trend of declining support for military spending. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 45 percent of American freshmen approved of increased military spending. That number has since dropped to 34.2 percent. More than 36 percent of respondents also say it is important or essential to keep up with political affairs and 12 percent worked in local, state or national political campaigns in high school.
Just over 49 percent of students participated in an organized demonstration as high school seniors, the highest number in the survey’s history. And 36.4 percent said it is important or essential to “keep up to date with political affairs,” the highest response since 1994 for that question.
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