Most college kids think nation is headed in wrong direction, Panetta Institute poll finds
Monterey Herald 5/11/07
The survey also showed college students are worried about getting a job after graduation and the threat of global warming.
The survey was conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and polled 1,040 students nationwide between April 11-17.
"The mood on America's campuses is pretty sour right now," said Leon Panetta, former White House chief of staff under Democratic President Clinton and a longtime Democratic congressman, now director of the Panetta Institute.
According to the survey, only 29 percent of college students think the nation is going in the "right direction," down from a peak of 43 percent in 2003.
The survey showed that the percentage of college students who "feel confident and secure" about the country's future remained unchanged from last year, at 26 percent, while in 2004, 35 percent were "confident." More Republican college students than Democrats tended to claim confidence rather than concern.
President Bush's job approval rating was low among students — 65 percent disapprove of the job he's doing, compared with 60 percent for the general public, according to a March NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
The Panetta survey suggested that college students' 59 percent dissatisfaction with national leadership may stem from their view that government should do more to solve problems and help meet people's needs.
"College students," it states, "are far more pro-government than are all adults nationwide."
Approval rating of the war in Iraq is also low. The survey shows 32 percent overall think the war is "worth it," compared with 53 percent saying it's "not worth it." The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows 33 percent of the nation's adults think the war is worthwhile.
On immigration, 71 percent of college students don't agree that growing numbers of immigrants are a threat to traditional American customs and values, compared with 46 percent of the general public.
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed say they are following the current presidential race, getting most of their news from television or the Internet.
Nearly half of college students believe they will end up better off financially than their parents, and finding a good-paying, high-ranking job leads the list of postgraduate concerns.
Sixty percent of college students believe global warming will pose a serious threat to them in their lifetime.
The Panetta Institute, based at CSU-Monterey Bay, conducts its annual college student survey to measure the level of student interest in politics and civic life.
The survey included 600 telephone interviews and 440 online interviews. Margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percent.