college freshmen looking inward, thinking about money, and moving left

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

>In fact, fully 28.1 percent of freshmen reported that they felt 
>"overwhelmed by all they had to do," with 49 percent saying they 
>expected to cover at least a portion of their educational expenses 
>with a summer job. More than a quarter of students reported that 
>they expected to find a part-time job during the academic year as 
>well.

This is the biggest problem.  Rises in tuition in the last couple of 
decades have to be reversed, or else kids will find it difficult to 
become politically active, even if they want to, since political 
activism is a time-consuming enterprise.


>The 2000 study also showed a continued shift to the political left 
>among freshmen. For the fourth year in a row, the percentage of 
>students who defined themselves as "liberal" or "far left" rose, to 
>27.7 percent -- up from 26.0 percent in 1999.
>
>The leftward shift was also reflected in rising opposition to the 
>death penalty and rising support for gay rights. Thirty-one percent 
>of freshmen said that capital punishment should be abolished, an 
>increase after years of declining opposition. Similarly, only 27.2 
>percent of freshmen reported that they felt it "is important to have 
>laws prohibiting homosexual relationships" -- down from the record 
>50.4 percent who agreed with that statement in 1987. Fifty-six 
>percent also believed that "same-sex couples should have the right 
>to legal marital status."

A very good sign.

Yoshie