Students more politically-minded, study shows

Political awareness among students -- namely college freshmen, is on the rise -- according to a survey of over 275,000 freshmen at 413 colleges and universities nationwide.\nThe study, conducted by a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, showed 33.9 percent of students felt "keeping up to date with political affairs" was important in their lives -- a 1 percent increase from last year.\nChristine Barbour, a professor in the political science department, said she wasn't sure if IU students are becoming more politically active, but the democratic primaries may have contributed to the increase in interest.\n"The Dean effect got students excited," Barbour said, referring to democratic presidential candidate hopeful Howard Dean's "scream speech" following the Iowa caucus earlier this year. "(John) McCain had this same effect in the 2000 election, but there's no way anyone can know (until the actual turnout at elections). We'll have to wait and see."\nBut the IU College Republicans have seen an increase in interest in the past year.\n"I'm a junior, and I've seen a big increase in our weekly meetings and functions we do off campus," said Zach Tanselle, College Republicans treasurer. "We've really grown in size."\nThe IU College Democrats reported similar findings.\n"There has been more interest this semester than last semester, but that comes with the primaries," said Morgan Tilleman, financial vice president for the College Democrats.\nMuch of the interest in politics recently has been attributed to the media-garnering democratic primaries and the upcoming presidential election in November.\n"I think with the presidential elections coming up, politics is more out there and more people ... are looking to see where they stand," Tanselle said.\nTilleman agreed the primaries have gotten students more involved in politics than usual.\n"It's a presidential election year and people get excited about that, especially given the competitive and qualified field we (the Democratic party) have," he said. \nBarbour said the trend could not only be noticed in students, but in other areas as well.\n"All levels of participation are up this year," Barbour said. "The Democratic primaries have higher numbers than before, but not necessarily higher percentages -- maybe everyone is participating more, not just students."\nTanselle said he believes students are wanting to do something more, politically speaking, than they have done in the past. \n"Some people come out and just want to get involved and that's what really has to do with it," he said. "More people are wanting to get involved than they have in the past."\nTilleman agreed.\n"I think there's a growing revival of awareness that politics is an important part of everyone's lives and the decisions the government makes affects everyone, including students at IU," he said.\nBut Barbour doesn't believe students are getting drastically more involved in politics at IU.\n"My classes aren't bigger and the (students) aren't participating more," she said.\nYesterday Barbour asked her "Introduction to American Politics" class how many students had seen President Bush's interview on TV Sunday. She said in her first class of over 100 students, not a single person said they had seen the interview. In another class, only two or three said they had. \nShe did not rule out the possibility of an increasing trend of awareness, but said it could be more apparent on other campuses.\n"It could be a difference in Indiana," she said.\n-- Contact assistant copy chief Brittany Hite at bhite@indiana.edu.