Expert on Student Attitudes is Faculty Distinguished Lecturer
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Sylvia Hurtado |
Sam Houston State University students may not know Sylvia Hurtado,
but if they entered SHSU as a freshman
in the last five years, Sylvia Hurtado may know more about them
than they realize.
Hurtado, who
will give a Faculty Distinguished Lecture Series presentation
Feb. 22, is director of the Higher Education Research Institute
at UCLA.
For the past
five years, SHSU has participated in UCLA's annual survey of
entering freshmen. In 2006 271,441 first-time, full-time students
at 393 of the nation's baccalaureate colleges and universities
responded. The data collected is considered reflective of the
1.3 million students that started their higher education careers
last fall.
Hurtado's presentation
at 11 a.m. in the Smith-Hutson Business Building Mafrige Auditorium
is entitled "Higher Learning for Citizenship in a Multicultural
Society."
This fall's
survey indicated that this year's entering college freshmen are
discussing politics more frequently than at any point in the
past 40 years and becoming less moderate in their political views.
"This
bodes well for fostering democratic citizenship during college," said
Hurtado, who has studied how colleges prepare students for a
diverse democracy. One group at Sam Houston State University
that is encouraging more civic engagement is the American Democracy
Project.
"Colleges
are responsible for educating the next generation of leaders," said
Hurtado, "and it's exciting that students are entering with
greater political and civic awareness. This often means students
will seek more information, ask questions and interact more around
issues that affect American society."
This fall more
freshmen reported that they discussed politics frequently as
high school seniors--33.8 percent, up from 25.5 percent in 2004.
Politically, 43.1 percent identified themselves as "middle-of-the
road," 28.4 percent called themselves "liberal," and
23.9 percent said they were "conservative."
The 2006 survey
indicated that liberal and conservative freshmen are divided
by two of the current social issues--gay rights and abortion--but
are more agreeable on the issue of affirmative action in college
admissions.
While four
out of five liberals (83.7 percent) say that same-sex couples
should have the right to legal marital status, less than one
in three (30.4 percent) of conservatives believe that way.
Abortion is
another polarizing issue. While more than three out of four (78.4
percent) of liberal freshmen support legalized abortion, less
than one in three (31.8 percent) of conservative students do.
Middle-of-the-road freshmen come in at 56.3 percent.
There is
not a great difference between liberals and conservatives on
the issue of affirmative action in college admissions. A small
majority--52.7 percent--of conservative freshmen say that affirmative
action in college admissions should be abolished, while 44.6
percent of liberals agree.
On other issues
48 percent of liberals believe the death penalty should be abolished,
versus 22.5 percent of conservatives; 52.5 percent of liberals
favor legalizing marijuana, compared with 23.5 percent of conservatives,
and 83.9 percent of liberals would vote for a national health
plan, versus 57 percent of conservatives.
In another
area, the survey found that two out of three students (64.1 percent)
say they have "some" or "major" concerns
about their ability to finance the costs of their college education.
And almost half of freshmen attending the institution that was
their second choice had also been accepted by their first-choice
college but were swayed by offers of financial aid and the cost
of the college in which they enrolled.
The Faculty
Distinguished Lecturer Series has included such noteworthy figures
as former president George Bush, Poland's president and Communism
foe Lech Walesa, John Kenneth Galbraith, and many others.
—END—
SHSU Media Contact: Frank Krystyniak
Feb. 1, 2007
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