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The Daily OrangePolitics trump pop culture in recent survey of U.S. college students
By Frank Pallota
Posted: 4/11/07, 11:17 PM EST Section: News
College students are more familiar with President George W. Bush, Sen. Hillary Clinton and news in the political news than they are with the instant celebrities churned out by "American Idol," according to a study at Tufts University in Maryland.
Kent Portney, director of the study and professor, wanted to see how college students involve themselves in politics and culture, and how it differs from people who are not in a college setting. He questioned Americans 18 to 24 years old in two groups: full-time college students and people not in college or the military.
"We did the study primarily for the purpose of understanding how college students differ from non-college young people in terms of their civic engagement," Portney said, to see "how engaged they are in both political issues and community organizations."
People were asked if they knew their home district's Congressional representative, and if they could name at least one U.S. Senator from their home state. On the pop culture side, people were asked if they watched "American Idol" in 2006, and who won its competition.
"It might have something to do with recent world events," said Dawn Lausa, a Syracuse University English professor who teaches pop culture classes, on the study's findings. "Maybe people are actually paying attention to politics because they are starting to be affected by world events. Or maybe "American Idol" is just really boring this year."
Nearly 50 percent of college students could accurately name their district's congressman, compared with 40 percent of non-college respondents. Sixty-five percent could name at least one or both senators, compared with about 52 percent of non-college respondents.
However, the real surprise came from the respondents' pop culture answers.
Just 13.4 percent of college students and 15.4 percent of non-college young people could name "American Idol's" winner in 2006, the report stated. "American Idol" was America's No. 1 show last season.
Kent Portney, director of the study and professor, wanted to see how college students involve themselves in politics and culture, and how it differs from people who are not in a college setting. He questioned Americans 18 to 24 years old in two groups: full-time college students and people not in college or the military.
"We did the study primarily for the purpose of understanding how college students differ from non-college young people in terms of their civic engagement," Portney said, to see "how engaged they are in both political issues and community organizations."
People were asked if they knew their home district's Congressional representative, and if they could name at least one U.S. Senator from their home state. On the pop culture side, people were asked if they watched "American Idol" in 2006, and who won its competition.
"It might have something to do with recent world events," said Dawn Lausa, a Syracuse University English professor who teaches pop culture classes, on the study's findings. "Maybe people are actually paying attention to politics because they are starting to be affected by world events. Or maybe "American Idol" is just really boring this year."
Nearly 50 percent of college students could accurately name their district's congressman, compared with 40 percent of non-college respondents. Sixty-five percent could name at least one or both senators, compared with about 52 percent of non-college respondents.
However, the real surprise came from the respondents' pop culture answers.
Just 13.4 percent of college students and 15.4 percent of non-college young people could name "American Idol's" winner in 2006, the report stated. "American Idol" was America's No. 1 show last season.
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