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Show Monday Janiury 9, 1995 The Daily Utah Chronicle Class of '98 smokes more, drinks less BY KIM L MILLS Associated Press Writer University of California Los Angeles, the survey found this year's college freshmen arc less interested and involved in - WASHINGTON (AP) LeReece UCLA of Class 98, rarely CampbdL talks politics with her classmates, consid-ers nerseu more UDeral man conservative and thinks society shows too much concern for the rights of criminals. ; She believes that government should cxm more corurdew the sale of handguns, "but I don't know if itU solve" the nation's crime problems. She borrowed money to pay for school and says that has added stress to her life. These attitudes make Campbell, ah tial election year during the Vietnam War and a time of turmoil on college v politics than any previous entering class. The survey covered 333,703 students at 670 two- - and colleges and unifour-ye- ar - versities. Only 31.9 percent of the fall 1994 freshmen said that "keeping up with political affairs" is an important goal in life the lowest percentage in the survey's history. In 1990, 42.4 per cent said it was an important goal and in 1966, 57.8 percent answered affirmative- - - , 29-yc- Pro-Choic- e, The percentage of freshmen who said they frequently discuss politics also reached its lowest point, dropping to 16 from Pasadena, Calif., a fairly typical freshman, according to many answers given by her peers in a national ' college students survey of first-yeReleased Sunday by the Higher Education Research Institute at the percent from 18.8 percent the previous year, and 24.6 percent in 1992. The highest level of freshman political debate -29.9 percent was in 1968, a presiden ar campuses. Stephen Shore, a freshman from San Francisco who ' attends Princeton University, said his classmates often talk politics but talk is all they do. "The amount of activism is very small, mostly because this is a conservative campus and people are pretty happy with the status quo," he said. Noting that he is involved in an abortion rights group called Princeton "I definitely fed I'm the exception," he said. . 7 Consistent with Shore's experience, the poll found a declining number of freshmen saying community activism is a very important goal in life. In 1994, 243 percent said it was important to "participate in programs to help dean up die environment," compared to 33.6 percent - in 1992. And although die proportion of students who said they participated in an organized demonstration in the past year increased from 38.6 percent to 40.4 per cent during the two years, the percentage who said there was a very good chance that they would engage in protests dur-in-g college declined, from 6.9 percent in 1992 to 5.4 percent last year. Support for legalizing marijuana increased for the firth straight year, to 32.1 percent, compared to 28.2 percent in 1993 and 16.7 percent in 1989, according to the poll. "A number of findings suggest that students arc feeling increasingly stressed," said survey director Alexander W. Asrin, a professor of higher education at UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. He cited the 24.1 percent of freshmen who said they "felt overwhelmed" in the past year, and 9.5 percent who said they had "felt depressed." Both figures represented increases over the prior year. Interest in medical careers reached an high in the fall 1994 survey, with 8 3 percent of die freshmen indicating that they intended to obtain medical doctor degrees. This compares to 8.4 percent in 1993 and 4.1 percent in 1969. c On the behavioral side, tobacco and drinking declined among freshmen. The percentage who said they smoke cigarettes rose for die sixth time in seven years, from 11.6 percent in 1993 to 125 percent in 1994. But the percent who reported ing beer in the past year reached an e low of 53.2 percent, compared to 54.4 percent in 1993 and 752 percent in 1981. The percent who said they drank wine or hard liquor also declined. But at Princeton, Shore said, "There's a lot of drinking. That's what you do on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night" Ggarette smoking, he said, "is not that common." all-tim- e usc-ros- dy all-tim- voire dot o from page 1 that some educators have suggested that this decline in the teaching done by foreign scholars was in part due to problems at many large research universities concerning the quality of ' instruction provided by foreign scholars. Another reason behind the low number of teaching foreign scholars is the difficulty sometimes encountered by students in understanding the speech of some foreign academics. i Thh complaint is often heard by Barnhart, but "the benefits far outweigh any of the problems." :' Among those schools with the largest number of visiting foreign faculty are Harvard University with 2,890, the University of California at Berkeley with 2,105 and the University of California at Los Angeles with 1,930. The number of male foreign scholars far. out numbers the number of females. For every woman that comes to the United States to teach or do research at a college or, university, three men come. ::' . 7 ..,,7... The role of foreign scholars "strengthens our mission as a university." A university provides an "opportunity to exchange knowledge" and visiting scholars do just this by providing diversity and different points of view, Barnhart said. mm : " Harvard U. 2,890 U. of California, Berkely 2,105 U. of California, Los Angeles 1,930 Mass. Institute of Technology 1,381 U. of California, San Diego 1,326 U. of Minnesota, Twin Cities 1,293 U. of Pennsylvania 1,244 033 Kaplan helps you focus your test prep study where you need it the" most. We'll show you the g proven skills and -- . :. ' U. of California, Davis Stanford Cornell U. test-takin- techniques that you help get a higher score. 1,092 U: 1,087. - - uwfi fin got a HIGHER SCORE PLAN 1,056 "Hi U. of Washington 1,041 U. of HI., 1,000 7 If I SIGN UP TODAY!! Urbana-Champaig- n 444 were not necessarily those of the advisory council as a whole. - All sides said they wanted to avoid linkage between this debate and controfrom page 1 California's $440,000 since 1991, the office has been surrounding versy 8 to deny Nov. fnnvd tn make snme Proposition 187, passed benefits education health and most state decisions on who will receive benefits. - ' there. victims to illegal immigrants Among the cuts: Survivors of Utah the noted Halversen policy ol negligent homicide will no longer get aid, nor will the families of those lulled in change has been in the works for nearly nine months accidents. long before the California measure started drawing y - Survivors of victims who may have national attention. provoked violence, such as gang mems fund was creat- - i Utah's denied. be will also bers, "We're struck with cold, hard fiscal ', ed in 1987, with revenues drawn from facts," said Chad Halversen, chairman of ;. special state surcharges on court fines, the Crime Victims Reparations Board. penalties and forfeitures. "We're really grimly faced with the realToday, the fund's caseload is more " in 1988, with ity that we can't help everybody. It's a ' than five times what it was , all claims coming on choice between helping a few or eventu-nearly 40 percent of " child-sexuabuse. ' behalf of victims, of one," ally helping-ndire. ; Illegal immigrants "are, unfortunatel- The needs are ."My littie boy was raped and being y, just that: They are in this country illeable to have him attend therapy has been gally," Halversen added. "We're here to for us," one mother wrote lifesaver citizens a of the help crime victims who are ' could have never afforded "We recendy. state of Utah." the this without fund programs' help." The paid out fund's revenues have the total last of Meantime, 1,473 $3.4 million year to a violmt-crim- e victims. Dan Davis, execu- - . lagged behind its expenses by as much live director of the fund, said the pro- - ; as $140,000 in years since 1991, though has lowered that figure to gram annually receives fewer . than a handful of applications from illegal around $31,000 in the past fiscal year. Increases in. violent crime nationally , immigrants. criti-- . I have forced funds in 35 other states into drawn has new the Still, policy ' similar circumstances. California's fund cism from the head of Gov. Mike " Leavitt's Advisory Council on Hispanic is $40 million in the hole. ' It's forced some difficult choices. In Affairs. . illeUtah, officials have denied an average of Chairman Juan Mcjia said most cit290 claims a year, roughly a quarter of gal immigrants go on to become UJS. the total. Reasons range in victims not vicizens. They, too, pay into the state ' he cooperating with police to not filing tims fund when they pay court fines, claims on time. its' share of said, and they deserve a Fund officials also have had to returns. become more strict in their interpreta--' as a we can "I favor doing whatever tions the of sorts of victim conduct that of i society for crime victims, regardless contribute to the crime, Davis said. his said, may noting their background," Mejia vBctimnis 5 .views - vj7 ; vs. crime-victim- m.Qs crime-reparatio- ns : cost-cuttin- g '.." "... Tomorrow, Jcituspy 1 0th L.D.0. EnstitufQ oil Religion . SPONSORED BY: LDS3A T7 |
