University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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FOfl STATE TERRORISM UNWELCOME BUSH !

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An address by Vice President George Bush at the Peace Corps 25th anniversary observance drew dress- for-success supporters and throngs of shouting protesters. Former Michigan activist Tom Hayden, Michigan Daily Editor-in-Chief Neil Chase, activist IngridKock and economics student Douglas Gessener discussed student attitudes with Today Show host Bryant Gumbel in the Diag. attitudes is being assembled by students in Eldersveld ' s American Political Parties class, who inter- viewed 200 LSA sophomores and seniors, plus 40 campus leaders in political organizations, for the study. The scientifically selected subjects were questioned about their past and potential activism, political leanings, attitudes on certain national issues and voting behavior. Final reports are to be finished at the end of April. Much of what has been written recently about college politics was done without benefit of such polls. There ' s been a lot of speculation, said Eldersveld, whose study is a rare source of hard data on the subject. It ' s the first major survey of Universi- ty of Michigan campus politics in over a decade. The preliminary report in- dicates that today ' s Michigan students approach politics and issues in a highly selective man- ner. They ' re reasonably well in- formed about national affairs compared with the general public. Fifty-five percent were able to correctly name their represen- tative in Congress. If one-third of the people in the general public know their con- gressman, you ' re doing well. Eldersveld noted. Interest in local politics, however, is low. Only 18 percent knew who was running Ann Arbor City Hall, and less than ten per- cent voted in the most recent municipal elections. That com- pares to an impressive 7 1 percent of sophomores and 85 percent of seniors who claimed to have voted in the 1984 presidential CONTINUED 12 MICHIGAN ENSIAN Opposite: Kristine Golubovskis

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election. Although a majority of those surveyed approved of President Reagan ' s performance, they did not see eye-to-eye with their leader on many issues. For ex- ample, 47 percent of the sophomores and 42 percent of the seniors disapproved of President Reagan ' s Strategic Defense Initiative, a plan for space-based weapons commonly known as Star Wars. Forty percent of sophomores and 47 percent of seniors don ' t support the U.S. government ' s policy on South Africa. Leaders polled were decidedly more liberal than the general student sample, which was tabulated separately. Less than half of them approved of Reagan ' s job performance. All of this indicates a very discriminating in- dependent view of the issues, according to Eldersveld. It may also account for one of the survey ' s most striking findings: quiet as Michigan ' s campus may be compared to the late 60s and early 70s, there is still a considerable amount of political activism here, with a potential for activism on a scale not seen since the Decade of Protest. Fully one-quarter of students of both class levels not including the campus leaders have already engaged in political activity off campus. (The adult norm, according to the report, is ten percent.) On campus, participation varies according to activity. Most students between 66 and 79 percent reported signing petitions or contributing money for political purposes. Smaller but still significant numbers participated in more involved actions: 20 percent of sophomores and 29 percent of seniors have joined campus political organizations; 23 percent of sophomores and 34 percent of seniors have taken part in political rallies. 14 MICHIGAN ENSIAN