the american freshman: national norms fall 2011 - Higher Education ...

that same-sex couples should be deprived of the
right to legal marriage. Given the influence of
young voters in the last Presidential election,
candidates for office should be aware of how
college student views of this civil rights issue are
progressing.
In another finding that is relevant to the current
political climate, fewer incoming students
believe that undocumented immigrants should
be denied access to public education. Although
fairly evenly split in 2009 (the last time this
question was asked on the survey) with support
at 47.2%, opposition to access to public education
for undocumented immigrants drops
4.2 percentage points to 43.0% in 2011. While
decidedly more conservative students (61.0%),
report support for this statement, this still
means that 39.0% of self-described conservative
students believe that undocumented immigrants
should be allowed access to public education.
Liberal students are much less likely to support
denying access to public education to illegal
immigrants, with only 29.6% agreeing either
“somewhat” or “strongly.”
Another change seen this year in terms of political
and social issues is support for the statement
that “students from disadvantaged social backgrounds
should be given preferential treatment
in college admissions,” with more incoming
first-year students supporting such a policy,
from 37.4% in 2009 to 42.1% in 2011. This
4.7 percentage point change is, again, in a more
liberal direction. It also marks an all-time-high
point for support since the question was first
asked in the survey in 1971.
In a change that will probably not impact the
presidential election platforms, more incoming
first-year students support the legalization of
marijuana in 2011, at 49.1%, than in 2009, at
45.6%. This is rapidly approaching the highest
level of support recorded in the CIRP Freshman
Survey of 51.3% in 1977. The legalization of
marijuana has had a fascinating roller coaster
history, moving from the high of 51.3% in 1977
to a low in 1989 of 16.7%, and now back up to
current levels which are similar to the 1970s.
The belief that abortion should be legal, on the
down turn since 1992 when support was at an
all-time high of 67.2%, has risen in recent years,
going from 58.0% in 2009 to 60.7% in 2011,
an increase of 2.7 percentage points. This again
shows a difference between self-described conservative
and liberal students, with 79.4% of liberal
students in support versus 37.4% of conservative
students.
We are rapidly approaching the point where
it will be a definitive minority opinion
amongst college students that same-sex
couples should be deprived of the right to
legal marriage.
Finally, support for the statement that “a
national health care plan is needed to cover
everyone’s medical costs” has not changed
appreciably since 2010, when 61.3% were in
support, compared to 60.5% in 2011, a drop of
less than one percentage point. It has, however,
dropped quite a bit from 2007, when 74.5% of
entering students were in support of national
health care. This is a fairly polarizing issue
among incoming first-year students, with a
much higher rate of support among liberal
students, at 81.3%, than among conservative
students, at 28.9%, and sure to be an issue on
college campuses as we proceed towards the
national Presidential election.
7