Agent of Democracy - Society for College and University Planning

Should Higher Education Have a Civic Mission?
Finally, the already burgeoning civic movement gained momentum,
as studies revealing low levels of political and civic engagement
began to concern a lot of people, particularly educators. For example,
in the 1996 presidential election, less than half of voting-age Americans
went to the polls (49 percent), reportedly the lowest turnout
since 1924. Congressional races fared even worse; the self-proclaimed
“Republican revolution” of 1994 was authorized by only 38 percent
of eligible voters. Worst of all, vitally important presidential primaries
have attracted as few as 5 percent of voting-age Americans.
In addition, political participation beyond voting has declined.
Robert Putnam argued in “Bowling Alone” (1995):
Since 1973 the number of Americans who report that
“in the past year” they have “attended a public meeting
on town or school affairs” has fallen by more than
a third (from 22 percent in 1973 to 13 percent in 1993).
Similar (or even greater) relative declines are evident
in responses to questions about attending a political
rally or speech, serving on a committee of some local
organization, and working for a political party. By almost
every measure, Americans’ direct engagement in
politics and government has fallen steadily and sharply
over the last generation, despite the fact that average levels
of education—the best individual-level predictor of
political participation—have risen sharply throughout
this period. Every year over the last decade or two, millions
more have withdrawn from the affairs of their
communities.
In addition, while relatively stable for the last 50 years, “political
knowledge levels are, in many instances, depressingly low,” particularly
among “women, African Americans, the poor and the young,”
as Michael Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter explain in What Americans
Know About Politics and Why It Matters (1996). Moreover, “as the amount
of detail requested increases and as less visible institutions or processes
are asked about, the percentage of the public able to correctly
answer questions declines.” Newspaper reading has declined markedly,
especially among the young. Stephen and Linda Bennett
find that while in 1966 sixty percent of first-year college students
thought “keeping up to date with political affairs” was “essential”
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