[Sosfbay-discuss] College Students Politically Know More About Politics: stereotypes all wrong new study finds

[JamBoi]

I've been saying this for a long time!  I have lots of direct contact
with college educated young adults, and I maintain its a bum rap these
fellow GenX and GenYers have been getting.
In particular I believe political humor such as The Daily Show and
Colbert Report (aimed squarely at this demographic group) are amazing
tonics for the Body Politic!  This is an extremely important
demographic I think we should target.

Impeach for Peace!

Drew Johnson
California


College Students Politically Know More About Politics: stereotypes all
wrong new study finds

http://news.yahoo.com/s livescience
collegestudentsknowmoreaboutpoliticsthanamericanidol_ylt=Ar3teP6yKJZKvcm8mBsqO.uyFz4D

College Students Know More About Politics Than American Idol
LiveScience Staff

LiveScience.com Thu Apr 12, 9:30 PM ET
The stereotype of the self-involved, culture-obsessed U.S. college
student is wrong, according to a new study.

American college students today are actually very engaged in politics
to the point that they are much more likely to know the names of their
U.S. senators or congressional representatives than the names of
winners of "American Idol," says political scientist Kent E. Portnoy of
Tufts University.

His analysis of a national survey of 1,000 non-military men and women
ages 18 to 24 included equal mixes of college students and non-college
students and drew upbeat conclusions about the youngest cohort of
potential voters.

"Young people seem to know more about politics than they know about
popular culture," he said in a prepared statement. "This level of
political knowledge stands in stark contrast to the image of young
people as uninterested in and ignorant about politics and government."

Other findings in the study released today by Tufts include:

* About 79 percent of the college students and more than 73 percent of
the subjects not in college said they voted in the November 2006
elections. 
* Only 10 to 12 percent reported ever voting in "American Idol." 
* More than 61 percent of college students and 48 percent of those not
in college had participated in online political discussions or visited
a politically oriented website.
* 58 percent of college students and 37 percent of those not in school
reported being somewhat, moderately or very involved in their
communities.
* Subjects belonged to an average of four advocacy groups on Facebook,
a popular social networking website for young people.
* One in four subjects said they read political blogs.
* College students tended to be more involved in community service and
volunteering than those not in college, Portnoy said.

"While political commentators like Joe Scarborough may lament that you
can't count on young people to participate or they'll 'leave you at the
altar,' there is surprisingly little evidence to support this
conventional wisdom," he said.

___________________

JamBoi: Jammy The Sacred Cow Slayer

The Green Parties' #1 Blogger
See http://google.com/search?hl=en&q=JamBoi
http://dailyJam.blogspot.com

"To the brave belong all things"
Reply from Celts invading the Italian penninsula's when nervous Romans asked. 
approx 400BC

"Live humbly, laugh often and love unconditionally" (anon)

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