after the facts

When the rest of the country shifted to the right and voted overwhelmingly for Ronald Reagan in 1984, a campus poll showed that the majority of Harvard students went the other direction, heartily endorsing Walter Mondale.

Throughout the 1980s, Harvard somehow has remained an enclave of liberalism against a sea of conservativism. But just how much farther to the left of everybody else is the University community?

To see what we mean, compare the results of last Tuesday's election with the results of a Crimson poll on students' political preferences. We think you'll be surprised--even for a George McGovern-voting state like Massachusetts:

.Massachusetts voters who defeated Question One, the referendum on prohibiting state-funded abortions:

58 percent

.Harvard students polled who said they were against the same referendum:

84 percent

.State voters who defeated Question Five, the referendum retaining the existing seat belt law:

47 percent

.Harvard students polled who said they favored the liberal measure:

67 percent

.Voters at-large who supported Democratic moderate Gov. Michael S. Dukakis:

69 percent

.Harvard undergraduates who supported Dukakis:

57 percent

.Voters at-large who supported Democratic moderate Joseph P. Kennedy II for the Eighth Congressional District:

72 percent

.Harvard undergraduates who supported Kennedy:

49 percent