IOP Survey: Service. Not Politics Tops Students' Agendas

Harvard students want to change the world and see community service--not politics--as the most effective way to do so, according to a survey by the Institute of Politics (IOP).

78 percent of the 300 students polled said they performed community service within the last year while only 38.7 percent had joined a political organization. Less than one-fourth have volunteered or plan to volunteer for a political campaign this year.

"[Students] aren't against politics in the abstract--they just think it is more difficult to get involved in politics," said Trevor D. Dryer '00-'02, who co-chaired the committee that developed the survey. "Community service is easier and you see more tangible results."

But Dryer said the survey showed that a majority of students still think that politics are relevant.

"The lack of involvement is more of a disconnection with the system," he said.

The survey also showed that around 76 percent of students plan to vote for Al Gore '69 in the next presidential election, compared to 17.3 percent who intend to vote for George W. Bush Fifty-eight percent of students surveyed identified themselves as Democrats, 10.8 said they were Republicans and 23.8 percent said they were independent.

Dryer and Erin B. Ashwell '02, co-chair of the IOP working group that developed the survey, said they came up with the idea for the survey last fall when they noticed that many of their friends were involved in community service but not politically active.

"We wanted to do the survey because people are interested in community and social change but my fear is that they don't see politics as part of that process," Ashwell said. "It just worries me that people don't see politics as an avenue through which to change their communities."

Ashwell and Dryer took their idea to IOP leaders to obtain funding for the survey, and hired an opinion researcher to serve as an adviser.

Each week, Ashwell, Dryer, the advisor and a committee of students met to design the survey.

"I see government as a vehicle for changing the world around me, but many young people don't see national or even state politics as a way of changing things," said committee member Kara A. Shamy '03. "I wanted to see why that was."

Before administering the survey, the committee also convened two focus groups of students from Harvard and other area colleges to determine ways that students can become more involved in politics on campus.

"Access to political information and resources is a big issue," wrote Anne Aaron, IOP director of outreach and communications in an e-mail message. "Students say they would prefer that political information be better, that political involvement be made easier. They also want better and easier access to direct democracy; they expressed strong support for measures that would simplify the process of registering and voting."

While 68.6 percent of students polled said they would vote in the next election, 82.6 percent said they would definitely vote if they had the option to vote over the Internet.

IOP Director Alan K. Simpson said the fact that only around 70 percent of respondents said they were currently registered to vote indicates that a considerable amount more needs to be done to get students registered. "The very core of any political activity is voting," Simpson said. Simpson, a former senator from Wyoming, said the future of Medicare and social security should be particularly important to students.

"Young people can bitch and moan and complain about politics," he said. "But if you don't get involved, the senior citizen lobby will overwhelm your generation."

Dryer said the survey's results showed there was strong support for the creation of a student-oriented political action committee that would train students and help get them elected to local, state and federal offices.

He also said that the survey's results should be useful to student political groups on campus.

"The survey gives different extracurricular organizations a roadmap of how to get students involved," Dryer said.

Aaron said the IOP plans to review the results and develop a plan of action in the coming year.

"We will look at these ideas through the prism of the IOP's mission, and perhaps try some new things," Aaron wrote. "Most importantly, we will continue to support the great contribution Harvard students make to their communities and to the world. And we'll always try to help students see the fun and the enormous value in political participation."