New Report: Millennials Talk Politics

Today, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) released a new report - below is the information, cross-posted from CIRCLE's website:

Millennials Talk Politics: A Study of College Student Civic Engagement

College students in the United States are hungry for political conversation that is authentic, involves diverse views and is free of manipulation and “spin,” according to a new report released on November 7th, 2007 by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) and The Charles F. Kettering Foundation.

Download the full report in PDF format

Read the press release

Today’s students—part of the Millennial Generation born between 1985 and 2004— are more engaged in their communities and feel responsible to become civically involved. They recognize the importance of being educated and involved citizens, but discard much of the information available to them because of its polarizing and partisan nature. They are turned off by intensely combative political debate, the report says. We also find that colleges and universities are providing very unequal opportunities for civic participation and learning.

Nearly 400 students convened in 47 focus groups on 12 four-year college campuses across the country to discuss their civic and political attitudes and experiences. Focus groups were conducted on the following campuses between October 2006 and July 2007:

Bowdoin College
Kansas State University
Princeton University
Providence College
Tougaloo College
University of California Berkeley
University of Dayton
University of Maryland College Park*
University of Massachusetts Boston
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of New Mexico
Wake Forest University

*Pilot focus groups were conducted at the University of Maryland College Park in May 2006.

For more information and the full report, visit http://www.civicyouth.org