Are students upset with the current stepped-up presence of Brunswick police during weekend parties, or with the long-standing ban on hard alcohol consumption? How have these policies affected their behavior? How do Bowdoin students feel about President Barack Obama, and how closely do students follow politics in the news?
My 200-level government class, Quantitative Analysis in Political Science, spent the last month investigating these issues by polling over 600 students on campus. We're writing this week to announce the results. The full slate of questions and responses are available on Professor Franz's Web site: www.bowdoin.edu/~mfranz, but here are some highlights:
The campus, as has long been suspected, is skewed Democratic and liberal. Just over half of all respondents self-identified as Democrats, and about a quarter are Independents. Only about one in 8 students is a Republican. More so, two-thirds of all students surveyed either strongly approve or approve of President Obama's performance in office.
More students disapprove of the hard alcohol policy than approve of it (46 to 40 percent), and a little more than one in 10 are not sure. About 60 percent of students claim that the policy has no effect on their behavior, but nearly a third of all respondents go further and claim the policy compels them to drink more heavily before attending a registered party. Less than one in 10 report that the policy has its intended effect of lowering the consumption of hard alcohol. These results are particularly prevalent among first years. Nearly 40 percent of first years surveyed online or by telephone indicated that the ban on hard alcohol pushes them to drink before heading to a registered party.
We found similar results when we asked about Brunswick police and their increased role during weekends. One in four reported drinking more often recently before heading to a campus party; six in 10 said it had no effect on their behavior; and only about one in 10 reported drinking less often.
These results are an important barometer of the efficacy of current policies. If the ban on hard alcohol is having almost no positive effect on many students' reported behavior; if the presence of town police is compelling a non-trivial number of students to drink in secret (and probably more quickly, and with less attention to consequence), is it worth re-thinking the policies or inviting more student feedback on what to change? Our goal in conducting the poll was not meant as a referendum on current policies, but as a report on the attitudes of the student body. We urge the campus community to check out the full results.
Michael Franz is an assistant professor of government.