Harvard Poll Finds College Students Concerned About Social Security, in Favor of Private Accounts; Students Troubled About U.S. Foreign Policy

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WASHINGTON, April 19 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A new national poll by Harvard University's Institute of Politics (IOP) finds seven out of ten of America's college students are concerned Social Security will not pay out benefits when they retire, with students significantly more likely to support investment of Social Security taxes in private accounts than the general public. In addition, the poll showed college students at odds with the current administration on foreign policy issues, with only about one out of three in favor of the United States' work to spread freedom and democracy across the world and nearly three out of four believing the U.S. should let the U.N. and other countries take the lead in solving international crises and conflicts.

The poll also includes the second edition of the IOP's innovative method for assessing the political ideology of America's college students. The 11-question "Harvard Institute of Politics' Political Personality Test" finds that America's college students do not fit traditional ideological labels like "liberal" and "conservative," instead revealing a sizeable population of independents. These religious and secular centrists incorporate religious views with their political attitudes and actions. The test is available online at http://www.iop.harvard.edu for those who would like to determine how their views compare to those of America's college students.

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Harvard Poll Finds College Students Concerned About Social Security, in Favor of Private Accounts; Students Troubled About U.S. Foreign Policy

"Young people didn't just 'talk the talk' on voting in 2004 -- they 'walked the walk,' turning out in even greater numbers in the last election than seniors aged 65 and older," said IOP Director Philip Sharp. "Our poll shows college students -- a key voting constituency -- have strong views on topical issues like Social Security and U.S. foreign policy. It is clearly in the intere...

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