This year only about a third believed that keeping up with politics is an important life objective. At UC there is a comparable decline in freshmen interest in political matters. Freshmen may not be as interested in politics, but they do have strong opinions on issues such as crime and handgun control . Eighty percent of the students who responded to the survey believe the government needs to do more to control hand guns. In addition, more freshmen support capital punishment.
New students are concerned about crime and how to remedy the problem.
Yet, when asked about other issues related to their personal behavior and beliefs , they tend to offer somewhat inconsistent responses. This year's freshmen are less inclined to prohibit homosexual relations than in past years. Increasing numbers of freshmen also support the legalization of marijuana. Students' attitudes toward racism are changing slightly. Not surprisingly, only about one third of new students at UC and at other public universities view promoting racial understanding as an important life objective.