If he were to visit the University he would be extremely disappointed with the apathy of the student body. One of the litmus tests of any school's political involvement is the number of students involved in partisan organizations. The College Republicans have similar numbers, with approximately 400 students on the rolls. It's much better than it used to be. Larry J. Sabato, government and foreign affairs professor, said he sees a cyclical involvement pattern at the University.
Students react to the times.
Today the situation is very different, and the concerns tend to be more economic, so students are focused on their own futures. Sabato, who attended the University as an undergraduate, has been able to see the school from several different perspectives. But today's students are a lot less arrogant. We had no sense of what we didn't know. Involvement picked up again in the early '80s, peaked and then fell to an abysmal level during the mid and late '80s.