Affluent Colleges: The Dynamics of Political Engagement

Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that affluent colleges and universities are more likely to be sites of political activism than resource-poor institutions, partially because the students that attend them have been socialized to be active. However, these studies operate under the assumption that all students at wealthy colleges are equally likely to engage in political activism. This study seeks to understand how political participation varies between different social groups(race, gender, and income) on affluent campuses. This study uses data from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Higher Education Research Institute. The UCLA survey is a nationally-representative study of college students that was administered in their freshman year (1989-1996) and their senior year (1996-1999). The study defines affluent universities as institutions where a majority of students come from a high-income background, defined through a family income in the 90th percentile. Political activism is measured with variables such as participation in student groups, voting, protest participation, and community service. Change in political activism is measured by studying the change between their first and senior year.It is hypothesized that while women experience higher levels of political activism than men because of diversity outreach, lower-income students and non-white students have lower levels of political activism than their counterparts because of barriers to participation. The results of this study can suggest whether affluent campuses are promoting political activism among all groups. This is essential because affluent universities often have the resources and networks to inspire political and social change. If this theory proves to be true, it has important implications for affluent institutions and their promotion of political expression among traditionally underrepresented groups (non-whites and lower-income students). Another implication is whether despite educational attainment, certain groups(lower-income and non-whites) are less politically active.