SWA #7

In his article, Alan Finder makes the observation that in recent years, many more students have become interested in religion on college campuses. He attributes this rise in interest to the rise in religion in politics. He claims that events such as September 11th and the war in Iraq have brought the issue of religion into the spotlight for many people. Many students now are also just more interested in religion and what to find out what they believe for themselves, rather than blindly accepting what they learned as children.
Richard just discusses the difficulties faced by both the liberal majority and the conservative minority on college campuses. He says that due to the fact that conservatives are the minority, they are propelled by their own anger towards professors and their peers whom they believe have made campuses hostile. They have a slight advantage in expressing their ideas however with the help of outside funding for speakers and publications. Liberals on the other hand have their own problems. Since almost every issue has a club on college campuses, it is hard to unite liberals together under one leader. They also don’t have nearly as much money available to them as the conservative students do.
In his article, David Leonhardt observes that there has been a marked increase in the number of college dropouts in the past decade. He attributes this trend to the difference between rich children and poor children. He claims that poor children aren’t adequately prepared for college by their high schools and that the appeal to get a job and make money instead of finishing a degree often proves too great for most that come from poor backgrounds. Cost is also a major issue for many people when deciding where to go to school. He also says that the colleges that are available to the poor have such a limited list of majors that most students don’t see the point in continuing their education.