Alexander Van Dyke POLS 1100-002

Class Survey Analysis

Due to advances in technology and social media, the 21st century individual is no stranger to polls and surveys. These surveys generally attempt to label individuals. Personality tests can determine whether you are a natural introvert or extrovert. The national census categorizes citizens by race. In this course, we were asked to take a survey in order to determine whether the class as a whole was either liberal or conservative. After routine examination of the answers to this survey, it seemed that the students in this class generally voted in favor of more liberal proposed solutions to current issues. Thirty-nine percent of this class also identified themselves as being liberal (23% conservative). Observations such as these generally indicate that the majority of people enrolled in this course are liberal. However, because of the inability to answer the questions which did have a definitive answer, and some students declining to answer certain survey questions which are not currently the most debated issues (and had no right or wrong answers), I believe that this survey only proves to show that peoples personal politics are products of poor political socialization and ignorance rather than actual conviction; categorizing us as either liberal or conservative is irrelevant. What was especially striking about the survey this class took was the fact that the questions regarding naming the people who represent us in our government were answered in an extremely subpar manner. More than half of these students could not even name one of the two senators representing Utah. While Senator Mike Lee was recently elected (2010), no adult in this state or class should be unaware of who our other senator is. The average age of participants in this survey was 20.7 years, which means that for a large majority of these students, Orrin

Hatch has been a Utah senator for their entire lives. It is a sad representation of political awareness that many students failed to acknowledge the existence of someone who has represented Utahns in relatively the same capacity for nearly forty years! Furthermore, over three quarters of this class could not name even one of Utahs four representatives. This fact is particularly shocking as these officials are elected and distribute campaign materials twice as often as presidential candidates and three times as often as their Senate counterparts. There are also twice as many of them in Utah (in relation to the Senate). Seventy-one percent could also not provide the name of Utahs governor Gary Herbert. These three facts are an indication of an ignorance of the way our federalist system works, and how the decisions that officials at the state and congressional levels greatly affect the citizens of our state. If one cannot even name the people who represent them, it is quite difficult to keep track of their voting records and general stances in relation to vital issues. I assume that the thirty-two percent of individuals who could not accurately furnish the names of our president and vice president did so as a result of not knowing that Joseph Biden is our vice president. This is particularly disturbing, because the Vice President of the United States is also the President of the United States Senate. As such, he is prominently involved in this countrys legislative process. He can directly influence pieces of legislation, and he also presides over joint sessions of congress. While the inability to even know the names of our elected officials is an indication of substantial ignorance, it is not the only method for which students in this class have displayed an utter lack of understanding. Students who took this survey also declined to answer some of the questions which were merely asking for their opinions. There was no right or wrong answer to any of those particular questions. After examining the questions which were answered the least in comparison to the ones which were answered by practically everyone, I noticed a pattern. The questions which had

the fewest amounts of answers are not being debated as prominently in popular media. Issues such as tax cuts, immigration, and the first amendment (as it relates to fighting terrorism) are not the trendy issues to discuss that they have been in the past. However, issues such as the right to bear arms, same-sex marriage, universal health care, the Iran and North Korea situations, and NSA surveillance litter our television screens and front pages daily. The questions pertaining to these issues were answered by nearly all of the participants. In my opinion, this indicates both apathy toward the less popular issues, and a lack of ability to form personal stances without the media telling us what these stances should be. With the exception of the right to bear arms and the Iran and North Korea debates, which are perhaps beyond the scope of a liberal versus conservative argument, most of these hot-button issues questions were answered with a more liberal response. Ultimately, the political spectrum is not just a straight line with conservatives at one end and liberals at the other. It is a three dimensional sphere which encompasses many different political ideologies. Somewhere on the surface of the sphere, there is a wound known as ignorance. The inability to know who operates our government, and the ineptitude to give an opinion on a topic which isnt currently popular is an indication that many people in this country are merely aiding in the growth of this wound.