The Pew Research Center study found that Republicans’ attitudes about the impact of colleges and universities have changed dramatically in a relatively short period of time. (Image courtesy of U.S. News and World Report).
For a large chunk of Republicans, colleges are having a less-than-positive impact on the country, according to new data from the Pew Research Center.
The Pew study, conducted from June 8-18 among a national sample of more than 2,000 adults 18 and older, revealed a fast-growing divide between Democrats and Republicans concerning their views on national institutions of higher learning.
The report found that a majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 58 percent to be exact, believe that state colleges and universities have a negative effect on the country — a significant increase from 45 percent last year. Meanwhile on the opposite side of the aisle, 72 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners agree that colleges and universities have a positive effect on America, showing little change in results from recent years.
While Pew doesn’t give an explanation for the sharp divide, it should be noted that several universities (especially the elite ones) have made headlines recently, as students protested issues surrounding racism, freedom of speech and civil rights, according to Vox. Earlier this year, the University of California-Berkeley was forced to cancel an appearance by contested right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos after angry student protests erupted. Arguments over the proper way to way to address racially insensitive Halloween costumes also sparked controversy at Yale.
Not only are Republicans cynical about college, but they aren’t too fond of the news media either.
The Pew study found that nearly 85 percent of Republicans feel the news media has a negative impact. These reviews have remained steady in recent years, according to the report.
In contrast, 44 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents hold a positive view of the news media’s impact on the U.S., boasting an 11 percent increase since August 2016.
Vox suggested that the growing divide could be attributed to President Donald Trump’s incendiary rhetoric toward the media. Just this month, Trump tweeted a GIF of himself delivering a WWE-era smack down on a man with a CNN logo superimposed on his face. The president also made unflattering remarks about MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarbrorough after they criticized him.
Despite the stark partisan gap, Pew researchers concluded that there has been little change in overall public views on the impact of national institutions.
Other key findings of the report include:
- Democrats are more likely than Republicans to view labor unions positively (59 percent vs. 33 percent).
- Most Republicans have more positive views of churches and religious institutions than Democrats (73 percent vs. 50 percent).
- Views of the impact of banks and other financial institutions are now more negative (46 percent) than positive (39 percent).
