Spring Break
Combatting student apathy
Blue Hen Poll '08 addresses campus and national issues
Lydia Woolever
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: News
With approximately 15,000 undergraduate students, it seems evident that there would be a diverse and opinionated student body at the university. This presumption will soon be put to the test with the Blue Hen Poll 2008.
Professor David C. Wilson said the Blue Hen Poll 2008 stems from Wilson's Political Science 413 course, Problems in American Politics. Wilson said the Blue Hen Poll 2008 is the first annual public opinion survey for full-time undergraduate students at the university.
The poll is the core project for his course, he said. Thirteen to 14 classmates will have a chance for first-hand experience of conducting research and quantitative analysis and will be able to create an opportunity for students to have a political voice.
Wilson said a random sample of 1,500 full-time, undergraduate students will receive a computer-assisted, self-interviewing questionnaire through an e-mail message. The poll will include topics such as satisfaction with the university, career preparation, civic engagement, the War in Iraq and terrorism, United States foreign policy, moral values and more.
POSC413 student Justine Winkler said the Blue Hen Poll 2008 is the first of its kind.
"The goal is to find out how full-time students feel on a variety of issues," Winkler said. "What makes it great is that it is being administered for the students, by the students."
Wilson said the students designed, planned and organized the poll without administrative involvement.
"One of our goals is to have as much student involvement as possible," he said. "We want to find out if students are involved, or even interested, in politics."
Winkler said the class is divided into three teams of analysts, marketing and public relations. The analysts' duties include organizing the poll on the computer and interpreting the respondent's answers. The marketing team is responsible for spreading the word about the poll around campus using kiosks in Trabant University Center, flyers and posters.
Professor David C. Wilson said the Blue Hen Poll 2008 stems from Wilson's Political Science 413 course, Problems in American Politics. Wilson said the Blue Hen Poll 2008 is the first annual public opinion survey for full-time undergraduate students at the university.
The poll is the core project for his course, he said. Thirteen to 14 classmates will have a chance for first-hand experience of conducting research and quantitative analysis and will be able to create an opportunity for students to have a political voice.
Wilson said a random sample of 1,500 full-time, undergraduate students will receive a computer-assisted, self-interviewing questionnaire through an e-mail message. The poll will include topics such as satisfaction with the university, career preparation, civic engagement, the War in Iraq and terrorism, United States foreign policy, moral values and more.
POSC413 student Justine Winkler said the Blue Hen Poll 2008 is the first of its kind.
"The goal is to find out how full-time students feel on a variety of issues," Winkler said. "What makes it great is that it is being administered for the students, by the students."
Wilson said the students designed, planned and organized the poll without administrative involvement.
"One of our goals is to have as much student involvement as possible," he said. "We want to find out if students are involved, or even interested, in politics."
Winkler said the class is divided into three teams of analysts, marketing and public relations. The analysts' duties include organizing the poll on the computer and interpreting the respondent's answers. The marketing team is responsible for spreading the word about the poll around campus using kiosks in Trabant University Center, flyers and posters.
Be the first to comment on this story