Tom Vodrey | Staff Writer
Results from a survey conducted by Professor Paul Djupe, the Chair of the Data for Political Research minor and editor of the One Twenty Seven blog, reveal that Denison’s student body has an overwhelming lean towards the Democratic Party and liberal policies. The survey, which attracted 504 responses from Oct. 23 through 26, showed that 67% of students identified themselves as Democrats, compared to only 16% who identified as Republicans and 17% who identified as independent.
Students who identified themselves solely as Democrats made up a plurality with 28% of the respondents, followed by Democratic leaning and independent students with 25% and 17% of respondents, respectively. Students who identified as strongly Republican made up 2% of respondents, overshadowed by the 14% who identified as strongly Democratic.
These results are consistent with the findings of surveys in previous semesters, in which Republican support has remained low since Donald Trump rose to prominence
within the party.
“It’s clear that students have been shifting left over time,” said Djupe. “Republicans are still in the minority from the Trump-era, largely remaining in stasis since 2018.”
Djupe’s survey revealed that this shift goes deeper than party identification.
“On campus we see an overwhelming concentration of social libertarianism,” said Djupe. “Support is almost unanimous.”
In response to a question about Issue 1, 92% of respondents expressed support for the then-proposed amendment’s protection of an “individual right to one’s own
reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion.” When asked about Issue 2, 86% of respondents supported the measure’s legalization of recreational marijuana.
Despite popular support for the Democrats and liberal policies generally, President Joe Biden is broadly disapproved of by students. Only 44% of students approved of Biden’s performance as president, compared to 56% who disapproved. This disapproval was found to be consistent across demographics. All polled economic classes disapproved of the president, and the only racial or ethnic group to register positive support were Asian students. Even among those who identified as Democrats, President Biden was found to be unpopular. While 68% of students who identified themselves plainly as Democrats approve of the president, Biden remained underwater on the party’s edges, with only 49% of strong Democrats and 44% of lean Democrats approving of the president.
One of the few areas where students gave President Biden credit were for his efforts to alleviate student loan debt. For his domestic and foreign policy agenda, students gave the president low grades.
Djupe notes that these survey results reveal not only the attitudes of Denisonians, but also clues about the broader political environment.
“It’s impossible to separate Denison from what’s going on nationally,” said Djupe.
Djupe argues that Denison’s student body is demographically similar to the United States as a whole, and responds to the same national political events as anywhere else. The leftward shift of Generation Z since 2016 observed at Denison has been a trend throughout the country, particularly on college campuses.