The College Fix

Since the fall 2019 semester, The College Fix has partnered with College Pulse, a survey and analytics company focused on college students, to identify and track trends and beliefs among today’s college students.

The online polls asked students across the nation to weigh in on pressing matters such as free speech, politics, academic freedom, culture controversies, bias and much more.

These results have been cited by other major national news outlets nationwide and exposed some of the more troubling trends among young people today.

Among them, that:

• nearly 100 percent of Democratic college students want to abolish the police

• 73 percent of Republican college students have withheld political views in class for fear their grades would suffer

• nearly 50 percent of college students say they’ve had professors go on anti-Trump tangents in class

• only 8 percent of Democratic college students are very proud to be American

Below, all the survey questions and result summaries have been compiled.

October 2020

73 percent of college students want to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day

“Columbus Day is a federal holiday in America. Should it be kept as is or replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day?”

Seventy three percent responded they want it changed, while only 27 percent want to keep it as is. A whopping 93 percent of Democratic college students want it changed compared to only 20 percent of Republican students. Most GOP students, 80 percent, said they want to keep it as is. Read more …

September 2020

Ahead of Constitution Day, most students want Supreme Court to give document modern interpretation

“Should future U.S. Supreme Court nominees base their rulings on their understanding of what the U.S. Constitution meant as it was originally written, or should future nominees base their rulings on what they think it means in current times?”

Sixty-nine percent replied “current times,” while 19 percent supported its original meaning. The rest said that they are not sure. When the results are broken down by political affiliation, a stark divide emerges. A whopping 86 percent of college students who identify as Democrat want Supreme Court nominees with a modern interpretation, while only 26 percent of students who identify as Republicans support it. Read more …

August 2020

Majority of Republican students expect to self-censor in class this fall to avoid upsetting others

“With the current political climate, do you expect to self-censor yourself in class this semester so your professors or peers don’t take offense at your ideas?”

Fifty-four percent of Republican-identified college students responded yes, they plan to self-censor, while 35 percent said no and another 11 percent are unsure. In contrast, only 15 percent of Democratic-identified college students plan to self-censor, while 68 percent said they would not and 16 percent said they’re unsure. Put another way, Republican college students are three times more likely to self-censor than Democratic ones, the poll results show. Read more …

July 2020

73% of Democratic college students support taking down statues of Founding Fathers who owned slaves

“Do you support or oppose taking down public statues of U.S. Founding Fathers who owned slaves?”

Seventy-three percent of Democratic college students are in favor. In contrast, only 4 percent of Republican college students supported the notion while 88 percent were against. Overall results found that 48 percent of college students are in favor of taking down the statues, 39 percent are opposed, and 13 percent are not sure. Read more …

June 2020

Nearly 100 percent of Democratic college students support defunding the police

“Do you support or oppose defunding the police (i.e. cutting police budgets to fund other community resources)?” and “Are rioting and looting legitimate forms of protest against racial discrimination and police brutality in America today?”

Ninety-four percent of Democratic college students surveyed responded that they support defunding the police, and 61 percent of Democratic college students polled responded that rioting and looting are legitimate forms of protest. In contrast, only 13 percent of Republican college students polled support defunding the police, and only 5 percent of Republican college students back riots and looting as a form of protest. Read more …

May 2020

Nearly 60 percent of professors criticized Trump, 9 percent criticized Pelosi

“Over the last semester, have any of your professors or teaching assistants made negative comments about the following people or groups?”

Fifty-eight percent of students reported they had a professor or TA who made negative comments about Trump. In contrast, only 9 percent of students had a professor or TA who made negative comments about Pelosi.

The students were also asked about Republicans and Democrats.

One-third, or 33 percent, of students polled responded that they had a professor or TA who made negative comments about Republicans during the last semester, while in contrast only 15 percent of students responded that they’ve had a professor or TA make negative comments about Democrats during that same time period. Read more …

62% of college students think they will not be infected with coronavirus this year

“Do you think you will become infected with coronavirus by the end of this year?”

Nearly two-thirds of college students think they will not become infected with coronavirus by the end of this year. Sixty-two percent responded no, 34 percent responded yes, and 4 percent reported that they have already been infected. Broken down by politics, more Democratic students think they will become infected, 39 percent, compared to Republican students at 27 percent. Read more …

April 2020

79 percent of students say quality of education worse with online courses amid COVID

“How has the quality of your education changed because your college or university moved its courses online due to the coronavirus?”

Fifty-four percent of students said it’s “somewhat worse,” and another 25 percent replied it’s “significantly worse,” for a total of 79 percent. Only 16 percent of college students responded the quality of their education remained the same, 4 percent said it’s somewhat better, and 2 percent said it’s significantly better. Read more …

Democratic students blame Trump more than Chinese government for global spread of coronavirus

“Who has played more of a role in the global spread of coronavirus?” The choices were “President Trump,” “the Chinese government,” “both equally” and “neither/something else.”

The results found that 27 percent of Democratic college students blame President Trump more versus 15 percent who blame the Chinese government more. In contrast, only 3 percent of Republican college students blame President Trump more versus 72 percent who blame the Chinese government more. Read more …

March 2020

Many Democratic and Republican college students think of each other as ‘evil’

The recent College Fix online survey asked 1,000 college students whether members of the opposite political party “are not just worse for politics — they are basically evil.”

Nearly 40 percent of Democratic students think Republicans are essentially evil, and 39 percent of Republican students think the same of Democrats. Read more …

December 2019

Nearly 50% of Republican students say they’ve had a prof go on anti-Trump tangent

“Have any of your professors gone on a tangent criticizing President Donald Trump, even if the class they teach is not related to politics/government?”

Forty-six percent of the students replied “yes, they have,” while 54 percent responded “no, they have not.” Read more …

88% of college students say it’s NOT offensive to wish ‘Merry Christmas’ to a stranger

“Is it offensive to wish ‘Merry Christmas’ to a stranger?”

Eighty-eight percent responded it is not. Another 8 percent said they were not sure. And finally 4 percent said yes, it is offensive. Eight percent of Democrat students said it’s offensive to wish someone a Merry Christmas, 3 percent of independent students said it was, and only 1 percent of Republican students found it offensive. In other words, Democrat students are eight times as likely as Republican students to say it’s offensive to wish “Merry Christmas” to a stranger. Read more …

October 2019

Nearly 30 percent of Democratic college students favor banning MAGA hats on campus

“Do you favor or oppose your campus banning MAGA (‘Make America Great Again’) hats?”

Overall, 12 percent responded they strongly favor it, and 15 percent favor it, for a total of 27 percent in favor of banning MAGA hats from their campus. When looking at the respondents by political affiliation, among students who identify as “strong Democrat,” 16 percent said they strongly favor banning the hats from campus, and 15 percent favor it. On the flip side, 42 percent oppose banning them, and 27 percent strongly oppose it. Read more …

September 2019

73 percent of Republican students have withheld political views in class for fear their grades would suffer

“Have you ever withheld your political views in class for fear that your grades would suffer?”

Seventy-three percent of students who identity as “strong Republican” reported that they had, while 71 percent of students who identify as “weak Republican” said yes. Even students who identify as Republican-leaning independents indicated they’ve kept quiet: 70 percent reported they have withheld their political views to protect their grades. Read more … 

8% of Democratic college students, 74% of Republican college students very proud to be American

“How proud are you to be an American: very proud, moderately proud, only a little proud, or not at all proud?”

The vast majority (74%) of Republican college students, compared to a small number of Democratic college students (8%), and less than one-third of independents (30%), said they are very proud to be an American. On the flip side, 2 percent of Republican college students, compared to 22 percent of Democratic college students, and 11 percent of independents, say they are not at all proud to be an American. Read more …

August 2019

Nearly half of college students believe ‘In God We Trust’ should be removed from U.S. currency

“Do you believe the motto ‘In God We Trust’ should remain on U.S. currency or should it be removed?” 

Overall, 53 percent said it should remain and 45 percent said it should be removed. Two-thirds of Democrat respondents are in favor of removing the motto, while only 6 percent of Republican respondents said it should go. Read more …

MORE: Surveys say: The (Democratic) kids are not alright

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