Campus Culture Trends

Soulless Education - or Why We Need Campus Ministers: Former Dean and current Harvard Professor, Harry Lewis has published Excellence Without a Soul in which he criticizes Harvard and all of higher education for what he calls the "hollowness of undergraduate education." The recent Duke lacrosse scandal and other news items he would say are symptoms of a deeper problem in education today. He believes that Harvard in particular has lost the "moral authority" to shape the souls of its students. Similar to Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind, Lewis claims the university misses the mark in not doing more to help students "sort out" their lives. Instead college presidents are mostly glorified fund raisers, professors are experts in narrow areas of their fields, and few on campus have real concern for the lives of their students. (Wall Street Journal Online May 24, 2006)

iPods Beat Beer: In its biannual survey of what is "in" on college campuses, the Student Monitor has seen beer take a back seat for only the second time in two decades. In 1997, suds placed second to the internet. In 2006, the iPod has moved into first place among things popular on campus. This year it was the leading vote getter with 73%. Last year it placed much lower on the list with only 59%. In second place were beer and facebook.com at 71%. (AP June 8, 2006)

The New Background Check: For some college students who feel they are getting the cold shoulder from job recruiters, the reason may lie in their myspace or facebook profile. Google has long been used by employers to learn more about employee prospects, but now many are looking at networking sites and some are shocked at what they find. Risqu photos, claims of drug and alcohol use or sexual exploits have undermined more than a few job hopefuls. Job recruiters and graduate school admission officers say that such things make students look immature or unprofessional at best - and often raise questions about integrity and judgment. (New York Times, June 11, 2006 p. 1)

Having Read, They Do Not Understand: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of college graduates able to interpret complex texts has dropped from 40% to 31% since 1992. The center's commissioner says that education has shifted from an ability to comprehend ideas to the ability to "read labels." (Touchstone May 2006 p. 47)

Mainline Decline: The number of young men ordained in the Episcopal church has dropped by more than 90% since the 1960's. Relatively few young women seek ordination and that number has also declined since the 1980's. The one demographic increasing has been women over the age of 35 seeking ordination. (Touchstone May 2006 p. 48)

No Summer Vacation: While some may waste the days away sleeping late, hanging out with friends, and getting on the nerves of their parents, a small but growing number of high school students will be diligently at work boosting their resumes for college. Since 1995, the number of students taking at least one Advanced Placement test has increased 142%, which means summer courses or preparation for some. More than a third of high school seniors performed community service monthly in 2001 - up from less than a quarter in 1981. Even so, only about 6% of high school students spend more than 20 hours a week on non-home work related extra curricular activities. (New York Times June 4, 2006 p. 1)

Soaring Debt: Nearly 2/3 of college graduates have student loan debt upon the completion of their studies. The average note is now $19,000, most of it owed to the government. A study of 12 states showed that New York had the highest debt load at over $20k. Oregon and Minnesota had the highest percentage of students in debt with more than three-quarters having taken out loans. Private lending for student loans has increased from $1.3 billion in 1993-1994 to $10.6 billion in 2003-2004. Federal loans will cost even more this year as interest rates rise on July 1. (AP May 31, 2006)

Taking Relationships Too Seriously: Young people are getting married later, and some (not just their mothers) are concerned that more don't even seem to be looking. Among emerging adults (ages 18-29), only 38% report that they are currently in "committed relationships." Another nearly 40% say they are not even looking for one. Most say they are focused on school, jobs, getting out of debt, and establishing themselves and simply don't have time or energy for a serious relationship. In addition, many have witnessed their parents' marriages end in divorce and fear that kind of pain. Meanwhile, many settle for low commitment sexual "hook-ups" finding it much easier than traditional dating or courtship. (Touchstone May 2006).
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Excerpted from The Ivy Jungle Network Campus Ministry Update - June 2006.
www.ivyjungle.org