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Wednesday, Jul 15, 2020

Are college students less patriotic than other Americans?

Anna Lenaker, Gigafact Foundry
yes

A July poll by a conservative youth organization finding that college students are less patriotic than high school students is in line with other research about the attitudes of college-age Americans. For instance, Pew Research finds that younger Americans "express far more skeptical views of America’s global standing than older adults."

Gallup finds that national pride increases with age: 50% of young people say they are “very” or “extremely” proud to be American, compared with 85% of people 65 and over.

Such data prompts claims that liberal-skewing professors exert undue influence over their students. Other research suggests instead that the 66% of high school graduates who go to college simply bring their opinions with them. "Colleges simply attract students with pre-existing left-wing dispositions," the Economist says.

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