Nearly six in 10 college students would protest publicly for a cause they care about, according to a survey conducted over the last three weeks that highlighted college students’ beliefs surrounding political, social and environmental issues.
The National Society of Leadership and Success, which conducted the poll, is the nation’s largest leadership honor society where students are selected by their institutions based on their leadership potential or academic standing, according to their website.
Of the 3,500 students who participated in “The 2018 NSLS Student Activism Survey,” almost 59 percent stated that they would publicly protest for a cause that they cared about.
“I believe that life is too short to let what you think stay in your head,” said survey participant Mikela Short.
Participating students labeled affordable education, race relations, gun-related issues, workplace gender equality and climate change among the most important issues in today’s society.
“I think the most interesting part to me is the one that impacts them the most, educational opportunities for everyone,” said NSLS President Charles Knippen. “That part wasn’t a surprise to me because every single one of them is living it. These are all current college students, they are all being saddled with that debt that you get from going to college, they are going through that process of trying to figure out what they want to do with their careers and how they actually make it affordable.”
For the survey, NSLS reached out to students who have been inducted into their leadership development program within the past year. It is a five-step program where students discuss and hold each other accountable for their goals, attend speaker lectures, participate in leadership training days and take online assessments that focus on developing communication skills.
