became public last year, are still consider-
ing options. A decision, already postponed a
year, is now scheduled for this fall, after
several committees have reviewed the is-
sues. Meanwhile, university president H.
Keith H. Brodie has taken to reassuringly
calling the forest a "sacred trust," which
makes Save the Forest activists very proud.
"It doesn't seem like all of these committees
would have been working so extensively if
we hadn't gotten up and said, 'Whoa, you
need to think again'," says Nock.
At the University of Texas at Austin, the
Earth First! club is a small but vocal arm of
a nationwide group trying to preserve na-
ture and animals. A current project re-
volves around the black-capped vireo, a
protected species of bird whose nesting and
mating areas are threatened by develop-
ers, according to Earth First! members.
The group also recently protested the an-
nual "rattlesnake roundups" in nearby
towns. These charity fund-raisers feature
fried rattlesnake meat and a demonstra-
tion in which a handler is zipped into a
sleeping bag with 20 snakes and tries to
emerge unbitten-usually successfully.
"Everything is centered around the cap-
ture, torture and killing of rattlesnakes,"
says Barbara Dugelby, state coordinator
for Earth First! and a 1987 Texas graduate.
Members locked themselves to a roundup
fence and to two poles holding a banner
which read, "Animal torture is no way to
run a charity." The roundup, however,
went on as scheduled.
CHRISTOPHER M. BELLITTO with
NANCY KLINGENER inAmherst,
JOSEPH GALARNEAUin Raleigh,
LAUREEN LAZAROVICI in LosAngeles,
MICHAELMILSTEINinDurham, ADAM NAJBERG
in Brunswick, STEVEN ELZER
in Santa Barbara, M I C H A E L M E H L E in Boulder,
JAMES CAGE in Atlanta, ELLEN WILLIAMS
in Austin and bureau reports
COURTESY OF THE PEACE CORPS
Once, a paradigm for the socially concious student: Peace Corpsman in Botswana
Activism Lives, But Quietly
M ore than half of all college students say they feel strongly enough about a
political issue to risk arrest at a demonstration. But fewer than one in five has
ever participated in a protest. And not many students look with envy on the
activist days of the '60s.
Can you imagine feeling so strong-
ly about a political issue that you
would participate in a protest
which put you at risk of being arrest-
ed and booked by the police?
54% Yes
40% No
Have you ever participated in a po-
litical protest?
17% Yes 83% No
Political protest and activism
were, in general, far more common
in the 1960s. Does this make you
wish you could have been in college
during the '60s?
17% Yes 79% No
Do you think that, in general, you
are more likely to participate in a
political protest now than when
you were in high school?
Compared with your parents' gen-
eration, do you think college stu-
dents today are more or less in-
volved in volunteer activities?
26% More 36% Less 31% Same
Have you ever considered joining
the Peace Corps, Vista or some oth-
er full-time volunteer program af-
ter finishing college?
31%Yes 66% No
Which of these reasons comes
closest to why you do volun-
teer work?
57% Want to do something useful; help
others; do good deeds for others
31%
Enjoy doing work; feel needed
63% Yes
34% No
How do you feel about the amount
of government spending on social-
welfare programs, such things as
care for the homeless, for children
of poverty, for the elderly?
11 % Too much
56% Too little
24% About right amount
Are you involved in any charity or
social-service activities such as
working in a soup kitchen, helping
retarded children, working in
a hospital?
28% Want to learn and get experience;
work experience; help get a job
25% Have an interest in the activity
or work
15% Religious concerns
Which of these reasons comes
closest to why you do not do any
volunteer work on a regular basis?
72% Too busy; don't have the time
16% No one ever asked me; no one
approached me
13% Can't afford to; have to
earn money
12% Not interested; in school to study
(MULTIPLE ANSWERS ACCEPTED.
For this NEWSWEEK ON CAMPUS Poll, The Gallup Organi-
cation conducted 542 face-to-face interviews with college
students sn 100 campuses nationwide during the period
Nov. 2-13,1987. The margin of error is plus or minus 6 points.
"Don't know" responses are eliminated. The NEWSWEEK
ON CAMPUS Poll © 1988 by NEWSWEEK, Inc.
J
35% Yes
65% No
LOU JOST
Saving snakes: Student at Texas roundup
30 NEWSWEEKONCAMPUS
i
MAY 1988