Vested Interest - Trends - November 1998 Issue

Smells Like Teen Dining Habits

A survey conducted for the Channel One Network, which provides commercial programs for educational facilities, found that the average teenager eats four or more meals each day. Teenage girls eat as many meals as boys do, on average about 4.3. Teens are most likely to have a carbonated beverage with dinner; only 17% drink milk with that meal. The surveyors thought their most surprising conclusion was that 84% of teens eat breakfast at home on weekdays, while 7% eat at school. (Chicago Sun-Times, October 7, 1998)

College Getting Increasingly Expensive, Especially for the Poor

A College Board survey of 3,000 two- and four-year colleges found that average tuition rose 4% last year, twice the rate of inflation and more than twice the rate of family income. Private colleges led the way, with hikes of 5% for tuition and 4% for room and board. While the last year's increases were lower than the previous year's, Lawrence Gladieux of the College Board noted that "The share of family income required to pay college expenses has increased for all families in the 1980's and 1990's, but it has gone up the most for those at the low end of the economic scale." (AP, October 7, 1998)

Anti-Gay Violence Likely Everywhere

A Time/CNN poll of 1,036 adults nationwide in the wake of the death of a gay college student in Wyoming found that most respondents think a similar attack could happen in their communities. About 75 % of respondents think homophobic violence is a problem nationally (3 9°/a say a very serious problem, and 36% serious), and 68% think such crimes could occur in their neighborhoods. Even so, the poll found ambivalence about homosexuality. About 48% thought homosexuality was morally wrong, and 51 % thought homosexuals could change their orientation if they tried. Nonetheless, 82% thought homosexuals should be treated the same as heterosexuals. (AP, October 17, 1998)

Drop in Support for Educational Vouchers

A Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies poll of 1,606 adults nationwide found a marked decline in support for educational vouchers. Their 1997 poll, which found that a plurality of respondents, including a majority of black respondents, supported the idea, was touted by voucher proponents. The 1998 poll found that support among whites fell from 47% to 43.1 %, while black support dropped from 57.3% to 48.1%. Opposition grew, among blacks, to 40%, and white opposition was stronger. "These findings add to the growing body of research suggesting that the more the public knows about the impact of vouchers, the less they are inclined to support them," said Bob Chase of the National Education Association, which was not involved in conducting the survey. (AP, October 21, 1998)