Scouting Out my Topic...

Professor Goeller's feedback sparked some realizations for me, as well as inciting some new questions.  I was also reminded to not jump to my own conclusions too quickly, or allow my biases to sway my objective analysis as I do further research.

I have seen a lot of articles (not academic/scholarly - public, main stream) that suggest college students are becoming progressively more liberal.  One such article is this Washington Post article that I came across this week, by accident.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/liberal-but-not-tolerant-on-the-nations-college-campuses/2016/02/11/0f79e8e8-d101-11e5-88cd-753e80cd29ad_story.html?postshare=7561455294699228&tid=ss_fb  However, in light of Professor Goeller's insight, even so-called liberal students seem concerned primarily with issues that effect them directly, not necessarily issues that focus on civic responsibility for sectors of public life that don't benefit them, like social security.

However, other articles still insist college students are apathetic to politics.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-moeller/study-college-students-sh_b_1777322.html

Over the course of the week I came across some instances of politics on campus that got me more excited about this topic.  Right here at Rutgers, a conservative group had a guest speaker, Milo Yiannopoulos which caused some tension with other, leftist groups on campus, such as BLM.  We even made national news:

http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/02/13/i-brought-milo-yiannopoulos-to-rutgers-and-liberals-freaked-out/

Potential Research Topic: Liberalism on College Campuses

Classical vs. Modern:  Polarized Liberalism on College Campuses

Last class, Professor Goeller mentioned that he has recognized a tendency for millennial students to gravitate towards one of two political/ideological extremes, namely Libertarianism and Progressivism.   I am interested in researching further if this is truly the case, as I believe that it is.  Is it so far fetched to believe that all of the national and international crises of the modern day- from crashing markets to terrorist attacks and endless war to trillion dollar debt, have instilled in them a desire to make these very drastic, but extraordinarily necessary changes?  Perhaps our generation has been awoken by our massive student loan debts and shaky job prospects, and finally come to realize that the moderate, neoliberal policies of the last three and a half decades are failing us all.

What I really want to discover in my research for this paper is the driving force that pushes these politically engaged students toward either Classical Liberalism, calling for further privatization and overall smaller governmental intrusion in the personal lives of citizens, or Modern Liberalism, calling for increased government instituted economic safety blankets and increased regulations to rein in detrimental corporate interests.  I'm not so interested in which side is "right."  At the end of the day, both sides are attempting to combat the same crises.  Both sides also tend to be, what is deemed by older generations, "socially liberal", agreeing on issues such as gay marriage and drug decriminalization.  But what is it that causes such a drastic divergence in the approach to solve political and economic issues?  Is it as simple as being individualistic or more civic minded?  Do demographics make a difference?  Is it their parents or their upbringing that causes them to go one way or the other?  Are there correlations with particular majors?  I think it would be interesting to interview two students, one who identifies as a Progressive Liberal and one who identifies as a Libertarian, as primary sources for my research.