Right or Wrong

It seems only yesterday that college students - particularly of the genus Iviensis were thought to be a leftish lot, in the vanguard of ideas considered a shade too radical by their elders. Now it appears that at Dartmouth at least the younger generation is well to the right of the electorate. In a poll taken in early October, Jeff Sudikoff '77 surveyed the political opinions of ten per cent of the undergraduate population at Dartmouth in a computer-generated random sample of 317 students who were questioned over the phone about their presidential preferences. The students had Gerald Ford as the clear winner.

According to Sudikoff, 80 per cent of the students he queried planned to vote on November 2, a figure which contrasted sharply with a projected national voter turn-out of only 50 to 60 per cent. The student poll indicated that of those planning to vote, 57 per cent would opt for Ford, 34 per cent for Carter, 2 per cent for other candidates, and 7 per cent were undecided. "Our seven per cent figure shows that Dartmouth students have pretty much made up their minds," Sudikoff said. There was no active organization for either candidate on campus.

Sudikoff explained that the poll was "a result of a discussion about campus sentiments towards the two candidates. I set out to prove my feelings that the campus was more in support of Ford by a scientific poll." He added that the poll taken at Dartmouth "is an elite sample, and very conservative. A similar poll taken at Exeter, which is even more selective, came out more for Ford."