The Millennial Mindset

A survey of the student body f I reveals the cares, complaints and connectivity of a generation.

We know who the ear-budded, YouTubing, Bluetooth-seeking denizens of the dartmouth campus are. they’re Millennials, demographer-speak for anyone born since 1981. But what makes them tick? What do they want out of life? What do they think?

To find out, we asked them. In an online student survey conducted by DAM, we posed more than 50 questions about their attitudes, politics, sex lives, study habits and more. We also conducted interviews with another 85 students, some of whom appear on these pages.

the answers indicate a well-connected student body. “our generation is best defined by the concept of a cell phone,” says zhiqian “chen” Li ’14 of Birmingham, Alabama. “it’s the constant connection to other people that defines how we operate.” they’re also full of motivation and optimism. “our generation is defined by ambition—the drive, desire and confidence to change the world for the better,” says trevelyan “trevy” Wing ’13 of falmouth, Massachusetts.

Although illuminating, the inter- views and anonymous survey results are not definitive, and it would be a mistake to read too much into them. Our ap- proach wasn't overly scientific: Interview candidates were enticed with free food, and the survey was e-mailed—with help from Student Assembly—to the undergraduate student body in mid-October and garnered a 10-percent response rate.

In many ways, the students of today are just like those who crisscrossed the Green in decades past. They come to college to learn, and while in Hanover they come of age. But according to the formidable research conducted by the Pew research center, Millennials are more liberal, more diverse, less religious and more educated than those who’ve come before them. today’s student body fits the bill, and although our look at Dartmouth students circa 2011 is but a snapshot, we hope you find it a revealing one.

THE RESPONDENTS

1631 PERCENT say they are or plan tobe affiliated with a GREEK ORGANIZATION.

POLITICS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

91 PERCENT THINK ABORTION SHOULD REMAIN LEGAL.

27 PERCENT SUPPORT MAN D ATO RY MILITARY OR COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR ALL U.S. CITIZENS

75 PERCENT SUPPORT THE RIGHT OF ILLEGAL IM M I G RANTS TO GAIN U.S. CITIZENSHIP

54 PERCENT EXERCISE I to 4 hours per week.

24 percent exercise5 to 7 hours per week.

► 22 percent exercisemore than 7 hours per week.

32 PERCENT believe in an AFTERLIFE.

SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK 'N' ROLL

48 PERCENT OF WOMEN CLAIM THEY HAVE NO SEX LIFE.

48 PERCENT OF MEN CLAIM THEY HOOK UP WHEN POSSIBLE.

62 PERCENT CLAIM THEY'VE NEVER USED RECREATIONAL DRUGS. ► 69 percent of womenmake the claim vs. only 52 percent of men.

THE BEATLES FAVORITE MUSIC ► Classic rock, classicalmusic, Vampire Weekendand Lady Gagaround out the top five.

MOM AND DAD

73 PERCENT say they'd like to have CHILDREN.

21 percent say it's toosoon to say if they'll wantto have children.

DIGITAL LIFESTYLE

CAREER AND FINANCES

35 PERCENT say their parentsgive them all the MONEY they need.

GLEE TOP TV SHOW

House, 30 Rock, The Office and athree-way tie among Grey's Anatomy,Mad Men and Arrested Developmentround out the top five.Other shows with multiple mentions:Family Guy, Gossip Girl.

SCHOOL WORK

CURIE KIM '13 Seoul, KoreaPhilosophy

ANISE VANCE '11 San Diego, CaliforniaSenior Fellow

JULIANNA SCHEIMAN '11 Ann Arbor, MichiganEngineering Physics

PGABE DORFSMAN-HOPKINS '13 Durham, New Hampshire VMath & Comparative Literature

Only 8 percent of women identifythemselves as Republican.

► A higher percentage of women (75 percent) than men (67 percent) give Obama apositive rating.

► 49 percent of the class of 2013 respondedyes; 30 percent of the class of 2011 respondedyes.► A higher percentage of women (44 percent) fAan mew (ji percent) are undecided aboutAfghanistan.

► Members oj the elass of 2014 (77 percent) are more likely than any other class tosay people are inherently good.► Women are more positive in theirresponse: 75 percent (vs. 66 percent oj men)think people are inherently good.► Men are much more likely to never thinkabout this than women (13 percent vs. 5 percent).

MICHAEL ODOKARA-OKIGBO '12 Portland, MaineHistory & Global Health

LILIANA MA '14 Princeton Junction, New JerseyUndecided

► One of every three members of the classof 2012 says he or she does volunteer workthe highest percentage of any class.

F DUNCAN HALL '13 f Hamilton, New ZealandGeography

JOHN BLEDAY '14 Westwood, MassachusettsEconomics

RACHEL OFORI '14 Lawton, OklahomaGovernment

► 16 percent attend religious servicesregularly.

► 15 percent admit they've been unfaithfulwithin a committed relationship.► 26 percent say they've never been in acommitted relationship.

► 56 percent of all respondents say they'dbe happy to be less attractive "if I could besmarter."44 percent say they'd gladly shave a fewpoints off their IQs in return for "improvingmy looks."

► Among drug users, 97 percent say they'vetried marijuana. This was followed, in order,by "other" drugs (24 percent), mushrooms(18 percent) and cocaine and acid (12 percent each).► Marijuana use among drug users washigh among all classes; 100 percent of suchrespondents from the class of 2011 admit tomarijuana use.

► Other musicians mentioned more thanonce: Arcade Fire, Ke$ha, Dave MatthewsBand, Death Cab for Cutie, Goo Goo Dollsand Bruce Springsteen.

► A higher percentage of women(17 percent) than men (10 percent) replied"less than expected."

JINGNA ZHAO '12 Manhasset, New YorkBiology

CHRIS O'DOWD '13 DenverPsychology & Economics

JORDAN OSSERMAN '11 Portland, OregonWomen's & Gender Studies

Almost two-thirds of students say theystill send handwritten letters and greetingcards.The rest (39 percent) say, "If I can'tcommunicate electronically, I don't communicate at all."Women are much more likely to senda card or handwritten note than men (71 percent vs. 47 percent).

► Other mentions: waffle-maker, big-screenTV, kettle, electric blanket and "superrealistic sex robot."

► 35 percent of men vs. 25 percent ofwomen say it's very important to make a lotof money.► Members of the class of 2011 — thosemost likely to be seeking jobs—rate love ofwork over money at a greater rate(74 P ercent) than those of other classes.

43 percent of women say they are neverin debt vs. 55 percent of men. ► 25 percent of all respondents admit theyaren't very good at tracking where theirmoney goes.

■ SARAH V I FROSTENSON '11 ■ Monroe, Louisiana 'History

f CAT IE O'SULLIVAN '14 Needham, MassachusettsUndecided

ADEDIPO ADEGUNLE '11 AtlantaPhilosophy

The class of 2012 had the highestpercentage of respondents who admitto cheating (22 percent)—and lyingto parents about grades (21 percent).

W' The younger the class, themore likely its respondents are todescribe themselves as "middle ofthe pack."Only 23 percent of womenrespondents (vs. 35 percent of men)consider themselves top tier.

Students pictured are not necessarily survey respondents.