See accompanying article.
1. Do you believe the University should divest any of its endowment assets currently in large U.S. coal companies, as requested by the student group Brown Divest Coal?
22.0% Strongly agree
30.2% Somewhat agree
20.5% No opinion
8.5% Somewhat disagree
5.5% Strongly disagree
13.5% Not familiar enough to answer
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christina Paxson is handling her job as president of the University?
11.0% Strongly approve
32.1% Somewhat approve
48.1% No opinion
7.5% Somewhat disapprove
1.3% Strongly disapprove
3. How much of a role should standardized test scores play in public high school graduation requirements?
4.8% A significant role
41.1% A moderate role
40.1% A small role
12.1% No role
1.9% No opinion
4. For which of the following conditions have you been prescribed medication in the past five years? (Circle all that apply.)
7.7% Depression
7.6% Anxiety
2.5% Attention deficit disorder
1.4% Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
0.7% Obsessive-compulsive disorder
0.6% Bipolar disorder
0.1% Schizophrenia
1.4% Another mental health condition
86.8% None of the above
5. Do you use any of the following to finance all or part of your Brown tuition and associated costs? (Circle all that apply.)
52.4% University grants and scholarships
28.2% Federal loans
23.8% Non-University grants and scholarships
74.9% My parents’ income and savings
40.3% My own income and savings
12.8% Non-parental relatives’ and friends’ contributions
3.1% I borrow money from outside sources
5.6% My parents borrow money from outside sources
0.4% I do not know if I use any of the above
7.5% None of the above
6. Do you support the conversion of multi-user bathrooms in residence halls to gender-neutral status?
27.8% Yes, I support converting all bathrooms
46.8% Yes, I support converting some bathrooms
15.2% No, I do not support converting any bathrooms
10.2% Don’t know
7. At what age do you expect to get married?
2.9% 18-24
47.5% 25-29
27.9% 30-34
2.4% 35-39
0.2% 40 or older
3.4% I don’t intend to get married
0.2% I am already married
15.4% Not sure
8. How often do you masturbate?
1.4% More than once a day
8.4% Once a day
16.9% Three to five times a week
25.9% Once or twice a week
14.9% Once or twice a month
13.7% Less than once a month
18.7% I have never masturbated
9. Did you feel your previous academic experiences effectively prepared you to concentrate in a science, technology, engineering or math field when you entered Brown?
34.2% Yes, and I am or plan to
23.7% Yes, but I am not or do not plan to
8.5% Yes, but I am not sure if I will
5.1% No, and I am not sure if I will
12.0% No, but I am or plan to
6.3% No, and for that reason, I am not or do not plan to
10.1% No, and I would not have wanted to even if I felt more prepared
10. What is your opinion of President Christina Paxson’s strategic plan?
5.0% Strongly approve
20.7% Somewhat approve
7.3% Somewhat disapprove
1.8% Strongly disapprove
49.4% I am aware of the plan but do not know enough to have an opinion
15.9% I have not heard of the strategic plan
11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS) is handling its job?
6.5% Strongly approve
22.5% Somewhat approve
56.4% No opinion
6.4% Somewhat disapprove
2.1% Strongly disapprove
6.2% I do not know what UCS is
Methodology
Written questionnaires were administered to 1,024 undergraduates Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 in the lobby of J. Walter Wilson and the Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center during the day and the Sciences Library at night. The poll has a 2.8 percent margin of error with 95 percent confidence. The margin of error is 3.9 percent for the subset of males, 3.4 percent for the subset of females, 5.2 percent for first-years, 5.4 percent for sophomores, 5.8 percent for juniors, 6.2 percent for seniors, 3.9 percent for students receiving financial aid and 4 percent for students not receiving financial aid. All reported cross-tabulations are statistically significant.
The sample polled was demographically similar to the Brown undergraduate population as a whole. The sample was 53 percent female and 46 percent male. First-years made up 28 percent of the sample, sophomores accounted for 27 percent of the sample, juniors were 24 percent and seniors were 21 percent. Varsity athletes made up 12 percent of the sample. Of those polled, 50 percent receive financial aid from Brown. Students reported all races with which they identify, with about 61 percent identifying as white, about 26 percent as Asian, about 11 percent as black, about 9 percent as Hispanic, about 2 percent as American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.3 percent as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and about 5 percent as other.
University News Editor Mathias Heller ’15, Arts & Culture Editor Maddie Berg ’15, Strategic Director Greg Jordan-Detamore ’14, Data Science Editor Andersen Chen ’14, City & State Editor Adam Toobin ’15, Features Editor Elizabeth Koh ’15, Senior Staff Writers Kiki Barnes ’16, Mariya Bashkatova ’15 and Michael Dubin ’16 and Staff Writer Sarah Sachs ’16 coordinated the poll. Herald section editors, senior staff writers and other staff members conducted the poll.
Over the next several weeks, The Herald will publish a series of articles on individual poll questions. Find results of previous polls at thebdh.org/poll.