Penn student opinion on the war in Iraq is almost evenly divided, according to a recent poll conducted by The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Of the 400 students surveyed in a random sample, 177 -- just over 44 percent -- said they are against war in Iraq. Almost 40 percent, or 160 students, said they support the current war in Iraq. An additional 58 students were undecided, while five said they did not care.
The poll, which surveyed 400 randomly selected students over the course of four days ending Friday, had a 5 percent margin of error.
The relatively even breakdown of student opinion stands in contrast to national polls -- including a USA/CNN/Gallup Poll -- which have remained at a fairly constant 70 percent in support of war since U.S. attacks on Iraq began.
"I'm not entirely surprised," Penn Political Science Professor Avery Goldstein said. "The opinion of college students is likely to be... more opposed to the war than the general public."
While Goldstein acknowledged he would have expected a somewhat more anti-war sentiment, others said they were happily surprised.
"I'm actually impressed," said Penn Students Against War on Iraq member Arshad Hasan, a College senior, noting the results of a poll conducted by students in his Political Science class, "Public Opinion and Democracy," which Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Jeff Millman wrote about in January.
The results of the poll, according to Millman, found Penn students were more than 79 percent in support of war -- higher than what national public opinion polls held. Reportedly, only 13.5 percent of students surveyed opposed the war outright.
The apparent shift "means that the Bush administration hasn't made a case and that the dialogue that's going on around campus... has really made people think twice about supporting the misguided policies that led us into the war," Hasan said.
Noting the gap in numbers between those who support the war nationwide and those on Penn's campus, College Republicans Secretary Daniel Siegman said the numbers were "disappointing."
"It shows how detached college students are from the rest of the country," Siegman said. "When kids walk down Locust Walk and see protesters, I hope they know that in the rest of the country, their point of view -- if they're pro-war -- is much more well-supported than at Penn."
Opinions at other Ivies seem to run contrary to the war. A poll conducted last Friday by The Harvard Crimson found that nearly 56 percent of students describe their feelings against the war as either "strong" or "somewhat." Of the 34 percent who said they were in favor of the war, most were only "somewhat" in support of the attacks.
Though national public opinion has remained fairly stable since the start of military action against Iraq, experts predict opinions will shift if the war continues for several months. Additionally, public opinion will likely depend on the perceived success of the operation as time goes on.
Goldstein noted that in understanding public opinion polls, it is important to understand context.
According to Goldstein, "polling results are often a reflection of people's expectations."
