University of Virginia Library

Student Poll Reveals Support
For Demonstrations, Demands

By Corbin Eissler
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

"Student support of demonstrations
at the University is a
lot stronger then anyone seems to
have thought" was the conclusion
of Thomas H. Steele, head of
"Compol," a recent student poll.

Mr. Steele and Jerry Grey, both
third-year men, conducted a telephone
survey of a random sampling
of students Tuesday night. The poll
attempted to gauge student opinion
on the recent demands and demonstrations
of the Coalition.

"We emphasised trends we felt
were apparent among the interviewees
and made no attempt to
accurately translate ratios into
thousands of students," said Mr.
Steele. He further cautioned that
the opinions were only a sampling
at one time, and not necessarily
accurate over a long period. But as
a gauge of student opinion at this
time, Mr. Steele feels his figures are
accurate to within 5%.

In a question designed to test
student knowledge of the specific
aims and leaders of the Coalition,
the poll found that "we have a total
of 63% of the interviewees who
have little or no fact orientation
toward the Coalition." This means
that most students responded negatively
when asked "Could you, if
asked, name any of the Coalition
leaders?"

On the other hand, most students
were found to have some
knowledge of the Coalition's general
aims. On the question of "issue
or task orientation", 79% of the
interviewees answered positively to
the question "Could you name the
goals of the Coalition?" The pollsters
concluded "This would tend
to suggest that the interviewees are
at least aware...what the Coalition
is doing."

The poll's second portion "was
intended to test support for demonstrations
as a legitimate means
to an end." To the question "Do
you approve of demonstrations, in
general, at the University?", 72% of
the interviewees answered yes. The
poll also found that "86% of the
student body would be willing to
attend another demonstration if the
issue were right, that is not to say
that they would be there to support
the demonstration, but they would
be willing to attend."

The third portion of the poll
attempted to define the views of
these potential demonstrators, or
"to test the awareness of the
interviewees to what might be
considered a small number of
students who might be termed
'radically oriented' ". In line with
this the poll found that "more
interviewees were concerned with
the function of the SDS or at least
felt more oriented to its philosophies
existence at the University
then were aware of the issues
surrounding the Coalition."

But when the pollsters tried to
"gauge identification with the
group's philosophy" they found
that most students questioned were
generally neutral.

The next part of the poll tried
to determine what types of demonstration
tactics were favored,
or "to gauge intensity support for
tactics of student movements." In
response to "a rally and a march"
the poll found that "The figure of
the interviewees who would actually
take part in the demonstration is
a far cry down from the 86%" who
had said they might attend a
demonstration in part one of the
poll.

When asked "How would you
react if students occupied an
Administration building" the poll
recorded a "strong movement into
the 'strongly opposed' category."
The poll-takers concluded "This
would suggest that interviewees
would consider this an entirely new
strategy and would oppose it."