University of Virginia Library

Student Indifference

Asst. Sociology Prof.
Charles Longino, who acted as
advisor for the poll believes the
poll was a "good one." He
thinks a 60 per cent return
would be a low range
acceptability level, while an 85
percent return on the
questionnaire would be
exceptional.

Mr. Longino, strangely
enough, also thinks the survey
is long and complicated. The
majority of students don't

really care a great deal about
the funding, he said.
Consequently they will feel
imposed upon to sit down for
half an hour and fill it out.

Mr. Sabato said, though, that
he has at present a 65 per cent
return on the questionnaire. Of
the 924 questionnaires
distributed, among a 12,000
student population, 600 returns
would hardly, in itself, be a
definitive indicator of student
opinion. The questionnaires,
though, are to be run through
a computer at Gilmer Hall and
weighted in proportion to the
composition of the student
body.

What Student Council
intends to do with the results
of the survey exposes further
inherent drawbacks. Since it is
necessary for a student to have
a reasonably sound
knowledge of various
University activities to
intelligently answer the
questionnaire, (a knowledge
that is doubted to a certain
degree even by the survey's
originators) it is difficult to
determine how confidently
Student Council should act on
the results. Indeed, just what
amount of discretion the
Council will use in evaluating
the results of the survey is still
in question.