[ti:Study: Republicans See Colleges Hurting America] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.48]A majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters [00:06.48]say American colleges and universities [00:09.88]have a negative effect on the United States. [00:15.04]That is one of the findings of a new report by the Pew Research Center. [00:21.20]The report was based on phone interviews with more than 2,500 adults [00:28.04]across the United States and the District of Columbia. [00:33.36]Over the past two years, Pew found the share of Republicans and Republican leaners [00:41.20]who view the effect of colleges and universities positively [00:46.00]has dropped 18 percentage points. [00:49.88]In the past, a little more than half had a positive view. [00:55.24]Now only about one-third do. [00:58.32]Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents [01:03.92]see the value of colleges and universities very differently. [01:08.96]Pew said 72 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaners [01:16.24]say colleges have a positive effect on the United States [01:21.04]-- little changed from recent years. [01:25.64]Some of the opinions about the value of college differ based on age. [01:32.40]Pew reported that half of Republicans and Republican-leaners [01:37.72]aged 18 to 29 say colleges have a positive effect on the country. [01:44.60]But only about one-quarter of Republican and Republican-leaners 65 and older [01:52.32]say colleges have a positive effect. [01:57.12]A former Republican congressman from Louisiana, Billy Tauzin, [02:02.08]said he believes many Republicans are unhappy that at some colleges [02:07.84]conservative speakers are not only unwelcome, but blocked from speaking. [02:14.80]This year some students at the University of California - Berkeley [02:19.68]and Middlebury College in Vermont demonstrated violently against conservative speakers. [02:27.60]The demonstrations drew wide coverage and criticism [02:32.40]by news media favored by conservatives. [02:37.52]David Andersen, who teaches political science at Iowa State University, [02:43.56]said he is not surprised Republicans and Republican-leaning adults [02:50.32]have a negative opinion of American higher education. [02:56.76]"One of the things going on is that there is an anti-elitism [03:02.52]and anti-intellectualism among some in the Republican Party," Andersen said. [03:11.08]Andersen said he sees distrust in his own classroom [03:16.00]among students from largely Republican and conservative communities in Iowa. [03:24.40]"Students are very willing to push back as we discuss issues," he said. [03:31.32]"But that's the whole point of being at a university. [03:35.76]Let's talk about what you believe and see how it matches up with the facts." [03:43.16]On some issues, such as climate change, [03:47.13]Andersen offers information about the big majority of scientists [03:52.68]who say climate change is real and caused by man-made activities. [03:59.28]When they get home, some students talk with their families [04:03.48]about classroom discussions that conflict with the ones at home. [04:09.72]Sometimes, those conversations do not go well. "One student said, [04:16.36]'My uncle yelled at me for two hours [04:19.80]because he thought I had become a godless liberal,'" Andersen said. [04:26.96]Andersen said he believes most Americans without a college education [04:32.60]still want their children to go to college, hoping they will gain better job opportunities. [04:41.64]William Eveland Jr., a professor at the School of Communication [04:46.60]and the Department of Political Science at Ohio State University, [04:51.52]said there may be other reasons Republicans do not favor colleges and universities. [04:58.40]One of them is the increased cost of college, and the increasing number [05:04.40]of students and parents who go into heavy debt to pay off loans. [05:11.88]The Pew Research Center report found Republicans have an even worse opinion [05:17.56]of the news media than they do of American colleges. [05:22.56]Pew found 85 percent of Republicans and people who lean Republican [05:28.68]say the news media has a negative effect on the United States. [05:34.60]Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults are divided [05:39.04]-- with 44 percent saying the news media has a positive effect [05:45.00]and 46 percent saying it has a negative effect. [05:50.20]I'm Bruce Alpert. [05:52.76]And I'm Jill Robbins. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM