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University of Massachusetts Amherst
SARIS - Student Affairs Research, Information and Systems
 Student Government Association Survey (F98-C)

Executive Summary: Only one-half of the respondents reported being aware of the recent Student Government election, and only one-tenth of respondents reported having voted in the election. First-year students were four times more likely than seniors to have voted. The vast majority of non-voters rated "lack of familiarity with the candidates" as an important reason for their lack of participation in the election. Almost three-quarters of past or present RSO members reported that the SGA has been “very” or “somewhat” effective in meeting their needs as an RSO member. When asked how supportive they would be of the University taking disciplinary action against a (hypothetical) UMass student found guilty of serving alcohol to minors in the town of Amherst, slightly more than one-half said they would be “very” or “somewhat” supportive. The vast majority of students reported that they would be “very” or “somewhat” likely to use “a guide containing the results of student evaluations of faculty” if such a guide were available. Nearly all respondents think that sophomores who live on campus should not be required to purchase a meal plan. One-third of students reported that it was “very” or “somewhat” difficult for them to get into the classes they wanted for the fall semester. Slightly more than one half of vehicle owners with a UMass parking sticker reported dissatisfaction with their lot assignment.

On Tuesday, October 6, 1998, Project Pulse conducted a telephone survey for the Student Government Association (SGA) in order to investigate undergraduates’ attitudes towards a variety of student life issues at UMass Amherst. Pulse interviewers attempted to contact 1215 students who were randomly selected by computer from the entire student population in the University’s database. Of these, 737 were successfully contacted and 608 (82.5%) agreed to be interviewed. Table 1 displays the final disposition of the sample and Table 2 provides a demographic summary of the respondents. The response rate for the survey was 50.0%.

SGA Involvement

Students were asked whether they were aware that an SGA election of Senators and Area Governors had been held on the previous Monday. Only half of the respondents (51.4%, n=297) said they were aware of that election, and only 11.5% (n=67) reported that they voted in the election.

Registered Student Organization (RSO) members were significantly more likely than non-members to be aware of the election (71.6% v. 47.0%, c²=20.24, p=.0000). Of those who were aware of the election, less than one-quarter (22.6%, n=67) reported having voted. Voting varied inversely with class year, with 32.1% of first-year students, 22.9% of sophomores, 16.7% of juniors and 7.4% of seniors (c²=13.94, p=.0030) reporting having cast a ballot.

Students who said they had not voted in the election were presented with five reasons students may have had for not voting and were asked how important each reason was to them personally in terms of their decision not to vote. Lack of familiarity with the candidates was rated as “very” or “somewhat” important by 85.4% of non-voters. Smaller proportions of students rated having more important things to do (59.9%), having no time to vote (57.6%), thinking the SGA is unimportant (49.3%), and not knowing where to go to vote (25.1%) as “very” or “somewhat” important. Figure 1 details student responses to this battery of questions.

Figure 1. Non-voters’ reasons for not casting a ballot in the SGA election
(% of non-voters rating each reason as “very important” in their decision not to vote)

All respondents were asked whether they had ever attended a Student Government Senate session. Only 4.1% (n=24) reported having ever attended a session. A larger proportion of students of color than of White students reported having attended a session (8.8% v. 3.0%, c²=7.65, p=.0057), as did students who are or have been members of an RSO (12.3% v. 1.0%, c²=37.15, p=.0000).

Registered Student Organizations

The next group of questions focused on Registered Student Organizations (RSOs). Almost three-quarters of respondents (72.8%, n=413) reported that they had never been an RSO member, whereas 18.5% (n=105) said they are a member presently, and 8.6% (n=49) said they had been a member in the past. Not surprisingly, the proportion of students who had never been an RSO member decreased with class year: 86.8% of first-year students, 70.1% of sophomores, 66.1% of juniors and 57.8% of seniors (c²=36.70, p=.0000) reported that they had never been part of an RSO. Respondents with present or past RSO affiliation were asked “how effective do you think the SGA has been in meeting your needs as an RSO member?” Almost three-quarters of the respondents (71.8%, n=89) reported that the SGA has been “very” or “somewhat” effective in meeting those needs.

Student Life Issues

Next, students were asked their opinions on a variety of current issues pertaining to student life. Students were asked how supportive they would be of the University taking disciplinary action against a (hypothetical) UMass student found guilty of serving alcohol to minors in the town of Amherst. As illustrated in Figure 2, 55.7% (n=322) said they would be “very” or “somewhat” supportive of disciplinary action. Support for disciplinary action also varied inversely with class year: 58.7% of first-year students, 44.9% of sophomores, 36.6% of juniors and 26.2% of seniors expressed support (c²=36.26, p=.0000). Men were significantly more likely than women to say that they are “very unsupportive” of the University taking disciplinary action (37.6% v. 23.1%, c²=18.43, p=.0004).

Figure 2: Student support for the University taking disciplinary action against a (hypothetical) UMass student found guilty of serving alcohol to minors in the town of Amherst

Students were split on whether credit card vendors should be allowed to recruit customers on campus, with 54.3% (n=308) saying “Yes” and 45.7% (n=259) saying “No.” The vast majority of students (89.6%, n=518) reported that they would be “very” or “somewhat” likely to use “a guide containing the results of student evaluations of faculty” if such a guide were available. Nearly all respondents (92.4%, n=523) think that sophomores who live on campus should not be required to purchase a meal plan.

Respondents who live on campus were asked how supportive they are of the 24-hour card access policy now in operation in the residence halls. Approximately two-thirds (65.4%, n=267) said they are “very” or “somewhat” supportive of that policy. Support for the card access policy varied significantly by class year: 41.7% of first-year students reported being “very supportive,” compared to 28.0% of sophomores, 17.2% of juniors, and 26.9% of seniors (c²=51.84, p=.0000). On-campus residents were also asked about their satisfaction with their housing assignments: 86.9% (n=357) said that they are “very” or “somewhat” satisfied.

Students were asked how difficult it was for them to get into the classes they wanted this semester. As illustrated in Figure 3, one-third of students (33%, n=191) reported that it was “very” or “somewhat” difficult.

Figure 3: How difficult was it for you to get into the classes that you wanted this semester?

Next, students were asked to estimate how often they buy food or services at student-run businesses such as Earthfoods, People’s Market, or Campus Design and Copy. Figure 4 offers a graphical presentation of those responses. Patronage of student-run businesses increases with class year: Sixty-five percent of first-year students reported patronizing student businesses, compared to 72.3% of sophomores, 80.5% of juniors, and 90.2% of seniors (c²=28.59, p=.0000).

Figure 4. How often do you buy food or services from student-run businesses such as Earthfoods, People’s Market, or Campus Design and Copy?

Parking on Campus

The last series of questions pertained to parking on campus. Almost half of the respondents (48.6%, n=281) said that they have a car or motorcycle. As illustrated in Figure 5, vehicle ownership increases with class year. Nearly three-quarters of vehicle owners (73.6%, n=206) said they have a UMass parking sticker, but the likelihood of having a sticker decreases with class year: 95.6% of freshman vehicle owners have a sticker, compared to 86.4% of sophomores, 68.7% of juniors, and 59.1% of seniors (c²=27.2, p=.0000). Vehicles owners with UMass parking stickers were asked how satisfied they are with their parking lot assignment. As illustrated in Figure 6, more than one-half of these students reported dissatisfaction with their lot assignment.

Figure 5. Vehicle ownership by class year

Figure 6: How satisfied are you with your parking lot assignment?

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