Students putting it all online against Bush

November 18, 2005

BOSTON: George W. Bush's approval rating is at an all-time low among US university students - but don't expect mass campus protests.

Online petitions, emails, wristbands and boycotts are the political acts of today's students, a nationwide survey by Harvard University's Institute of Politics has shown.

Just over a third of students have signed an online petition in support of a cause, just under a third have written an email or letter to support a campaign, and more than a fifth have worn wristbands to show their stand on an issue.

Nearly a fifth have contributed to a political blog.

Such acts are the new form of student protests, said the institute's Jeanne Shaheen.

"They've added this whole different aspect - what we call the technological twist," Ms Shaheen said.

"They're making use of the technology that's available to this generation, and see that as a way to be political."

The poll showed only 41 per cent of students approve of Mr Bush's performance, a record low in the five years of the survey and down six points from April.

A large majority, 62 per cent, want the US to withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq, according to the survey of 1204 US students, chosen randomly.

More than half the students trust the United Nations to do the right thing all or most of the time, but only 39 per cent said the same about the President.

Many students supported the US war in Iraq when it began in 2003, Ms Sheehan said.

A survey published by ABC News/Washington Post on November 3 showed that for the the first time in the Bush presidency, a majority of Americans questioned his integrity as his approval ratings on all key issues fell to new lows.

Reuters Link Here