From students’ views on airline vaccine mandates to college friendships, here are this week’s top college student insights.
Vaccine Mandates
While some U.S. airlines are requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the same mandate has not extended to passengers. A new College Pulse survey of 655 undergraduates finds that almost two-thirds (65%) support a vaccine mandate for domestic flights. However, just 12% of Republican students support such a proposal, compared to 88% of Democratic students. Male students are also less likely than female students to support a vaccine mandate for flights (54% vs. 75%).
Percentage of students who support a vaccine mandate for domestic flights.
College Friendships
The pandemic has been a lonely time for many, and friends have leaned on one another for emotional support. A survey of 510 undergraduates finds that a majority of students (61%) have between one and four close friends, and female students are twice as likely as male students to say they only have one or two close friendships (33% vs. 14%).
What’s more, almost half (47%) of students say they wish they had more close friends. Female students are more likely than male students to say so (51% vs. 42%). Among students with one or two close friends, more than two-thirds (68%) say they wish they had more, compared to about one-third (37%) of students with three or four close friends.
Finding friends at college doesn’t always come easily. Four in 10 (40%) students with one to two close friends say it’s been very difficult for them to make friends in college, compared to one-quarter (25%) of students overall. Female students (29%) in particular say it’s been very difficult for them to make friends at school, compared to fewer male students (19%).
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Methodology: All surveys were designed and conducted by College Pulse. Interviews were conducted among a sample of full-time and part-time students attending colleges or universities in the U.S. who are part of College Pulse’s American College Student Panel.
