When hope and fear collide: a portrait of today's college student
(eBook)

In his 1980 book When Dreams and Heroes Died, Arthur Levine presented a portrait of a generation of college students without heroes - a generation optimistic about their own futures, but pessimistic about the future of the country and the world. These students turned inward, away from activism and community and toward individual and material gain, a trend that continued throughout the 80s and showed little sign of changing. But when Levine returned to campuses in the 1990s, he discovered a startling and encouraging shift in the attitudes of the new generation of students. When Hope and Fear Collide examines a generation motivated by a conflicting sense of hope and fear. While today's students fear a great many things both on a global level and on a local level, they are less pessimistic than the previous generation, as they look for ways to make a difference in their world. Levine and Jeanette Cureton explore what shaped this change and how those who deal with students on a daily basis can use the change to enrich the college experience. The book examines how students come to grips with the challenges of politics, academics, and personal relationships on campus and draws implications for their futures. Levine and Cureton base their findings on research carried out in the same manner as in Levine's landmark study. The data they present give those who deal with students on a daily basis the information and tools they need to help those students chart a meaningful course through college.