Todays college students feel as if they are crossing an abyss between their dreams and the reality of an uncertain future. They are a generation seeking stability in a time of profound and accelerating change. They want government and our other social institutions to work in a time when theyre broken; they cling to the American Dream in an age of diminished expectations. They are walking a tightrope, attempting to balance digital connectedness and personal isolation, global citizenship and local vision, commonality and difference in the most diverse generation in American history, and a desire to be treated as mature adults while being more dependent on their parents than previous college students.Generation on a Tightrope offers a compelling portrait of todays undergraduate college students that sheds light on their attributes, expectations, aspirations, academics, attitudes, values, beliefs, social lives, and politics. Based on research of 5,000 college students and student affairs practitioners from 270 diverse college campuses, the book explores the similarities and differences between todays generation of students and previous generations. The authors examine the myriad forces that have shaped these students and will continue to shape them as they prepare to meet the future.

The first two volumes in this series exploring the psyche of college students,When Dreams and Heroes Died (1980) andWhen Hope and Fear Collide (1998), offered thoughtful and accurate profiles of the students of the 1980s and 1990s. AsGeneration on a Tightrope clearly reveals, todays students need a very different education than the undergraduates who came before them: an education for the 21st Century, which colleges and universities are ill-equipped to offer and which will require major changes of them to provide.

Painting a realistic picture of todays college students, the authors offer guidance to higher education professionals, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, employers, parents, and the public. The books insights can help them equip students for the world they face and the world they will help to create.

THE AUTHORS

ARTHUR LEVINE is president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Previously, he was president and professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

DIANE R. DEAN is associate professor of higher education policy and administration at Illinois State University.

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xix

The Authors xxiii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1: The Past Is a Foreign Country 11

Chapter 2: Academics: The Internet and the Blackboard 37

Chapter 3: Life Outside the Classroom: The New Tribalism 53

Chapter 4: Parents: Helicopters, Lawnmowers, and Stealth Bombers 79

Chapter 5: Multiculturalism: The Demographics of Comfort 95

Chapter 6: Politics: Talking Global, Acting Local 117

Chapter 7: The Future: Clinging to the American Dream 147

Chapter 8: Conclusion: The Future Is a Foreign Country 155

Appendix A: The Life and Times of the Class of 2012: A Chronology 199

Appendix B: Studies Used in This Book 205

Appendix C: Campus Contacts 209

References 213

Index 219

We dedicate this book to our spouses, Linda Fentiman and John Giglio, both educators, and to our children, Jamie Levine, who is teaching todays college students; Rachel Levine, who graduated from college in 2010 and is one of the people we are writing about; and Andy and Katy Giglio, who are the college students of the future. We love you very much.