College Graduates fear debt more than terrorism

By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY Thu May 19, 6:21 AM ET



Forget terrorism. The generation that came of age after Sept. 11, 2001, fears college debt and joblessness more than another terrorist attack. That's according to a new survey of college seniors and graduates of the class of 2005, most of whom were just weeks into their college careers that fateful Tuesday.



They still fear terrorism, and most believe that Americans will experience another attack. But when asked, "What are you most fearful of at this time?" only 13.4% said a terrorist attack; 32.4% answered "going deeply into debt," and 31.2% said "being unemployed."



The survey, released today by the bipartisan Partnership for Public Service, finds that 45.1% say they expect to graduate with $10,000 or more in college loans, with 20.6% saying they have more than $20,000 to pay off. Another 27.5% say they will have no college debt.



"It is the central challenge that they face," says William Strauss, co-author of Millennials Rising and other books about Americans born since 1982.



By 2001, Strauss says, these kids already had their sense of security altered by the Columbine High School shootings in 1999 and similar tragedies, which prompted schools to reconsider safety years before the rest of the country.



"The adjustments that the society made post-9/11 seemed less startling, and they were more willing to accept it," Strauss says.



Though most of the students surveyed say it's likely the USA will experience "another serious terrorist attack" in the next five years, Strauss says economic concerns will play a larger role.



"This is a larger issue than many people realize," he says. "It's altering life directions." Rather than pursuing academic paths, "they feel much more obliged to pursue the highest-paying corporate path. That is a significant change from 30 to 40 years ago."



Yarbrough, 23, of Flagstaff, Ariz., plans to attend law school eventually and run for elected office. She says Sept. 11 wasn't really her generation's wake-up call - the Iraq war may have more long-term impact, she says - but that the terrorist attacks were "a shock" that made them more aware of the United States' place in the world.



"The knowledge that something like that can happen is now tucked away in our memory," she says. "Before I think - for myself, at least - you knew it was a possibility, but like winning the lottery was a possibility."



I don't know about everyone else, but this makes me extremely proud to be an American. To see that the young American adults "get it."

 

I view that as remarkably wise. Economics are more important that terrorism.

Too bad we've got 45-70 year old individuals running the country who view it otherwise. Too bad we can't just skip ahead a generation.

 

I'd rather allow those individuals to run the country than hothead me or liberal you. Age brings perspective, sensibility, and temperance.

 

You are a nutcase.
An open society with little to no security can't function.
There would be less jobs, less colleges and students.

If we didn't fight terrorism and had attacks like Isreal less and less people
would take the chance and lead their daily lives as they now do.
Some would probably leave the country and go to Canada or Mexico.

How old are you?
Seriously
I guess the teenagers and 20 somethings know everything, people who just got out of school and have zero life experiences in the real world. :dis:

 

You didn't learn d*ck from tha aftermath of 9/11, did you?

Quick lesson on how the real world works, bubba. Our economic system is
dependent upon things like 9/11 NOT happening. Therefore, preventing terrorism is paramount to the foundation of a healthy economy, which makes terrorism inherently more important than the economy. Not to mention the most basic tenet of all...dead people don't spend money. Get it now?

 

And it most certainly breeds short-sightedness and self-interest as well (at least recently.)

 

:rofl:Holy CRAP that's my favorite SDMan post.:rofl:

"Que pasa Pot, mi nombre es Kettle!" :thumb:

 

Christ, people.

Where did I say terrorism isn't important? I didn't. You all need to stop pre-judging everything anyone says once you "have then marked" and read what's actually there on the page.

I just said economics and both the domestic and foreign economic landscape is more important than terrorism. Issue vs. Issue. I never said, we shouldn't be worried about terrorism at all, let's be like France and crawl in a hole and not fight.

 

Add to that a corruption and a refusal to adapt to the dynamics of society...maybe being jaded?

 

By 'real' world do you mean having to work to support yourself? If so that statement is completely wrong.