What do college seniors plan to do after graduation? Interview students about their plans for work, travel, graduate study. Will those who plan to work be doing so in the area of their major? Where are the travelers bound? Ask those who intend to continue their education why they selected their field for graduate study. Are some planning marriage soon after they graduate? What are the work or study plans of people planning to marry?

     A survey of more than 330,000 college freshmen conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA five years ago found among the freshman class the lowest interest and involvement in politics in three decades. Fewer than a third said that "keeping up with political affairs" is an important goal for them. Thirty years before, two-thirds said it was important for them.
     Other surveys have found an annual decline in concern for the environment, racial understanding and community action programs as well as a lessening interest in political issues. An associate scholar at the Center for Ethical Leadership in Seattle describes this campus spirit as "less indifference and more learned helplessness—the feeling that students can't change the world, so why try?"
     Design a survey for your school to determine students' "involvement factor." Try to find reasons for your findings.

     What are the five best speeches delivered in the country's history? Interview members of various departments on campus. Among those most often mentioned are Lincoln's Gettysburg address and Martin Luther King's "Free at Last" speech in Alabama. Quote from the speeches to illustrate the points your sources make.