Millennials made the difference in the 2012 election and will continue to do so, the author writes. College students in shifting middle

Are college students moving to the middle, or are the progressive policies they support becoming more mainstream?

In a survey recently released by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute, 47 percent of college students identify their political beliefs as “middle of the road,” up from 43 percent in 2008.


While it may sound like millennials are becoming more centrist, the truth is that they are still very progressive. What’s changed is that Americans are embracing progressive policies as core beliefs. As these progressive values become more mainstream, their supporters naturally see themselves in a similar light.

In the survey, college students’ progressive beliefs are clear: a full three-quarters of incoming freshmen support marriage equality, 64 percent agree that wealthy people should pay more in taxes and 61 percent support reproductive rights. Additionally, 64 percent of young people strongly support the DREAM Act and 71 percent are concerned about climate change and support alternative energy.

These positions are becoming more widely accepted, or middle of the road, by the country as a whole. Today, more than half the country supports marriage equality, 67 percent believe the wealthy need to pay more in taxes, 54 percent support reproductive rights, 70 percent support the DREAM Act and 80 percent see climate change as a serious problem.

As the study notes, while about half of students identify their political beliefs as middle of the road, they have “decidedly more progressive” beliefs when it comes to specific issues.

Young people have been strongly progressive for years and, as the country embraces these values, they will be seen as mainstream beliefs and pave the way for moving our country forward. Millennials clearly made the difference in the 2012 election and will continue to do so for decades to come.

Anne Johnson is director of Campus Progress, the youth division of the Center for American Progress.