Students who came to college in the fall of 2024 are the first class that spent the entirety of their high-school years in a pandemic-shaped world. These students are called the “Covid Cohort” by Vector Solutions, a consulting firm that recently collected data from 350,517 first-year students aged 19 or under, across 448 universities and colleges.
The students who participated in the study completed pre-course surveys on alcohol abuse, sexual-assault prevention, mental well-being, and/or “Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging.” Though the Covid Cohort clearly retain a progressive belief system where such topics are concerned, their attitudes have nevertheless moderated in a measurable way.
To read the report is to observe adult disapproval of any undergraduate departure from the party line.For example, while students remain familiar with the mental-health resources available at their college or university, with 69-70 percent of respondents agreeing that they know where to seek help for any mental-health challenges, students are losing confidence in the effectiveness of such support by their academic institutions. In the past two years alone, the percentage of freshman respondents reporting confidence in mental-health resources has decreased from 92 to 85, while the percentage seeking mental-health support has dropped from 40 to 29. Nor is it clear that Vector’s recommendation—“institutions must work to normalize help-seeking behaviors and provide visible, approachable mental health services”—will achieve much given these numbers.
Elsewhere in the study, 32 percent of first-year respondents reported that sexual assault was not a problem at their academic institution, an increase from only 20 percent in 2022. While the prevalence of alleged sexual assault on campus dropped from 12.5 percent to 10 percent during that period, percentages of respondents who recognize (accurately) that binge-drinking can lead to such crimes rose slightly. The number of students who agreed that anyone who is under the influence is “never at fault” in such cases was 82 percent in 2022. In the past two years, that figure decreased to 77 percent. Unsurprisingly, Vector expresses dissatisfaction with these figures and states that administrators “have a role in continuing prevention programs that center around the concept of affirmative consent and dismantle harmful stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding sexual assault.”
While the Covid Cohort appears to be aware of the risks of alcohol abuse and the importance of intervention, there has been a decrease in the willingness of students to take direct action to prevent harm to peers. Eighty-eight percent of first-year respondents in 2024 agreed that intervention can save a life, but only 81 percent would intervene if they saw someone being “harassed” by another intoxicated individual. Vector recommends “providing students with tools and training that empower them to take action” in such cases.
Of course, it is possible that these numbers indicate not political moderation but an unhealthy withdrawal from society on the part of disrupted and often homebound teens. As the report’s summary states, respondents “value mental health, diversity, and personal responsibility, yet they are reluctant to act when faced with difficult situations,” preferring “indirect methods that minimize risk and feel[ing] increasingly disconnected from their peers.” That may be true. Nevertheless, to read the Vector report is to observe pointed adult disapproval of any undergraduate departure from the progressive party line. For higher-ed reformers who want true viewpoint diversity on campus, that’s a problem.
Kaitlyn Potts is a North Carolina State University student double-majoring in political science and philosophy with a minor in Chinese studies.