Political Discourse in Princeton Spurred by Graduate Student

Becky Melvin

Initial findings of a recent survey of how people feel about Princeton as a community and about downtown development show that residents feel deeply and emotions run high on the subject.

The survey also finds that reactions of citizens involved in the process are of two extremes, either highly positive or highly frustrated.

In-depth findings have yet to be concluded, but are expected to be ready for publication following the November 4 elections, said Christopher Karpowitz, a graduate student in Princeton University's department of political science.

Mr. Karpowitz is conduc- ting the survey and plans to use it as part of his Ph.D. dissertation on political psychology.

"I am interested in how citizens experience the political process," he said. "I am not attempting to influence the debate one way or another and have worked very hard not to appear to be doing so."

"What has surprised me is how deeply people [in Princeton] feel about the issue and how it touches people's emotions so deeply," he said.

The depth of feeling is probably due to several factors, Mr. Karpowitz surmised. "It probably has to do with the fact that Princeton has a long history and a long tradition of being an interesting place, full of interesting ideas; and, that people enjoy living here," he said.

Many Borough and Township residents received the survey in the mail this summer, and it has been followed up since then with at least three or four mailed requests for participation.

Specifically, the sample included 500 Borough residents, 500 Township residents, and an additional 250 Princeton Future participants, 250 Concerned Citizens of Princeton participants, and 100 people who had spoken recently at Princeton Borough Council meetings.

Of the 1,600 surveys mailed, Mr. Karpowitz has received back 650. He said it's not too late to return surveys, and, in fact, a web site has been added to make it more convenient to do so.

Kansas Native

Mr. Karpowitz, a Lawrence, Kansas, native, studying and living here with his wife and three children, said he isn't ready yet to reveal too much about his hypothesis. But he explained that three different approaches of how people perceive the political process are currently being debated in political science.

In layman's terms, the three approaches include 1) the mere act of speaking makes citizens feel better and that's the most important thing, 2) even if the citizen's desired outcome isn't realized, the responsiveness and empathy of elected officials is the most important thing, 3) having the desired outcome met is the most important thing.

Mr. Karpowitz believes that while people care strongly about outcome, responsiveness also plays an important role.

The letter that accompanied the survey was written in English and Spanish, and Spanish-speaking respondents were able to obtain surveys written in Spanish.

It explained that the survey is being used to help better understand what residents of Princeton think about the ways important community decisions are made.

Mr. Karpowitz, 34, said his advisor first suggested the idea of using Princeton as part of his research.

"It was serendipitous that my own back yard was a place where people were talking and talking a lot. And I wanted to find out what people were thinking about the process," Mr. Karpowitz said.

Opening questions of the survey, which takes a half hour to one hour to complete, have to do with whether people see American government working more as a pure democracy, where ordinary people make decisions, or as a republic, when elected officials make all decisions.

It moves quickly to the local level asking respondents things like whether Princeton should preserve its small-town atmosphere, whether the university wields too much power in local politics, and whether people who attended recent Princeton Future meetings found them neutral and balanced or biased and closed to differing opinions.

If respondents didn't attend Princeton Future meetings they could skip about a fifth of the survey.

Other "cases" for Mr. Karpowitz' research will include a controversy over library books in a Virginia school district and whether citizens' ideas and input in plans for the World Trade Center site really contributed to what is going to be built.

Mr. Karpowitz hasn't yet settled on a name for his dissertation. But currently it's going under the title, "Having a Say: Public Hearings, Deli- beration and American Democracy."