Social Capital and Civic Engagement at the Collegiate Level

Levels of civic engagement among young adults has been an increasing concern for social scientists. Young adults are showing lower amounts of civic engagement than in the past, and this has translated into a concern for the democratic process in the United States. This thesis looks to analyze the national downward trend of civic engagement at the collegiate level, specifically at Arizona State University. To make this 71,000-student community more manageable, this analysis will specifically look at one community within Arizona State: Fraternity and Sorority Life. The different groups within Fraternity and Sorority Life at Arizona State University provide an all-encompassing view of civic engagement through participation in various activities and events. An annual report published by the office of Fraternity and Sorority Life will show the effect of the number of educational programs, number of charitable donations, and amount of outside campus involvement has on civic engagement. Looking at pieces of work like Putnam’s Bowling Alone and Hero’s Racial Diversity and Social Capital, this thesis analyzes the associations of these organizations and how that translates into civic engagement and social capital. In addition, we subsequently question Putnam’s analysis, and attempt to apply these critiques to Arizona State University’s collegiate community. This thesis looks at the impact of historically cultural vs historically social groups. The results of this study show that the historically cultural groups are demonstrating higher levels of civic engagement based on their horizontal associations. This information can be used to better understand young adult’s impact on their surrounding community, as well as how the makeup and functioning of groups can influence levels of social capital and civic engagement.