I agree with you on that. I think it is part of the "charm" of the college atmosphere, though. Everyone believes in their ability to influence. I actually was a part of a study of the effect of political talk in the college classroom while at UW-Madison. I was a "guinea pig" so I don't know what conclusions they came to, but it was something fun I remember doing. The strangest teacher I ever had when it came to talking politics was John Sharpless, my history professor in Madison. He was a big Bush basher. Not because he was a crazy liberal, but because he was SUPER conservative (by his own admission). Ran for office in Madison as a Libertarian I believe. Crazy man...liked to talk about drinking a lot...fun class.