A lack of interest in politics, regular drug use and sexual activity and low membership of college clubs and societies are among the attributes of the typical student, according to an attitude survey carried out among students in the DIT.
According to the survey, carried out by Foresight Communications on behalf of the DIT students union, nearly half the student body is unaware that Mary Harney is the Tanaiste.
Almost one-third of students say they do not intend to vote in the next elections. Apathy is cited as the reason for their failure to vote by more than half of this group.
Meanwhile 29 per cent say they feel politics has no relevance for them. Only 5 per cent of students are members of political parties and the vast majority (94 per cent) who are not members cite apathy as the reason.
Unsurprisingly, students are far more active when it comes to drink and sex. A whopping 96 per cent of DIT students say they drink alcohol and of these, more than three-quarters says they started drinking before Leaving Cert. Lagers account for 49 per cent of the student market, while just 14 per cent of students are Guinness drinkers. On a night out, more than four out of 10 students take between five and eight drinks.
Only one-third of the students surveyed report being regular smokers. However, more than half admit to having tried illegal drugs. Nine out of 10 of these students have used cannabis, almost one-third use ecstasy and just under a quarter have used acid.
Only 1 per cent admit to having tried heroin, but 12 per cent say they have used cocaine. The majority of students are regular drug users - with just under half revealing that they use drugs once per month. A little over one in 10 are weekly users, while 4 per cent report being daily users.
Two-thirds of the students who say they have taken drugs also say that they started to take drugs either in their Leaving Cert years or before. The vast majority (89 per cent) cited curiosity as the reason for taking drugs the first time.
Eight out of 10 students report that they have had full sexual intercourse - but only 15 per cent have sex on a regular basis. Some 78 per cent of students report having been sexually active before they left school. One-10th of students say they have had more than eight sexual partners, while just over half have had fewer than three partners.
Condoms are the most popular form of contraceptive and are used by 81 per cent of the students surveyed. Four out of 10 students say they or their partners use the pill. All but 3 per cent of the students say they are heterosexual. Some 2 per cent report they are bisexual, while 1 per cent of students say they are homosexual.
Some 405 students from all years and DIT campuses - 203 females and 202 males - participated in the survey.
