Clinton Receives High Marks in Student Poll

A majority of Harvard undergraduates approve of Bill Clinton's performance as president, but a significant minority of students are unsure about his candor on the Whitewater affair, according to an Institute of Politics/Crimson poll conducted last month.

Fifty-one percent of the 163 students polled said they either "strongly agree" or "agree" that Clinton is doing a good job. A quarter of those polled disagree, and 24 percent remain undecided.

But undergraduates were more mixed in their opinions on Whitewater.

Students were evenly divided on whether Clinton has told the truth about the Whitewater affair, the scandal involving President and Mrs. Clinton's investment in a real estate venture, the Whitewater Development Corporation, and its ties to a failed savings and loan.

Thirty percent said they support the president while 31 percent said they believe he has not been candid. The largest number of students-39 percent-said they were undecided on the issue.

But many students said they agree that, regardless of Clinton's involvement in the matter, Whitewater is not a significant issue. Forty-seven percent of those polled said Whitewater is unimportant while 35 percent disagreed. The remaining 18 percent were undecided.

Forty-nine percent of those surveyed identified themselves as Democrats. Thirty percent said they were independent, and 21 percent Republican.

The margin of error of the poll was plus or minus eight percent.