A majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning voterssay American colleges and universitieshave a negative effect on the United States.That is one of the findings of a new report by the Pew Research Center.The report was based on phone interviews with more than 2,500 adultsacross the United States and the District of Columbia.Over the past two years, Pew found the share of Republicans and Republican leanerswho view the effect of colleges and universities positivelyhas dropped 18 percentage points.In the past, a little more than half had a positive view.Now only about one-third do.Democrats and Democratic-leaning independentssee the value of colleges and universities very differently.Pew said 72 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leanerssay colleges have a positive effect on the United States-- little changed from recent years.Some of the opinions about the value of college differ based on age.Pew reported that half of Republicans and Republican-leanersaged 18 to 29 say colleges have a positive effect on the country.But only about one-quarter of Republican and Republican-leaners 65 and oldersay colleges have a positive effect.A former Republican congressman from Louisiana, Billy Tauzin,said he believes many Republicans are unhappy that at some collegesconservative speakers are not only unwelcome, but blocked from speaking.This year some students at the University of California - Berkeleyand Middlebury College in Vermont demonstrated violently against conservative speakers.The demonstrations drew wide coverage and criticismby news media favored by conservatives.David Andersen, who teaches political science at Iowa State University,said he is not surprised Republicans and Republican-leaning adultshave a negative opinion of American higher education."One of the things going on is that there is an anti-elitismand anti-intellectualism among some in the Republican Party," Andersen said.Andersen said he sees distrust in his own classroomamong students from largely Republican and conservative communities in Iowa."Students are very willing to push back as we discuss issues," he said."But that's the whole point of being at a university.Let's talk about what you believe and see how it matches up with the facts."On some issues, such as climate change,Andersen offers information about the big majority of scientistswho say climate change is real and caused by man-made activities.When they get home, some students talk with their familiesabout classroom discussions that conflict with the ones at home.Sometimes, those conversations do not go well. "One student said,'My uncle yelled at me for two hoursbecause he thought I had become a godless liberal,'" Andersen said.Andersen said he believes most Americans without a college educationstill want their children to go to college, hoping they will gain better job opportunities.William Eveland Jr., a professor at the School of Communicationand the Department of Political Science at Ohio State University,said there may be other reasons Republicans do not favor colleges and universities.One of them is the increased cost of college, and the increasing numberof students and parents who go into heavy debt to pay off loans.The Pew Research Center report found Republicans have an even worse opinionof the news media than they do of American colleges.Pew found 85 percent of Republicans and people who lean Republicansay the news media has a negative effect on the United States.Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults are divided-- with 44 percent saying the news media has a positive effectand 46 percent saying it has a negative effect.And I'm Jill Robbins.