题目选项分析

Studies of the political orientations of 1,055 college students revealed that the plurality of students in an eastern, big-city, private university was liberal, whereas in a state-supported, southern college, the plurality was conservative. Orientations were independent of the student's region of origin, and the trends were much more pronounced in seniors than in beginning students.

Which of the following hypotheses is best supported by the observations stated above?

【选项】Whether their college is state-supported or private is the determining factor in college students' political orientations.