ple--appeal to or are oriented toward the future
needs of the males. Membership is either a prerequisite for admission to
higher educational institutions or makes admission much easier.

Statistics notwithstanding, party and other national leaders complain
that Komsomol membership is lower than it should be, but they have
greater concern about the number who are members merely for expediency
and who are apathetic toward the organization's activities. A low point
in the Komsomol's appeal was reached during the 1960s and, sensing an
urgent need to reattract the cooperation of the nation's youth, its
programs were given a major reevaluation and overhaul beginning in about
1968.

The youth problem in 1968 was probably less serious in Bulgaria than it
was in many Western countries and other communist countries, but it had
reached proportions that warranted action. Among symptoms cited by the
authorities was apathy toward education, work, and party ideology. Young
people in rural areas seemed anxious to move to the cities, where
idleness, crime, and so-called parasitic living were increasing.
Consumption of alcohol by young people was up markedly.

Many young people were described as silent nihilists, persons who were
characterized by unresponsiveness and vast indifference. No expression
of group youth protest, for example, was recorded between the inception
of the communist government and the late 1960s. When individual
complaints were solicited, however, they appeared to come out freely.
Some said that they would have cooperated but spoke of the anemic and
empty lives of the youth organizations where the dull, boring meetings
consisted largely of upbraiding sermons full of pious admonitions and
reprimands. Others assumed an offensive posture, indulging in
self-praise, pointing out shortcomings in party work, complaining about
the lack of individual freedom and the lack of opportunity for showing
initiative, and criticizing the older generation.

Consumption of alcoholic beverages is common enough in typical families
so that early exposure to it is considered natural, but its use by young
people became excessive enough to be considered a national problem in
the mid-1960s. According to a survey published in 1971, more than 50
percent of the students in Sofia secondary schools consumed alcohol
regularly. Percentages were considerably higher in provincial secondary
schools. Few of the youthful users had consumed it over a lo