A TOTAL OF 1,011 INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY STUDENTS FROM A SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY REPRESENTED FIVE SAMPLES DRAWN IN CONSECUTIVE YEARS FROM 1972 THROUGH 1976 ('WATERGATE YEARS). IN SUCCESSIVE YEARS, ALL SUBJECTS WERE ADMINISTERED A QUESTIONNAIRE ON WHITE-COLLAR CRIME, CONTAINING INFORMATIONAL, RECREATIONAL, AND REMEDIAL MATERIAL DESIGNED TO TAP A VARIETY OF ATTITUDES. INCLUDED IN THE INFORMATIONAL SECTION WERE QUESTIONS ON DEFINITION, TECHNIQUES, WHITE-COLLAR CRIMINALS, CRIME, AND LOCUS OF CRIME. REACTION AND REMEDIAL SECTIONS DEALT WITH THE SUBJECTS' RESPONSES TO WHITE-COLLAR CRIME AND THE KINDS OF SANCTIONS THAT SHOULD BE USED. RESULTS INDICATED THAT OVER THE 5 YEAR PERIOD, STUDENTS SHOWED NO INCREASES IN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE MEANING OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME, THE OFFENSES INVOLVED, THE METHODS USED, THE CRIME LOCUS, OR PREVIOUS WHITE-COLLAR CRIMINALS. INSTEAD OF AN INFORMED, COMPREHENSIVE PERSPECTIVE ON WHITE-COLLAR CRIME AS A PERVASIVE SOCIOECONOMIC PROBLEM, SUBJECTS TENDED TO TARGET THE MORAL FAILURES OF INDIVIDUALS KNOWN TO BE CURRENTLY INVOLVED IN WHITE-COLLAR CRIMES. THE STUDENTS FAILURE TO COMPREHEND THE PERVASIVE NATURE OF THE CRIME WAS PARTLY DUE TO THE MEDIA'S FOCUS ON POLITICAL WRONGDOING TO THE EXCLUSION OF EVIDENCE SHOWING A GENERAL PATTERN OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIMES. HOWEVER, STUDENTS WERE CONSISTENT IN CALLING FOR STIFF PENALTIES AND PARTICIPATION IN ECONOMIC BOYCOTTS OF THE SERVICES OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIMINALS IN PRESTIGIOUS OCCUPATIONS. BECAUSE 'WATERGATE' HAD AN IMPACT THAT EBBED AND FLOWED WITH MEDIA EXPOSURE, WHAT IS NEEDED IS AN IMPACT THAT PRODUCES A PROGRESSIVE GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN FACILITATE A STEADY AND COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC ATTACK ON PATTERNS OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIME. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (RCB)