The 2021 College Free Speech Rankings
The largest survey for campus free expression ranks over 150 top colleges, and two-thirds of students report some level of acceptance for speaker shout-downs.
This is very eye opening and scary since eventually my kids have to go to college (I hope). Free speech is our fundamental right.
- More than 80% of students report self-censoring their viewpoints at their colleges at least some of the time, with 21% saying they censor themselves often.
- Generally, students showed much greater intolerance for campus speakers with conservative positions.
- Racial inequality, abortion, and gun control top the list of most difficult subjects to discuss.
- 66% of students report some level of acceptance for speaker shout-downs (up 4 percentage points from FIRE’s 2020 report) and 23% consider it acceptable for people to use violence to stop certain speech (up 5 percentage points). Two elite women’s colleges, Wellesley College and Barnard College, top this list, supporting the use of violence at 45% and 43% respectively.
- Only a third of students say that their college administration makes it either very or extremely clear that they will protect free speech on campus.
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