Free speech surges on college campuses: POLL
A Gallup poll of over 2,300 currently enrolled bachelor’s degree students found that the majority believe they are able to speak freely on their campuses.
Free speech challenges still remain for pro-Israel and conservative speech.
Freedom of speech is improving on America’s college campuses, according to a newly released Gallup poll.
A significant 74 percent of students believe their institutions actively promote free expression.
This statistic reflects a striking change from 2017, when another Gallup poll showed that 61 percent of surveyed students said their campuses actively stifled free speech.
A strong consensus spans across demographic lines including gender, race, and political affiliation, with most students surveyed stating that they can express themselves freely on campus.
Survey results, however, show a comparative lack of support for pro-Israel speech.
Half of the students surveyed said that “opinions sympathetic to Israelis” would be openly welcomed. In contrast, 57 percent of students felt that pro-Palestinian perspectives would be treated fairly.
Despite the overall improved outlook on campus speech, these statistics suggest that anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiment remains strong on America’s college campuses.
Even with the growing positive sentiment around free speech on campus, a clear gap still exists, as students are more comfortable openly expressing left-leaning, as opposed to conservative, viewpoints.
Roughly two-thirds of students agree they can freely discuss topics traditionally associated with the left, including sexual orientation and “gender identity.”
Conversely, only 53 percent of students said that conservative viewpoints could be freely expressed.
While this gap indicates ongoing free speech challenges, conservative students are expressing optimism.
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Campus Reform reported an uptick in optimism for free speech in America following President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, especially among conservatives.
A poll from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression revealed that 52 percent of conservatives said free speech was headed “in the right direction” following Trump’s return to office, a stark increase from just 18 percent prior to the election.
Matthew Garrett, a Campus Reform Higher Education Fellow, also reported on the University of California abolishing so-called “diversity statements” as a factor in hiring new professors, saying this move “signals a renewed commitment to open intellectual inquiry” in higher education.
