Nearly 40% of Furman students think 'shouting down' speakers is acceptable, survey finds
39% of undergraduate students at Furman University believe that shutting down a speaker is acceptable, according to a new survey.
Nearly 40% of undergraduate students at Furman University believe that shutting down a speaker is acceptable, according to a new survey.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni and College Pulse conducted the survey, which included 284 undergraduate students at the Greenville, South Carolina, institution, and found that the campus free speech climate is less than ideal.
According to survey results, 39% of undergraduate students who answered said that “shouting down a speaker is always or sometimes acceptable.”
Nine percent of students surveyed said that using violence to limit the speech of another person is either always or sometimes acceptable. Among Democrat students, the number rose to 27%, while only 6% of Republicans said that violence was always or sometimes acceptable to prevent speech.
Nearly half of students surveyed also reported “experiencing or witnessing uncivil treatment for sharing political or social views at least occasionally.”
When broken down by political affiliation, those surveyed “reported witnessing frequent or very frequent uncivil treatment of students with conservative views four times as often as those with liberal or progressive views.”
39% of Republican students and 20% of Democrats reported being “socially excluded for
sharing their political or social views.”
12% of Republican students surveyed reported “experiencing threats of harassment for attending an on-campus event,” compared to just 1% of Democrats.
22% of Republicans and 18% of Democrat students surveyed reported experiencing threats and harassment for sharing their political beliefs, according to the survey.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni said the survey highlighted a major problem on American campuses.
[RELATED: More colleges are seeking to institutionalize DEI through rubrics, diversity statements]
”Our survey reveals that, like at many colleges and universities in the United States, intolerance and self-censorship are serious problems at Furman,” the group wrote. “The conditions are especially bad for those who hold to Republican or conservative points of view. At a liberal arts college like Furman, students should be encouraged to hear and debate a variety of political and intellectual positions. If some views are rarely heard on campus because those who would express them self-censor or are shouted down, then the whole university community is deprived of the opportunity to grapple with issues academically—by exploring and sifting through all possible arguments using reason and evidence.”