"For the 2026 edition of its free speech rankings, FIRE surveyed over 68,000 students from 257 colleges and universities in the U.S. In a question about six hypothetical speakers-three with what are widely considered conservative views and three with traditionally liberal beliefs-the share of students who said the speakers should be allowed to speak on campus dropped by at least five percentage points in all six cases."
"While 32 percent of respondents in 2024 said they would permit a speaker claiming transgender people have a mental illness, that number dipped to 25 percent this year. On the flip side, the number who found it acceptable to welcome a speaker who said children should be able to transition without parental consent also dropped, from 56 percent to 49 percent."
""These trends actually started a few years ago ... I think maybe some of that is [conservatives feeling like], 'Oh, we've said we wouldn't do this stuff for so long and it's not really gotten us anywhere, so why don't we just join the party?'""
A Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression survey of over 68,000 students at 257 U.S. colleges found declines in willingness to allow six hypothetical speakers on campus, with each case dropping by at least five percentage points. The drop included permitting a speaker claiming transgender people have a mental illness (32% in 2024 to 25% in 2025) and permitting a speaker advocating children transition without parental consent (56% to 49%). Changes were driven mainly by conservatives' decreased tolerance while liberals' tolerance remained similar. Observers suggested trends began years ago and may reflect shifting conservative student attitudes and moderates identifying as conservative.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]