The survey of over 50,000 students also found that 37 percent of students said it was “sometimes” or “always” acceptable to shout down a speaker, up from 31 percent last year.
[Ed. Note: Studies show that 98.8% of them change their minds the first time their skull is struck with a police baton.]
by Emma Camp
Reason.com
Thirty-two percent of college students believe it can be acceptable in at least some circumstances to use violence to stop a campus speech, according to a newly released survey of over 50,000 college students from 258 universities. The survey, conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a First Amendment group, is the fifth released by the organization.
FIRE’s survey polled students on a range of questions about their attitudes toward free expression and the general climate at their universities. FIRE also ranked schools based on student reports, as well as their formal speech policies and their administration’s history of speech-stifling actions.
The public University of Virginia (UVA) took the top spot this year, while Harvard—for the second year in a row—came in last place. However, FIRE’s ranking process is complex.