Editor's note: Questions regarding the extent to which free speech should be allowed on college and university campuses, and the extent to which marginalized groups should be protected from discrimination and/or hate speech, have recently become more prominent. From one perspective, advocates for protection from discrimination argue that limiting certain types of speech can help to build a more welcoming and more inclusive campus community; from another perspective, free speech advocates argue that restrictions on speech is akin to censorship and worry about the implications for continued vibrant debate in a democracy.

In this issue of Compass Point, we explore these questions further based on what we know about the perspectives of students, university leaders and the public in general.

The Gallup-Knight Foundation has conducted several nation-wide surveys of college students to understand their perspectives on this issue. In 2016, the survey found that, in general, students were in favor of free expression on campus; for example, only 27 percent agreed that colleges and universities should be able to restrict expression of potentially offensive political views. The infographic below provides more information about the results.

Source: Knight Foundation

A 2017 survey poll followed up on the 2016 survey to see if perspectives had changed based on current events. This second survey found that students valued both freedom of expression and inclusivity, although they tended to value freedom of expression more in an abstract sense. Fewer 2017 participants felt that First Amendment rights were secure in the U.S., with freedom of assembly being seen as the least secure, while a greater number of 2017 participants noted the importance of social media in expressing ideas on campus. Students in 2017 were slightly less likely to favor an open learning environment with no limits on free speech (70 percent in 2017, compared to 78 percent in 2016), and the majority of students in 2017 were against the use of force/violence to prevent people from speaking on campus, with 90 percent saying that violence is “never acceptable” and 10 percent saying that it is “acceptable sometimes.” Overall, the 2017 poll showed that student perspectives on this issue continue to evolve.

In 2018, this evolution continued. As noted in the image below, the majority of 2018 participants (and especially those belonging to groups that have historically faced discrimination and marginalization), felt that, if they had to choose, creating a diverse and inclusive society was more important than protecting free speech rights.

Source: Knight Foundation

A 2018 survey from the American Council on Higher Education asked 500 presidents of colleges and universities for their perspective on the state of free speech and inclusion on today’s campuses; this survey was intended to serve as a comparison to the Gallup-Knight Foundation’s survey of students. While 82 percent of respondents felt that promoting inclusivity was “very important” and 74 percent felt that protecting free speech was “very important,” the vast majority, as is shown in the image below, felt that it was more important for students to be exposed to all types of speech than for certain types of speech to be prohibited on campus.

For a sense of public opinion in Virginia on these questions, see our Poll Spotlight below.

The Wilder School’s Summer 2017 Public Policy Poll of adult Virginians conducted by the Office of Public Policy Outreach, asked participants if they felt that institutions of higher education should focus more on protecting those on campus from discrimination (even if this leads to negative consequences for voicing one’s opinion), or if those on campus should have unlimited freedom of expression (even if this expression may be discriminatory against some groups).  Compared to the previously discussed polls that provide a national perspective from students and university leaders, this poll gives us the perspective of members of the Virginia public.

In general, no significant majority emerged – 50 percent chose protection from discrimination over unlimited freedom of expression while 40 percent chose the opposite. Groups that have historically faced discrimination in the past, such as minorities and women, were more likely to favor protection from discrimination, as were Independents, Democrats, and those in lower income brackets.