Since 2015, the Buckley Institute has conducted an annual survey of American college student attitudes on free speech and related issues.
Annual Surveys
“The college student disillusionment with free speech is growing at an alarming pace. More students are intimidated from speaking freely and more students are willing to intimidate others from speaking freely than at any time in the history of the survey. In many ways, America’s undergraduate student body seems to be abandoning the very ideas that made America the great country it is today.”
– Buckley Institute Founder and Executive Director Lauren Noble
2022 Annual Survey
Do you feel intimidated to share your ideas, opinions, or beliefs in class because they are different than your classmates’?
45%
of undergraduate students say they believe it is appropriate to shout down or disrupt an on-campus speaker with whom they disagree.
41%
of undergraduate students believe violence can be justified to prevent a person from using hate speech or making racially charged comments.