As colleges and universities start to make admission offers for the 2025 academic year, allow me to call your attention to something alarming. While the ideological storm of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) seems to be in retreat, the general environment for free speech on college campuses remains hostile, especially towards non-progressive students, faculty members and guest speakers.

Earlier this year, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression released its “2025 Free Speech Rankings,” which surveys over 58,000 college students from 257 schools on campus speech climates and their attitudes about free speech. Harvard is ranked at the bottom for the second year in a row. With 20 documented speech controversies in which expression of unpopular viewpoints was censored, suppressed, or shouted down, America’s oldest and most prestigious private university receives an “Abysmal” speech climate.

Other reputed institutions don’t fare much better. Columbia University is ranked #250 with an abysmal rating. Of all those with a 200 or lower ranking, University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse, Northwestern, Georgetown, Dartmouth, Princeton, Stanford, Cornell, Brown, Fordham, University of Southern California, University of California Davis and UC Berkeley are on the list.

Notably, Northwestern University (NU), which ranks 231st on students’ level of comfort expressing ideas, 142ndon disruptive conduct, 217th on administrative support of free speech and 163rd on self-censorship, cancelleda former board trustee- Mr. Ben Slivka. Mr. Slivka, who was a Northwestern graduate and donated over $ 7 million to the school, was appointed to the NU Board of Trustees in 1998 and served in that capacity until his tenure concluded in 2018. Last year, a Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the school’s Athletics Department admonished Mr. Slivka for his “racist and/or sexist” comments and demanded he “refrain from any future arranged meetings with Northwestern’s student-athletes.”

The complaint originated from Mr. Slivka’s remarks at a NU Women’s Cross-Country reception, during which he expressed appreciation for America as a great country that welcomes hard-working immigrants. Mr. Slivka also commended an athlete for returning back to the sport after childbirth. In other words, showing affection for America is racist, while commenting on motherhood is sexist.

It is no wonder that more students in 2024 (than 2021) find it acceptable to shout down a controversial speaker, block other students from attending a campus speech or use violence to stop a controversial speech. 55% of the students think the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is hard to discuss, while 41% want to avoid discussions on transgender issues/rights. 34% of conservative students engage in self-censorship “very” or “fairly” often. A class of 2024 UC Berkeley student commented:

“Berkeley seems only tolerant of liberal views. Professors obviously have a liberal learn (with some even taking time to acknowledge what land we're on and gives their pronouns, etc.). There is no chance I'll expose my independent / lean conservative views. I don't feel safe at all. I pretend to be a hardcore liberal on writing assignments because I know the professor won't like me."

The marketplace of ideas is not free because of overshadowing woke ideologies. The ideological capture is so entrenched that it will take considerable work in the long term to bring cultural and institutional changes. With persistence and strategy, it is also possible to reverse the trend. For instance, University of Virginia, Michigan Technological University, Florida State University, Eastern Kentucky University and Georgia Tech receive top free speech ratings. After falling out of top 10 in 2023, Claremont Mckenna College has made a comeback with a ranking of 6. University of South Carolina and Virginia Common Wealth University have made the top 50 after being ranked towards the bottom in previous years.

As Class of 2028 begin their college journeys, I hope that our summary of the FIRE report offers you some insights on higher education. When it comes to this topic, it is not only academic ranking that matters. Parents and students also desire enriching experiences that engage the student in multiple perspectives, including views not shared by the majority or the establishment. Academic competitiveness is jeopardized when academic freedom is threatened.

At CFER, we strive to produce and promote research that helps enlighten the minds and souls of our fellow Americans. If you believe in what we do, will you consider CFER in your charitable giving during this holiday season? Help us reach our end-of-year fundraising goal so that we can continue to expand our work and impact.

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