A growing share of American college students say they would accept violence, and even criminal prosecution, as responses to speech they find offensive, according to new polling from the Buckley Institute.
The survey found that 45% of students agree that physical violence can be justified to stop someone from using hate speech or making racially charged comments, while 50% disagree. That figure ties the all-time high set in 2023 and has climbed sharply since the question was first asked in 2017, when only 30% agreed.
The poll also found that 40% of students believe offensive speech should be subject to criminal prosecution, while 52% disagree. That is up seven points from last year and the highest level recorded in the three years the question has been included in the survey.
A separate question found 42% of students agree that political comments they disagree with can be harmful to their mental health, up four points from last year and the highest reading in the five years that question has been tracked.
The Buckley Institute polled 803 full-time undergraduates under age 25 at four-year public and private colleges and universities nationwide in mid-September. The survey excluded part-time students, those 25 and older, and students at community colleges, technical schools, or trade schools.
‘A Warning to America’
Lauren Noble, executive director of the Buckley Institute, said the results should concern Americans regardless of political affiliation.
“The high levels of undergraduate support for censorship should serve as a warning to America. The 40% of undergraduates who support criminalizing offensive speech will bring that perspective into their communities and workplaces after they graduate. Two hundred fifty years after America’s founding, defenders of the First Amendment should be worried about what the future holds when these censorious students assume positions of leadership.”
Noble argued the findings point to a failure by colleges and universities to instill respect for the First Amendment among their students.
“The survey data shows that America’s colleges and universities are clearly not doing enough to impress upon their students why free speech is so critical to a free society. When significant numbers of college students accept violence and shout downs as appropriate responses to speech they disagree with, alarm bells should be ringing for Americans across the political spectrum.”
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