Although most college students in America strongly value free speech and recognize its importance to democracy, the percentage of students who say free speech in America is secure has fallen sharply in recent years, a study from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation finds.

Part of the foundation’s Knight Free Expression (KFX) Research Series, the report, College Student Views on Free Expression and Campus Speech 2022 (44 pages, PDF), is based on a nationally representative survey of more than a thousand students conducted by Ipsos and reinforces nearly two decades of Knight research into students’ views of free expression. The survey found that college students express a strong belief in free speech principles but are increasingly uneasy about the state of campus speech. While the vast majority of students (83 percent) believe the First Amendment protects people like them, just 5 percent of Black students said they feel that the First Amendment protects people like them a great deal, a drop of 20 percentage points since 2019. More than half of students, (59 percent), said colleges should allow students to be exposed to all types of speech even if they may find it offensive or biased.

“Our latest findings reinforce that college students have diverse experiences with speech that are informed by their unique backgrounds,” said Knight Foundation director of learning and impact Evette Alexander. “To create campuses that serve all students, college leaders must understand those differences and anticipate how students’ perspectives are evolving in a post-2020 world.” 

(Photo Credit: Getty Images/zimmytws)