Students endorse free speech, but not when it offends someone, survey finds
While 74 percent say free speech matters more than comfort, majorities would still report professors and peers for offensive remarks.
Students favor redistribution and free college, but balk when taxes extend beyond the wealthy.
A new survey from North Dakota State University’s Sheila and Robert Challey Institute shows a striking contradiction in student attitudes toward free expression. While 74 percent of students say free speech is more important than personal comfort, 71 percent would report a professor and 57 percent would report another student for making offensive remarks.
The 2025 American College Student Freedom, Progress, and Flourishing Survey, conducted with College Pulse, questioned more than 2,000 students at 472 four-year institutions between June 23 and July 7. Now in its fifth year, the survey tracks student views on free expression, economic systems, national progress, and global conflict.
[RELATED: 76% of civics teachers self-censor over fears of controversy]
Students often expressed support for free speech rights in principle but rejected them in practice.
Less than half of respondents said the world has improved over the last 50 years despite gains in literacy, life expectancy, and poverty reduction. Optimistic students credited “freedom and markets,” while those with a negative view blamed a “lack of government involvement.”
Liberal-leaning students were much more likely to believe that a college professor should be reported to the university for saying something that “students find offensive.” This statistic is particularly interesting given recent criticism surrounding the Trump administration’s efforts to set guidelines for K-12 American historical education.
”But there’s a deeper reason for this animosity towards universities that can be seen in the Right’s longstanding wariness of “excessive” intellectualism and the potential of critical thinking,” Matt McManus said in In These Times. McManus continues to argue that modern conservatism is steeped in a desire to repress intellectual diversity and difference of opinion.
However, College Pulse’s survey found that 79 percent of liberal students called for the censorship of professors who say “offensive” things, while only 56 percent of conservative students said the same.
The report found students split on economic ideology.
Only 27 percent viewed capitalism positively, though support rose when it was framed as a “free market system.” Socialism drew more support when defined as wealth redistribution, but less when linked to government control or central planning.
Entitlement benefits drew high backing if funded through wealth taxes. Seventy-eight percent supported universal healthcare and free college under that model, but support dropped to 38 percent if taxes extended to workers across income brackets.
Students averaged more than three hours daily on social media. Nearly half said it harmed their mental health, and one-third admitted they valued online approval.
The survey also asked about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Just 13 percent of students said they had protested, though two-thirds of that group plan to continue after graduation. Most students rejected disruptive protest tactics: 80 percent said it was wrong to shout down speakers, and more than 85 percent opposed blocking access to events or pulling fire alarms.
Despite this, many lacked confidence on the issue. Only 21 percent felt “very well informed,” and most admitted they were uncomfortable discussing the conflict on campus.
When asked which side is “right,” 66 percent answered “neither.” Liberals leaned toward Hamas, while conservatives and independents leaned toward Israel.
Campus Reform reached out to the Sheila and Robert Challey Institute, North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota, and College Pulse for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
