Students Say Diversity Is More Important Than Free Speech

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College students value a diverse and inclusive environment more than free speech rights, according to a new study on student attitudes on free expression.

The report from Gallup and the Knight Foundation comes at a turbulent time on college campuses nationwide, where students have challenged the principles of the First Amendment -- they have called for controversial campus speakers to be disinvited, and when they disagree with speakers’ message, have shouted them down. They’ve also called for administrators to invest more in diversity initiatives and are demanding clear statements from them against speech they deem hateful.

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But what was most striking to Brandon Busteed, executive director of Gallup’s higher education division, was how much students appeared to be critical of social media, despite its proliferation in their lives.

Roughly 57 percent of students thought that debate on political and social issues took place online rather than in person at their colleges (43 percent).

Despite the popularity of online platforms, though, students reported social media tended to stifle free speech in many ways. About 60 percent of students indicated that too many people block others online with whom they disagree -- this is up 12 percentage points from 2016.

About 59 percent of students said people feared being attacked online for their views, an uptick of 10 percentage points from 2016. And 83 percent of students said that it is too easy for anonymous users to post online.

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