College Free Speech Rankings: IU Falls to the Bottom

STATEWIDE — The sixth annual College Free Speech rankings, released on Tuesday by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse, revealed a decline in free speech on college campuses. The rankings were based on a survey of 68,510 students from 257 schools, which explored their perceptions and experiences related to free expression.

In the rankings, Purdue University was recognized as the second-best college for free speech, while Indiana University Bloomington was ranked among the worst. Other Indiana institutions included in the survey were the University of Notre Dame, ranked at No. 238, and DePauw University, which ranked No. 18.

“This year, students largely opposed allowing any controversial campus speaker, no matter that speaker’s politics,” FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff said. “Rather than hearing out and then responding to an ideological opponent, both liberal and conservative college students are retreating from the encounter entirely. This will only harm students’ ability to think critically and create rifts between them. We must champion free speech on campus as a remedy to our culture’s deep polarization.”

The top three schools for free speech were Claremont McKenna College, Purdue University, and the University of Chicago.

The report also indicated a significant decline in students’ trust in their administrations to protect free speech, with only 36% of students believing it was “extremely” or “very” clear that their administration protects free speech. This sentiment was echoed by FIRE Vice President of Research Angela C. Erickson, who said, “Even one egregious anti-free speech incident can destroy students’ trust in their administration and cause a school to plummet in the rankings… If campus administrators, faculty, and students want to enjoy an atmosphere of trust on campus, they can start by protecting each other’s rights.”

The report also highlighted that 166 of the 257 schools surveyed received an “F” for their speech climate, with only 11 schools earning a “C” or higher. Furthermore, the survey found that a growing number of students consider violence and chaos to be acceptable alternatives to peaceful protest.

“More students than ever think violence and chaos are acceptable alternatives to peaceful protest,” FIRE Chief Research Advisor Sean Stevens said. “This finding cuts across partisan lines. It is not a liberal or conservative problem — it’s an American problem. Students see speech that they oppose as threatening, and their overblown response contributes to a volatile political climate.”