Support for free expression on college campuses is slipping according to FIRE’s 2021 report. Sixty-six percent of students indicate they would have some level of acceptance for shouting down speakers, up 4 points from 2020, and 23 percent find it acceptable to use violence to stop certain speech, up 5 points. Claremont McKenna and the University of Chicago are the top two colleges for free speech and Marquette and Depauw the two worst. (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, September 21, 2021)
A Republican senator introduced a free speech restoration act this summer to protect expression on campuses including peaceful assembly, speaking and listening while stemming institution restraints such as speech codes, bias response teams and free speech zones. (New York Post, September 22, 2021, by Teresa R. Manning)