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Harvard, Yale and Columbia are some of the universities with the least freedom of expression

"Everyone around me was a Democrat; I'd rather say I couldn't vote than admit I was a Republican. They treated you differently." Said one UPenn alum.

Columbia, Harvard, Yale

(Flickr/ Voz Media)

Published by
Verónica Silveri Pazos

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An annual ranking of free speech on college campuses - which includes more than 200 institutions - revealed that Columbia University is the least free-speaking college in the country, followed by the University of Pennsylvania.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a free speech advocacy group, is in charge of the ranking. In its third edition, it ranked schools according to their openness to "discussing challenging issues on campus," their ability to "tolerate controversial speakers," how much"self-censorship exists among students," how much acceptance there is for"holding protests," and what "the university's speech policies" are.

Five worst "prestigious" universities

-#203 Columbia University is the worst rated around the freedom of speech felt on campus. 64% of students stated that they have ever or many times self-censored on campus. Only 27% of students say they are not worried about damaging their reputation because someone misinterprets something they have said or done. In addition, for every conservative student, there are approximately 6.8 progressive students . Tells FIRE one of its students anonymously:

I feel that even as a liberal student, sometimes there is no room for nuance in the discussion. I think it is productive to understand why people believe what they believe. It is easier to argue that the other side is racist, it is an unintellectual exercise and this happens often in my classes.

- #202 The University of Pennsylvania is the second worst rated in the ranking. 60% of students say they have ever or many times self-censored on campus.

28% of students say they are not worried about damaging their reputation because someone misinterprets something they have said or done. And for one conservative student, there are roughly 5.9 progressive students. One of his students confessed to FIRE:

Everyone around me was a Democrat, so I preferred to say I couldn't vote than to admit I had voted Republican in the last election. I saw how the attitude of my classmates immediately changed toward a person who openly said that he had voted Republican; they treated you differently. I preferred not to be excluded just because I voted Conservative.

- #198 Yale University: prestige has not been enough to stop their students' views on the freedom of speech they feel on campus. 55% of students say they have ever or many times self-censored on campus. 26% of students say they are not worried about damaging their reputation because someone misinterprets something they have said or done. The number of progressive students is also much higher than the number of conservatives; for every conservative, there are 5.2 progressives . In the words of one student:

I can rarely express in public my belief that most of the time gender transition is a form of self-harm.

-#193 Johns Hopkins University is also in the bottom positions. The school was highly praised in times of pandemic for its specialization in medicine, but according to its students there is not much excellence around the freedom of expression they feel in its halls. 60% of students say they have ever or many times self-censored on campus. 38% of students say they are not worried about damaging their reputation because someone misinterprets something they have said or done. And for every conservative student, there are 4.8 progressives . One of his students told FIRE:

One of my coaches expressed to the students his opinion that Trump voters should be banned from certain stores and restaurants. I wanted to ask him if he thought my parents should also be banned from eating and shopping because they were Republican Party voters, but I didn't want to be the person to start an awkward encounter.

- #170 Harvard University is known to be among the best educational institutions in the world. However, if one considers the problem of freedom of expression, it seems to be not so well positioned. 52% of students say they have ever or many times self-censored on campus. 24% of students say they are not worried about damaging their reputation because someone misinterprets something they have said or done. And for every conservative, there are approximately 5.3 progressive students. Said one student:

There is a widespread feeling in class that expressing certain political opinions is something you just don't do. I have once approached an issue with every intention of expressing an unpopular opinion, only to back away hastily when my insinuations are met with great resistance.

Top five ranked universities

FIRE's ranking also includes the "freest in the country" universities to express themselves. The first places go to institutions in which more than half of the students feel free to speak their minds, and have not felt that they have to censor themselves for fear of being criticized.

Among them are: #1 University of Chicago. # 2 Kansas State University. #3 Purdue University-Main Campus -Indiana-. #4 Mississippi State University. #5 Oklahoma State University.

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