Feeling comfortable sharing your opinions is one thing. Allowing others to express opinions you oppose is another. Our new survey of 1,999 students at 439 colleges and universities finds that three-quarters of students are at least somewhat comfortable sharing their opinions on controversial or sensitive topics in class. That sounds encouraging, but it doesn’t fully capture openness to different points of view.
Of students who say they are comfortable sharing their opinions, 44 percent say they feel comfortable because their views align with most other students and professors. Moreover, 76 percent of students who are not comfortable sharing their opinions say they worry others would not consider their views acceptable.
How open are students to hearing opinions they disagree with? We find that nearly 60 percent of students say it is acceptable to shout down a speaker who expresses an opinion on police shootings, vaccines, or biological sex that they disagree with. This isn’t limited to one side of the political aisle; students say it is acceptable to shout down speakers for left-leaning and right-leaning positions on these issues.
Our survey shows that student attitudes toward preventing speech they disagree with are not limited to outside speakers. We find that two-thirds are in favor of reporting professors for disfavored opinions related to DEI practices, climate change, police shootings, guns, vaccines, or biological sex. This presents a conundrum for professors who aim to strengthen critical thinking by exposing students to different points of view.
