A recent poll of college students’ attitudes toward free speech (in general and on campus) is a mixed bag.
The survey by McLaughlin & Associates for the William F. Buckley Jr. Program at Yale shows that 87% of respondents agreed with this statement: “There is educational value in listening to and understanding views and opinions that I may disagree with and are different from my own.”
That’s good news that runs counter to the narrative that campuses have been seized by a speech-stultifying political correctness.
On the other hand, 21% students — and 30% of self-described liberals — agreed with the statement that the 1st Amendment was an “outdated amendment that can no longer be applied in today’s society and should be changed.”
Also remarkable was the fact that 35% of respondents agreed that “hate speech is NOT protected under the 1st Amendment.”