College Free Speech Rankings Highlight Controversies

The University of Texas at Austin (UT) was ranked among the worst in the U.S. for free speech by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse, placing 244th out of 257 colleges. This ranking was influenced by the university's handling of pro-Palestinian protests, leading to numerous arrests and ongoing university actions against participants. Harvard University received the lowest score for the second consecutive year, tying with Columbia University, both scoring 0.00. Other Ivy League schools like New York University and the University of Pennsylvania also featured at the bottom of the rankings. The survey, which included nearly 59,000 students from 257 institutions, highlighted issues around free speech incidents, particularly those tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, abortion, transgender rights, racial inequality, and gun control.