One Third of Stanford Students OK With Violence to Shut Down Speech; Report
7th May 2024
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression conducted the survey after federal Judge Kyle Duncan’s speech on campus was shouted down last year. The report evaluated students’ perspectives about free speech on campus and protests in the aftermath of the event.
FIRE Chief Research Advisor Sean Stevens told The College Fix the research found “considerably higher” support for canceling a speaker among Stanford students when compared to their peers nationwide.
The survey found 54 percent of Stanford students believed Duncan’s speech to the law school’s Federalist Society chapter should have been canceled by the administration. Additionally, 75 percent said shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking was acceptable in some circumstances.
Meanwhile, 36 percent said the same about using physical violence to stop a speech, the report found.