Can Virginia’s Universities Achieve a Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression?

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) released a survey of over 2,300 students at six of Virginia’s 15 public universities, uncovering high rates of self-censorship and viewpoint intolerance. We also released an accompanying report card that assesses the institutions’ policies on free expression. This work is part of ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™, which has launched campaigns at institutions across the country to promote free speech and open inquiry.

In partnership with College Pulse, we surveyed students and recent alumni from the University of Virginia (UVA), William & Mary, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Virginia Tech, James Madison University, and George Mason University. Key findings from ACTA’s survey include:

• Nearly 40% of all Virginia students surveyed believe it is always or sometimes acceptable to shout down a campus speaker.
• Only 19% of students say their campus is very welcoming of people with unpopular political opinions.
• At UVA, 46% of students say they are uncomfortable expressing their views on a controversial subject during class discussions.
• Fifty-eight percent of VCU students say they would be uncomfortable being close friends with someone who holds different views on gender, race, or social justice issues.

ACTA’s Virginia Report Card evaluates all six universities against our Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression™, a 20-point action plan for restoring free expression campus. We provide several recommendations for each school, including adopting a policy of institutional neutrality, requiring free expression training for staff, and disbanding bias response teams.

“Virginia’s universities have begun to improve their policies related to free expression in recent years,” said Steven McGuire, ACTA’s Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom. “But our survey shows that far too many students self-censor, and too many are willing to stop others from sharing their views. Leaders at these universities must embrace free speech and intellectual diversity. They can begin by looking at where they fail to meet ACTA’s Gold Standard. Our Virginia Report Card lists a number of concrete actions the universities can take to meet the Gold Standard and build a true culture of freedom.”

“The vision of Thomas Jefferson and the Founders is at risk on Virginia college campuses,” remarked ACTA President Michael Poliakoff. “These survey results show that ideological intolerance and self-censorship have run rampant. Jefferson believed that education was the best bulwark against tyranny, but UVA and others cannot make that boast until they are once more models for intellectual diversity and the free exchange of ideas.”

ACTA has previously issued a survey and report card assessing the state of free expression at Arizona’s three public universities.