52 Percent of Students Oppose Codified Speech on Campus

Fifty-two percent of college students oppose speech codes at their school. McLaughlin & Associates found that 38 percent disagree and favor speech codes.[1]

Fifty-two percent of white students oppose speech codes while 52 percent of black students favor them. Hispanic students are evenly divided.

Eighty-four percent believe promoting intellectual diversity and free speech is more important than banning people from discussing controversial opinions.

Wednesday’s Number of the Day found that most Americans oppose government restrictions of online publishing.

Earlier Numbers of the Day found strong opposition to hate speech, but also a belief that free speech will eventually let the truth win out:

• 79 percent of Americans find hate speech morally unacceptable (November 3, 2017)

• 58 percent of Americans believe the political environment prevents them from saying what they believe (November 13, 2017)

• 67 percent of Americans believe free speech ensures the truth will eventually win out (November 15, 2017)

Footnotes:

1. McLaughlin & Associates, "National Undergraduate Study," September 28, 2017

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.​

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.