A new survey of college students has found that a narrow margin of millennials believe diversity is more important than free speech.
The Gallup-Knight Foundation surveyed 3,014 U.S. college students and showed the ramifications of diversity programs and social justice teachings in the classroom.
“While U.S. college students show strong support for the First Amendment, many also approve of limits on speech to foster an environment where diverse perspectives are respected. These competing views and habits can have an effect on the freedoms that the First Amendment guarantees. Understanding them will help to preserve our most fundamental rights into the future,” states a release from the Knight Foundation.
The majority of college students surveyed, 56 percent, still believe protecting free speech rights is important. Separately, 52 percent of these same students find a diverse and inclusive society to be extremely important part of democracy.
Interestingly, when asked to choose between the two, students found diversity to be more important than free speech. By a narrow margin, 53 percent to 46 percent, diversity and inclusion was found in favor over free speech.
These findings represent the struggle on campus to create both an inclusive and welcoming environment while exploring diverse and sometimes offensive views. Groups considered to be minorities, such as women and blacks, were more likely to choose inclusion over free speech.
The survey, according to Knight Foundation vice president Sam Gill, was commissioned to “enrich our understanding of the context around significant debates that will determine the future of our democracy.”
Also Read: More than 6 in 10 college students say their campus climate is too hostile for free speech
The survey, sponsored by Knight Foundation, the American Council on Education (ACE), the Charles Koch Foundation and the Stanton Foundation, was conducted between November 1 and December 10. The margin of error is 2 percent. It builds upon a 2016 study by Gallup, Knight Foundation and the Newseum Institute.
