The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonpartisan civil liberties group, has released its latest grades for free speech on college campuses nationwide.
FIRE graded 257 schools based on survey results collected from students enrolled in four-year degree programs at each college or university between Jan. 3 and June 5. The surveys asked undergraduate students about their perceptions and experiences regarding free speech on campus. Factors included how comfortable students feel about expressing their views, the level of political tolerance on campus, and institutional neutrality.
Wright State University ranked the highest in the state, placing 49th out of all the colleges surveyed. But it still received a D rating.
Elsewhere in Southwest Ohio, the University of Cincinnati and Miami University each received a D- grade, with UC landing in the 73rd spot and Miami in 69th.
A few quotes from students also were included in each school's overview.
"Especially after the presidential election, I felt I could not express my views without being attacked by my fellow students or the community around," one UC student wrote. "When there are situations where I hold an unpopular opinion, I do not bother expressing my personal views due to a fear of being judged and emotionally attacked."
The Ohio State University and the University of Dayton both were rated F for free speech. FIRE cites students' perceptions of weak administrative support for free speech and overall reluctance to engage in controversial subjects as the reasoning for Ohio State's 124th spot in the ranking. Dayton was one of the lowest-ranking schools in the country, placing 224th out of the 257 schools included, in part due to a lack of written and clearly stated pro-free speech policies from university leadership.
The top-ranked school in the country was Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, which landed a B- grade.
Ohio's 'speech controversies'
Thirteen schools in Ohio were included in the ranking. Overall, the state collectively received an F rating for free speech, which FIRE says matches the national average.
The Buckeye State also was docked points for incidents that FIRE labels "speech controversies." One incident was at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland this year, where administrators summoned the group Law Students for Justice in Palestine to a meeting, claiming the group violated the school's code of conduct for promoting unapproved campus events and using the Palestinian liberation movement phrase, "From the river to the sea," which the university determined was "intimidating and/or threatening."
Another incident was at Kent State University in April, where the university removed a student art installation that depicted President Donald Trump's head on a spike with the phrase "We only have to get lucky once."
FIRE also included a 2023 incident at Ohio State, where the university's Wexner Center for the Arts canceled a panel in the weeks after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that featured a Palestinian artist and filmmaker "due to current world events."
Students from Northern Kentucky University and Earlham College in Indiana, two schools that border Ohio, were not included in the survey, so those institutions did not receive an individual grade. Kentucky scored an overall F rating, while Indiana received a D-.
FIRE began ranking campuses based on free speech in 2020. This year, 68,510 students nationwide participated in the organization's survey.
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