JD Vance and Erica Kirk speak at Turning Point USA event at Ole Miss.
Vice Presidents J.D. Vance and Erica Kirk spoke at the Turning Point USA event at Ole Miss, praising Charlie Kirk’s lasting impact.
- The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) surveyed more than 2,000 college students from October 3 to October 31, weeks after Kirk’s assassination on September 10.
- Students at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot, were also investigated. Nearly three-quarters of them said they did not feel comfortable attending controversial events on campus after the shooting.
- Experts cautioned that the findings may reflect heightened concerns in the aftermath of Kirk’s death, but also pointed to signs of growing student support for free speech.
A new survey conducted in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September provides new insight into how college students — and students at Utah Valley University, where the conservative activist was murdered — view free speech on campus.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the student-led research firm College Pulse surveyed more than 2,000 undergraduate students from October 3 to October 31, weeks after Kirk’s assassination on September 10. That included an oversample of 204 students from Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed.
Students, particularly conservative students and those attending Utah Valley University, reported feeling uncomfortable expressing their beliefs in the wake of the shooting.
But experts highlighted the nuances of the findings, pointing to other findings that, for example, most students do not agree with firing professors for controversial social media posts.
Results show growing concern among Utah Valley University students
The purpose of the investigation was to assess whether the assassination and its aftermath, which included mass shootings and other punishments related to speech about Kirk’s death, had a chilling effect on college campuses across the country.
FIRE concluded that this was the case, but noted that its findings “paint a complicated picture.”
He also said that “witnessing political violence firsthand has a tangible impact” on students at Utah Valley University. The survey found that 72% of students were “somewhat” or “quite” worried about participating in a controversial public event on campus, compared to 47% of students at other schools.
Slightly more than half, or 54%, of Utah Valley University students say they don’t even feel comfortable attending class, a significantly higher percentage than the 16% of students at other schools who said the same thing.
But it’s “totally reasonable” and “very reasonable” to be concerned given what Utah Valley University students have experienced on campus, Sean Stevens, FIRE’s principal research advisor, told USA TODAY.
What worries him even more is the “pervasive chilling effect” he has on college students in general.
Other findings include:
- Sixty percent of conservative students said they would not be comfortable hosting potentially controversial events on campus, compared to 52% of moderate students and 44% of liberal students.
- Fifty-nine percent of conservative students said they would not feel comfortable participating in a controversial public event on campus, compared with 53% of moderate students and 42% of liberal students.
- Fifty-six percent of conservative students said they were uncomfortable expressing their opinions on controversial political topics during class discussions, compared with 43% of moderate students and 41% of liberal students.
- 91% of undergraduates said words can be violent. (Actual threats of violence are not First Amendment protected speech).
Results also have ‘encouraging’ signs
Experts cautioned against overloading the data, given that the study was conducted just weeks after Kirk’s assassination.
“When something bad happens, people cringe in fear,” said Ken Paulson, director of the Center for Free Speech at Middle Tennessee State University and former editor-in-chief of USA TODAY.
He said the timing of the survey means the results may reflect the first aftershocks of political violence, noting that Americans’ anxiety about terrorism soared after 9/11 but declined in the years that followed.
Stevens said FIRE plans to ask some of the same questions in its spring survey to determine whether the recent findings reflect a moment in time or indicate a long-term trend.
However, Professor Paulson found some “quite encouraging content” in the findings, including a finding that a majority of students said their professors should not be fired for controversial social media posts.
The study also found that, compared to a survey of Utah Valley University’s students for its 2026 College Free Speech Rankings, students were more likely to say it would “never” be acceptable to yell at a speaker, disrupt a student’s participation in a speech on campus, or resort to violence to stop speech on campus.
The role of higher education in bridging the gap
Experts said universities can play an important role in lowering the political temperature and fostering public debate while ensuring physical safety.
“Students and student protests are an important part of this country, forcing us to look at ourselves and question the decisions we’re making as a society,” said Todd Wolfson, a Rutgers University professor and president of the American Association of University Professors.
If schools want to encourage this kind of civic engagement, he said, they need to provide forums to model how to talk to and disagree with each other about hot topics, whether it’s Kirk’s assassination or the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Minneapolis.
FIRE agreed, writing in its report that school leaders, faculty, and legislators must “take fear into consideration and work to rebuild a culture of expression that can withstand not only controversy but also crisis.”
“I think students need to see that before they start trusting again. I think that’s reasonable,” Stevens said. “I don’t think they’re wrong to think that way.”
Breanna Frank is USA TODAY’s First Amendment reporter. Please contact bjfrank@usatoday.com..
USA TODAY’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded by the Freedom Forum in collaboration with our journalism funding partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
