More than one in five U.S. college students agreed that America deserved the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to a national survey that spanned the 25th anniversary. The New York Post covered the findings Wednesday.
The Buckley Institute poll found 21.8% agreed with the statement “America deserved September 11th.” That included 11% who strongly agreed. Another 71.7% disagreed, and 6.5% were unsure.
Al-Qaida’s 2001 attacks killed 2,977 people in New York, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The poll also asked whether hate speech or racially charged comments could justify using physical violence to stop the speaker. Among the 44.6% who agreed, 41% also said America deserved 9/11. Among students who disagreed with using violence in that situation, 7% said America deserved the attacks, the poll’s detailed results show.
Inquire LLC surveyed 803 full-time undergraduates ages 18 to 24 at four-year colleges and universities nationwide from September 5-14, 2026. The pollster used an online panel of volunteers. This was the first year the institute asked the 9/11 question.
What Texas students will learn
In a separate August survey, 60% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 24 told Pew Research Center they first learned about 9/11 in class or through schoolwork.
Texas’ current high school U.S. history standards cover the events surrounding 9/11 and the war on terror. The Texas State Board of Education approved revisions on September 4, as The Dallas Express reported.
The revised standards identify “radical Islam” as the motivation for the attacks and direct students to study the U.S. response, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Patriot Act’s effect on civil liberties. The Texas Education Agency’s schedule calls for districts to implement the standards in the 2033-34 school year.
Democrat Dana Van De Walker leads State Board of Education member Audrey Young (R-District 8) by 564 votes in the state’s unofficial returns. If the lead holds, Democrats will gain an 8-7 majority on the board, which can revise the standards. Van De Walker wrote in a candidate questionnaire that she would fight to remove “any religiously-influenced curriculum” from public schools.
Texas law already requires public elementary and secondary schools to start the first class period with a minute of silence when September 11 falls on a regular school day. Before the silence, teachers must make a statement remembering those who died.
