The University of Texas at Austin ranks as one of the worst colleges in the country for free speech, according to a study released this month.
UT Austin ranked 239 out of 248 in the 2024 College Free Speech Rankings from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). The study was based on surveys of more than 55,000 students across the country. UT Austin placed the lowest of any Texas school on the list.
Sean Stevens, the director of polling and analytics for FIRE, said his group continues to see concerns with free speech on campuses as they conduct the surveys annually.
“Each year, the climate on college campuses grows more inhospitable to free speech,” Stevens asserted. “Some of the most prestigious universities in our country have the most repressive administrations. Students should know that a college degree at certain schools may come at the expense of their free speech rights.”
The FIRE survey included anonymous quotes from students who voiced concerns about a lack of free speech on campus. Quotes from UT students shared a variety of allegations, with the most common complaint being fear of expressing personal views.
“During an Assignment, I felt uncomfortable expressing my political view on a paper and instead decided to pick a less controversial topic,” one student said, as quoted by the study.
In contrast, “Campus Free-Speech Legislation: History, Progress, and Problems,” a report published by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), claims that such fears are overblown.
“Even if the current political environment poses significant problems for free speech, the view that the free exchange of ideas no longer occurs on campuses is grossly exaggerated,” it reads. “Many of the most difficult issues surrounding free speech at present are about balancing unobstructed dialogue with the need to make all constituencies on campus feel included.”
Still, the AAUP advocates against speech codes, noting, “rules that ban or punish speech based upon its content cannot be justified.”
UT faced censorship complaints earlier this year after a report in The Federalist suggested the school’s Global Disinformation Lab was paid to publish a report for the Global Disinformation Index that smeared media outlets such as the Washington Examiner and New York Post as the “riskiest” for “misinformation.”
Texas universities as a whole ranked favorably on the FIRE list. The only other Texas college identified as “below average” for “speech climate” was the University of North Texas, placed at 221. Others fared comparatively better: Texas A&M University ranked 7th; University of Texas at El Paso, 37th; University of Texas at Arlington, 38th; Texas Tech University, 40th; University of Texas at San Antonio, 49th; Texas State University, 100th; University of Texas at Dallas, 114th; and University of Houston 157th.
