Nearly one year after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead while speaking at a college campus, a new survey has revealed a worrying picture of free speech at American universities. One in three college students said a professor should "definitely" or "probably" be fired for posting Donald Trump's famous "Make America Great Again" slogan on social media following Kirk's killing.
The findings are part of a massive survey conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse, involving nearly 63,000 students across 262 colleges. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and one of the most prominent conservative voices among young Americans, was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. His killing itself sparked a major free speech controversy.
Dozens of professors and university staff were disciplined or fired over comments they made about Kirk following his death. Inside Higher Ed has since identified 35 faculty and staff members who faced punishment, with at least 12 taking their employers to court. But the new survey suggests the problem goes beyond what happened after Kirk's assassination.
Around 30% of students said using violence to stop a campus speech can be acceptable in at least rare circumstances. That figure is actually down from 34% last year, but remains considerably higher than the 18% recorded in 2020. Half of the students also said physically blocking others from attending a speech could sometimes be acceptable, while 69% said the same about shouting down a speaker.
Politics, meanwhile, remains difficult to talk about. Some 46% said having an open conversation about Trump on campus is difficult, while 44% said the same about Kirk. The Israel-Palestine conflict topped the list for the third consecutive year, with half of students saying they find it difficult to discuss openly.