A new survey conducted in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination in September is providing new insight into how college students – and those at Utah Valley University where the conservative activist was killed – view free speech on campus.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse, astudent-centered survey company, surveyed more than 2,000 undergraduate students between Oct. 3 and Oct. 31, weeks afterKirk's assassination on Sept. 10. It included an oversample of 204 students at Utah Valley University,where Kirk was killed.
Students, particularly conservative students and those attending Utah Valley University, reported being less comfortable expressing their beliefs in the wake of the shooting.
But experts emphasized the nuance ofthe findings, pointing to other results that found, for example, most students did not agree with firing professors for controversial social media posts.
Charlie Kirk remembered in memorials: Conservative activist was shot while speaking in Utah
Results show heightened concern among Utah Valley University students
Thesurvey's purposewas to gauge whether the assassination and its aftermath, whichsaw mass firingsandother punishments related to speechabout Kirk's death, created a chilling effect on college campuses nationwide.
FIRE concluded that it did, though it noted that the findings "paint a complex picture."
It also said that "witnessing political violence firsthand has had measurable effects" on Utah Valley University students. The survey found that 72% of them were "slightly" or "a great deal" less comfortable attending a controversial public event on campus, compared to 47% of students at other schools.
Just over half of the Utah Valley University students – 54% – said they were less comfortable even attending class, a significantly higher percentage than the 16% of students at other schools who said the same.
But it's "totally reasonable" and "very rational" for Utah Valley University students to have heightened concerns in light of what they experienced on their campus, FIRE's chief research advisorSean Stevenstold USA TODAY.
More concerning to him is the "broader chilling effect" he described among college students broadly.
Other findings include:
60% of conservative students said they were less comfortable hosting potentially controversial events on campus, compared to 52% of moderate students and 44% of liberal students.
59% of conservative students said they were less comfortable attending controversial public events on campus, compared to 53% of moderate students and 42% of liberal students.
56% of conservative students said they were less comfortable expressing their views on a controversial political topic during a class discussion, compared to 43% of moderate students and 41% of liberal students.
91% of undergraduate students said that words can be violence. (Actual threats of violence are not protected speech under the First Amendment).
Results also have 'encouraging' signs
Experts cautioned against putting too much stock into the data given that the survey was conducted only a few weeks after Kirk's assassination.
"When bad things happen, people recoil in fear," saidKen Paulson, the director of Middle Tennessee State University'sFree Speech Centerand a former USA TODAY editor in chief.
The survey's timing means the results could reflect the initial aftershock of political violence, he said, noting that Americans' anxiety about terrorismspiked after 9/11 but tapered offin the following years.
Stevens said FIRE would be asking some of the same questions in spring surveys to gauge whether the recent findings reflect a moment in time or are indicative of longer-term trends.
But Paulson also found "quite a bit of encouraging content" in the survey results, including a finding that most students said professors should not be fired for controversial social media posts.
It also found that a larger percentage of Utah Valley University students said it was "never" acceptable to shout down a speaker, block students from attending a campus speech or resort to violence to stop a campus speech, compared to surveys conducted with students at the school for the organization's2026 College Free Speech Rankings.
Higher education's role in bridging divides
Colleges and universities can play a vital role in lowering the political temperature andencouraging civil discourse while ensuring physical safety, experts said.
An important "part of this country is students and student protests ... forcing us to look ourselves in the mirror and question the decisions we're making as a society," saidTodd Wolfson, a Rutgers University professor who also serves as president of the American Association of University Professors.
If schools want to encourage that civil engagement, he said, they have to provide forums that model how to speak and disagree with one another about hot-button topics, whether it be Kirk's assassination orImmigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Minneapolis.
FIRE concurred, writing in its survey report that school leaders – as well as faculty and lawmakers – "must reckon with fear and work to rebuild a culture of expression that can withstand not just controversy, but crisis."
"Students are going to need to see it, I think, before they start to trust again, and I think that's rational," Stevens said. "I don't think they're wrong for having those thoughts."
BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her atbjfrank@usatoday.com.
USA TODAY's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.Funders do not provide editorial input.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:College students less comfortable expressing beliefs after Kirk death