麻豆精品

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 麻豆精品 Newsletter

A majority of UW System students surveyed about free speech issues on the state鈥檚 campuses said they were scared to express their views on certain issues in class, according to the of a survey released Wednesday.

The , which had previously been because of initial pushback from faculty and administrators, was sent to more than 80,000 students in November. Nearly 10,500 students responded, a rate of 12.5%.

The survey asked students their views on self-censorship, viewpoint diversity and freedom of expression on campus. A majority of respondents said they were not at all or only a little likely to listen to opposing viewpoints on topics including COVID-19 vaccines, abortion and transgender issues.

While 54% of respondents said they were extremely or very comfortable sharing their views on climate change in class, 44% said they weren鈥檛 comfortable or only a little comfortable sharing their views on transgender issues.

Prior to the survey鈥檚 release, faculty and staff had expressed concern that the results would be used by Republican politicians to attack the system. But at a news conference Wednesday at UW Oshkosh, System President Jay Rothman said that people shouldn鈥檛 be afraid of what the survey found.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 be afraid of the truth and what the survey shows us, we want to make sure we get ourselves better,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t is important that our universities continue to be marketplaces of ideas where divergent opinions can be shared and debated and discussed. I think that, at the end of the day, is a bipartisan issue.鈥�

While students responded that they often feel they aren鈥檛 able to express their viewpoints in class, nearly 60% of respondents said they feel instructors encourage a wide range of viewpoints during discussions.

At the news conference, Rothman said administrators need to work on making sure students feel they can voice their opinions.

鈥淲e have to acknowledge that some students at our universities simply don鈥檛 feel comfortable sharing their views in class or elsewhere on campus,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to create a culture that more openly values free expression 鈥� and make sure students understand their rights under the First Amendment.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Wisconsin Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Ruth Conniff for questions: [email protected]. Follow Wisconsin Examiner on and .

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 麻豆精品鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.