University of Kansas receives an F on free speech, FIRE reports
Morgan Weir | @morganriley.co
The University of Kansas received its lowest free speech rating to date from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
For the second year in a row, KU received a failing grade from the organization, with a score of 55.7 out of 100.
Students are saying the low rating is concerning, pointing to the importance of open expression on campus.
“I think it’s bad because there needs to be free speech for a functioning democracy. I think there needs to be more student engagement on campus and people representing what they believe in,” Rhett Aohlerito said.
The survey, authored by Chief Research Advisor Sean Stevens, finds that KU students are reporting higher levels of self-censorship. FIRE also gave KU a “yellow light” policy rating, meaning some campus policies are vague or are being applied inconsistently.
“The yellow light is caution kind of, and this is more that there’s one or more policies on the books that are worded in a way that it’s ambiguous and or can be arbitrarily applied,” Stevens said.
Stevens said that lack of clarity leaves more room for uneven enforcement of those policies regarding free speech.
Some KU students agree that progress needs to be made towards protecting free speech.
“I think there’s a lot of work still to be done at KU for encouraging students to speak out and be a lot more vocal,” Emma Anderson said.
Stevens said improvement is possible, but it will take commitment from the university.
“Once you do make that shift, it’s then following through on that and abiding by like the shift you’ve made,” Stevens said.
The University did not respond to a request for comment.
