Princeton ranked top Ivy for free speech
Brown and Harvard came second to last
Last week the Heterodox Academy released their Guide to Colleges, which rates the country’s top 150 universities (taken from US News and Reports) based on their attitudes towards free speech and diversity.
Based on their criteria, Princeton was given the third highest score out of the 150 universities and was top ranked Ivy League university.
Each college is given a mark for four aspects:
- Whether or not the university has endorsed the Chicago Principles on free expression. In particular, if faculty and students have made significant effort to protect free speech (especially the expression of unpopular views).
- Whether or not university policy allows for free speech, rated by FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education).
- Whether or not the university is a welcoming place for conservative and libertarian students, obtained from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).
- Whether or not the response from students and faculty towards relevant events have protected or restricted the expression of free speech.
The formation of the Princeton Open Campus Coalition increased our standing among the universities however the 2016 Jefferson Muzzle Award for the censorship of outside speakers heavily affected our score.
The rankings were topped by the UChicago and Purdue. Brown and Harvard came second to last, with Yale also placing at the bottom.
An updated ranking will be released this December.