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Report rates DePauw poorly for free speech
In a report that declares a free speech “crisis on campus” among 55 institutions nationwide, DePauw University came up alarmingly low on the list.
The site RealClearEducation released its 2020 College Free Speech Rankings on Tuesday, ranking 55 colleges and universities across the country based on responses from around 20,000 students.
In aggregate, DePauw ranked last in the survey from students across the political spectrum, with an overall score of 44.2.
“DePauw University came in last in the College Free Speech Rankings, with both liberal and conservative students rating the school poorly,” editor Nathan Harden wrote. “DePauw had the highest percentage of students who self-censored, a whopping 71 percent.”
University president Lori White responded by stating DePauw’s commitment to freedom of expression.
“Institutions of higher education, particularly those in the liberal arts tradition, should hold two important values – freedom of speech and expression and diversity and inclusion,” White said. “As the new president at DePauw University, I am focused on leading with these values and, as an educator who has spent my career in student support, I am striving to ensure that all of our students feel comfortable and supported exercising these values in harmony with one another.”
While the news certainly may suggest reasons for vigilance on campus, it is not clear how the institutions in the “comprehensive comparison of the student experience” were chosen by College Pulse, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and RealClearEducation.
In explaining the methodology, the study cites the institutions chosen as “55 top colleges in the U.S.” while not necessarily indicating what makes them leading institutions. While it incorporates large public universities, small private colleges, religiously-affiliated colleges and Ivy League colleges, they are compared without distinguishing for type of school, enrollment or region.
DePauw is one of just two liberal arts schools on the list and one of two from the state, the other being Indiana University.
Additionally, while the authors go to some length to show their survey reflected the overall demographics of the schools, it’s unclear what was made of students who chose not to participate.
White did not directly address the survey itself — or any questions about how it was conducted — in her comments.
“DePauw strives to prepare leaders of integrity who listen and converse with others from a place of respect and desire to understand alternative points of view,” White said. “We want to be a university where all students, no matter where they reside on the political spectrum or any other form of identity, believe they can express themselves freely. We are a work in progress and I am confident we are headed in the right direction.”
The overall score of the rating is the sum of five-part scores:
• Openness to discuss challenging topics on campus;
• Tolerance for allowing controversial speakers on campus;
• Self-Expression, whether students have ever withheld their ideas due to how the expression would be received;
• Administrative Support, which is students’ perception about whether their college protects or punishes free speech; and
• The FIRE Speech Code Rating, which rates college policies on how they protect or restrict free speech.
DePauw’s score of 44.2 is an aggregate of a 46.7 for tolerance, 59.4 for openness, 56.2 for administrative support and 29.1 for self-expression.
DePauw’s rating is based on responses from 249 students.
In the matter of the FIRE Speech Code Rating, DePauw is considered a red on a scale that goes from “Green” to “Yellow” to “Red” to “Warning.” A red code indicates the college has a policy environment that dampens free speech.
While some may perceive the problem as more severe for those of a certain political persuasion than the other, students who identify themselves as conservatives gave DePauw a score of 44.9, or 55th among conservatives. Meanwhile liberal student responses put DePauw at 52nd on the list with a 41.1, ahead of only Louisiana State, Oklahoma State and Brigham Young.
Additionally, a list of comments from students regarding times the felt they could not express their opinions included more responses from conservatives, though both sides expressed some discomfort.
“A professor was making a comment on how all Republicans are racist and selfish,” one current senior wrote. “As a Republican I felt that I could not speak up and defend myself because of the position of power the professor was in.”
“Regarding Trump’s efforts to minimize/deport immigration, many students are supportive of his efforts whereas I am not,” a recent graduate wrote. “It’s difficult to speak about this when the majority have an opposing view.”
Others expressed discomfort even among friends and fellow fraternity or sorority members.
The complete report is available at https://www.realcleareducation.com/speech/.