Massachusetts colleges still fail FIRE's 2027 free speech rankings
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American colleges are largely failing to create a healthy free speech climate on campus, according to a new national ranking.
Why it matters: Students are self-censoring at high rates amid intense political pressure from the Trump administration and efforts by some universities to change policies in response.
- Massachusetts colleges are stuck with the same failing grades as the rest of the country.
By the numbers: The rankings found an average overall score of 61.36 — the highest recorded in seven years, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
- That still amounts to a D- on the report's grading scale.
- 140 schools received passing grades, whereas 121 out of the 261 schools ranked in the report received an F for their free speech climate.
- Only 24 schools received a C or better.
Zoom in: All 16 Massachusetts schools in this year's rankings got a D or F grade. None even earned a C.
- Clark University is the state's top performer, ranking 69th nationally with a D (64.61).
- Harvard, MIT and Wheaton College also scored Ds, while Amherst, Williams, Brandeis, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Boston University landed in D- territory.
The intrigue: Northeastern posted the state's lowest score (49.78), landing in the bottom five nationally for a second straight year.
- That's partly due to a "red light" policy rating and backlash after campus police demanded a guest list for a lecture by an Israeli historian.
- Boston College, Tufts, Wellesley, UMass Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Smith also failed.
Between the lines: Harvard was the region's biggest improvement: jumping from 245th to 71st after a 13-point score increase.
- The report credits stronger "Administrative Support" under President Alan Garber, increased comfort among students to express ideas, and the fading of penalties from older speech controversies.
- Clark and Tufts also posted above-average gains.
- No Massachusetts school appeared among this year's biggest declines.
How it works: FIRE defined self-censorship as refraining from sharing views because of fear of social, professional, legal or violent consequences.
- The topic students identified as the most difficult to discuss was the Israeli-Palestine conflict, with 50% of students reluctant to broach it.
- Trump followed at 46%, and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated a year ago, at 44%.
- Abortion ranked fourth at 43%. Immigration and transgender rights tied at roughly 38%.
Worth noting: The share of students who considered it acceptable to shout down speakers, block entry to speeches or use violence declined slightly from last year's record highs.
Between the lines: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains the most "taboo topic on campuses" for the third straight year.
Zoom out: The rankings come as President Trump increasingly tries to control what schools can teach, what diversity programs they can offer and which international students can attend American universities.
- The administration has also pushed schools to restrict protests that it describes as antisemitic, including by withholding federal funding and pursuing lawsuits and investigations against universities.
What they're saying: "President Trump will always protect the First Amendment rights of all Americans," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Axios in an emailed statement.
- A Department of Education spokesperson told Axios that "[i]t is no surprise that public confidence in our colleges is at an all-time low when so many institutions have abandoned free speech and viewpoint diversity on campus."