How students feel about political speech on campus

With free speech on U.S. college campuses gaining national attention amid federal funding freezes and investigations into elite universities, The Daily asked students about their views on NU’s campus speech environment.

According to the Fall 2025 Campus Poll, conservative students, international students, and Jewish and Protestant students feel less confident expressing political views.

The poll examined how political ideology, religion, and area of study affect feelings about freedom of expression.

Northwestern received an “F” composite score in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings, sitting at No. 120 out of 257 colleges studied.

41% of surveyed NU students in the ranking reported they “feel self-censored on campus once or twice a month.”

According to The Daily’s Fall 2025 poll, 78.42% of NU students identify as “somewhat liberal” or “very liberal.” Among the 5.14% of “somewhat conservative” students, 77% said they feel pressure to conform to mainstream political views. For the 2.31% who are “very conservative,” 72% agree.

In comparison, only 15% of “very liberal” and 30% of “somewhat liberal” students feel pressure to conform.

Jewish and Protestant students feel the least comfortable expressing their political views on campus compared to other religious identities.

16% of Jewish students and 12% of Protestant students say they are “very uncomfortable” expressing political views on campus.

Students who do not identify with a religion — including atheists, agnostic students, or those with no affiliation — feel more comfortable speaking about politics.

More Jewish (40%) and Protestant (43%) students say they feel pressure to align with dominant campus political views.

About 27% of international students say they are “very uncomfortable” discussing political topics on campus, compared to only 6.7% of U.S. citizens.

32% of international students believe inclusion and safety should be prioritized over absolute free speech, compared to 17% of U.S. citizens.

Journalism and performing & visual arts students feel the most comfortable expressing their political views.

31% of journalism students and 32.5% of performing and visual arts students say they feel “very comfortable” expressing political views.

Only 10.5% of physical sciences students and 12% of engineering students say the same.