Asked whether “America deserved September 11th,” nearly 22 percent agreed, including 11 percent who strongly agreed. Nearly 72 percent disagreed, while about six percent were unsure.
The survey also examined political tolerance.
Nearly 45 percent said physical violence could be justified to stop someone expressing what they interpret as hateful or racially charged views. About half rejected that position.
Forty percent supported criminal prosecution for offensive speech, and nearly 46 percent said disrupting or shouting down a campus speaker could sometimes be appropriate.
On economics, roughly 42 percent preferred socialism, compared with 28 percent choosing capitalism. Thirty-one percent were unsure.
And despite the September 11 finding, nearly two-thirds said they were proud to be American.
The Buckley Institute commissioned the national survey of 803 full-time undergraduates, ages 18 to 24, attending four-year colleges and universities.
Inquire LLC conducted the poll September fifth through the fourteenth — spanning the attacks’ twenty-fifth anniversary. Results were released October eighth.
The poll measures students’ opinions. It does not establish what caused those beliefs or what students were taught about the attacks.
