A shocking new study finds students SAY they want free speech, but really WANT censorship. The survey of 803 USA undergraduates across the country taken recently, September 5 to 14, 2026, by the Buckley Institute and Inquire LLC. If you believe that our college campuses are–and have long been–incubators for anti-American sentiment, this study will provide proof.
This may be as troubling as it is surprising, but the Buckley Institute asked the college kids if–like the advisor to many Democrat candidates Hasan Piker said–America ‘deverved 9/11’, with nearly half of students saying physical violence can be justified to silence speech they consider hateful.
Among the most striking findings:
- 45% justify violence: Nearly half of college students agree that physical violence can be justified to stop what they consider hate speech. That includes 54% of liberal students, compared with 30% of conservatives.
- 22% say America deserved 9/11: More than one in five students agree with that statement, including 28% of liberals.
- 40% would criminalize offensive speech: Nearly half of liberal students — 47% — support criminal prosecution for offensive speech.
- 42% prefer socialism to capitalism: Just 28% favor capitalism. Even business majors favor socialism, 38% to 27%.
- 47% favor the economic model of Cuba and the Soviet Union: Only 33% prefer capitalist models, according to the survey’s question comparing the systems.
- 65% of liberals reject close friendships across party lines: Nearly two-thirds say they could not be close friends with someone from another political party, compared with 27% of conservatives.
- 50% associate America with white supremacy: Half of students agree that America is inextricably linked to white supremacy, while 39% say the country is moving forward.
- 38% choose Palestine over Israel as America’s better ally: Just 25% choose Israel.
The findings come from the Buckley Institute, an independent conservative nonprofit affiliated with the Yale community and named for conservative commentator William F. Buckley Jr. They have conducted this survey annually since 2015.
Nevertheless, the survey raises a fundamental question as America celebrates its 250th anniversary: Are universities teaching students to defend the freedoms on which the country was founded — or to restrict those freedoms when confronted with ideas they dislike?
Source: Buckley Institute national undergraduate survey, 2026.
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