The national discussion surrounding free speech that was reignited following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has made me realize how dire the situation has truly gotten on college campuses.

We saw that in the conversations happening in the aftermath of the fatal shooting, but the problem has been festering. Organizations such as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) have been sounding the alarm bells for years.

Its 2026 College Free Speech Rankings report shows that college students have become more accepting of illiberal tactics, sometimes including violence, to silence free speech on their campuses.

Anti-free speech sentiments have grown among college students in recent years, and there is no easy fix. If we are going to live together, it's going to take a conscious effort for everyone to become a little more humble and open to uncomfortable debate.

Troubling anti-free speech trends fester across America's colleges

America has become increasingly polarized and less willing even to hear opposing perspectives.

College students, in particular, have become more hostile to free speech on their campuses. The report from FIRE revealed that a majority of students would not support allowing speakers to express a number of viewpoints on campus, for example.

These controversial ideas include the following: "Abortion should be completely illegal," "Transgender people have a mental disorder" and "Black Lives Matter is a hate group."

These trends weren't limited to stereotypically conservative perspectives. There were also some liberal ideas seen as taboo. Those include: "Children should be able to transition without parental consent," "The police are just as racist as the Ku Klux Klan" and "The Catholic church is a pedophilic institution."

Not only do students simply oppose these ideas, but many also support preventing these ideas from being shared. The FIRE findings indicate that 71% of students are at least accepting of shouting down speakers, and 54% of physically blocking other students from attending a campus speech. A shocking 34% are open to violence, sometimes being the answer to suppress speech.

The chilling effect of these anti-free speech attitudes isn't just hypothetical; many sensitive topics have become controversial on campuses. That same report found that more than 40% of students found it difficult to discuss the topics of abortion, the Israel/Gaza conflict, transgender rights and even something as mundane as the 2024 presidential election.

While it is horrific that we have gotten to this point, I am hopeful that in the face of real speech-suppressing violence, people may become more open to free speech ideals. If there was one wake-up call for the dangers of this anti-free speech culture continuing to fester, Kirk’s death was it. Though I worry free speech will be harder to find on campuses following his assassination.

The first step is realizing that sometimes we're wrong

My generation can change these disturbing trends, which requires that young people recognize the problem and consciously take the initiative to solve it.

Like most people who decide to work in the political world, I can be extremely stubborn. But I can acknowledge that I am almost certainly wrong about some stuff.

The most vain position you can take is to say you are so right about every issue that no other perspectives can even be heard. That is entirely antithetical to liberal society.

I encourage people from my generation to adopt the bare minimum of humility and acknowledge the fact that they may be wrong about a thing or two. Doing so will make you more willing to hear the opinions of others and to actually debate competing ideas in good faith. You might convince someone of your perspective in the process, or you might even change your own mind about a thing or two.

If we do not change course, all students will deprive themselves of the opportunity to get the most out of their university experience and miss the chance to strengthen their ideas by putting them to the test against others. The result is a graduating population that is worse off due to their own illiberal attitudes. We should care about that. Disagreeing civilly is a lost art, one that young people, in particular, need to reclaim if we are to live together.

Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: You're not always right. The sooner you realize that, the better off we'll be. | Opinion

Reporting by Dace Potas, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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