Overall Score The Overall Score is made up of 12 parts. Six measure how students feel about free speech on campus. Three look at school speech policies. The last three look at how people on campus respond during speech controversies. A higher score reflects a better free speech climate.
43.9 Treanding Down
/ 100
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 257 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
255 Treanding Down
/ 257
Overall grade The Grade is a letter based on the college's rounded Overall Score. Scores fall into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Speech Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
5
Overview
Indiana University ranks 255 out of 257 schools in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings with a score of 44, an F speech climate grade. The university was penalized for canceling journalist Chris Geidner's keynote address at an LGBTQ+ health-care conference in response to President Trump’s executive order restricting the use of federal funds on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.Students signal deep concerns following an incident in which IU posted a sniper on a rooftop during a protest: IU lands in the bottom 25 for “Openness” to controversial ideas, frequency of “Self-Censorship,” and perceived “Administrative Support” for free expression, and it ranks in the bottom 50 for “Comfort Expressing Ideas.”
IU could improve by revising its written speech policies to earn a “green light” Spotlight rating, adopting a free speech statement based on the Chicago Statement, and adopting an official commitment to institutional neutrality.
Highlights
54% of students say they have self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month.
74% of students say shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
35% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
2.70:1
There are roughly 2.70 liberal students for every one conservative student.
Spotlight Rating
Yellow
Score over time
Student Voices
Generally when there are political based assignments, I act as if my views are much more liberal to be safe.
I have had multiple professors make comments referring to their disliking of certain political figures so I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable speaking with them in the chance it would affect my grade
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Score Deep Dive
Inside the Score
Explore the key factors shaping this score. This section provides a detailed look at the data, policies, and student experiences that influence free speech on campus.
Overall Score The Overall Score is made up of 12 parts. Six measure how students feel about free speech on campus. Three look at school speech policies. The last three look at how people on campus respond during speech controversies. A higher score reflects a better free speech climate.
43.9 Treanding Down
/ 100
This score out of 100 reflects how open and supportive a campus is for free speech, based on student surveys, campus policies, and recent speech-related controversies.
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 257 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
255 Treanding Down
/ 257
A comparison of 257 U.S. colleges and universities on free speech, based on overall scores from student surveys, campus policies, and speech-related controversies.
Overall grade The Grade is a letter based on the college's rounded Overall Score. Scores fall into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
A school’s speech climate, shown as a letter grade (A–F), based on its overall score from student surveys, campus policies, and speech-related controversies.
Speech Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
5
Reflect recent incidents where a speaker, professor, student, or student group faced efforts to punish, disinvite, or silence them for expressing a controversial view.
Chicago Statement for Free Speech
Not Adopted
Institutional Neutrality
Not Adopted
Spotlight Rating
Yellow
Comfort Expressing Ideas Comfort Expressing Ideas measures how comfortable students feel sharing their views on controversial topics in different campus settings. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
D-
Disruptive Conduct Disruptive Conduct measures how acceptable students think it is to disrupt a campus speaker. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
C+
Openness Openness measures how many controversial topics students feel they can openly discuss on campus. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
D-
Self-Censorship Self-Censorship measures how often students hold back their views on campus. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93–100) to F (below 60).
F
Administrative Support Administrative Support measures how clearly students think their school supports free speech and how likely the administration is to defend a speaker's rights during a controversy. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Political Tolerance Political Tolerance measures how willing students are to allow controversial speakers — on both the left and right — to speak on campus, even if they disagree with their views. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Speech Controversies
Speech Controversies: When Free Expression Is Challenged
Explore notable incidents where free speech was tested on campus. From speaker deplatformings to administrative actions, these events highlight the challenges — and consequences — of restricting expression.
Total Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
5
Scholars Under Fire Scholar Controversies are campus incidents where a professor or academic staff member faces backlash or punishment for speech protected by academic freedom or the First Amendment.
0
Students Under Fire Student Controversies are campus incidents where a student or student group faces punishment or pressure from the school for speech that's protected by the First Amendment.
1
Deplatformings Deplatformings are the number of incidents where a scheduled event or speaker is canceled or prevented from taking place.
4
Honor Roll Statements Honor Roll Statements are the number of public messages from a college or university defending free speech during a campus controversy. Schools that make these statements can earn bonus points on their Overall Score for standing up for free expression when it counts.
0
Attempted Disruptions Attempted Disruptions are the number of incidents where people on campus try to stop a scheduled event or speaker.
1
New in 2025 The number of controversies that have occurred since the previous launch of the College Free Speech Rankings.
1
Students Under Fire
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Indiana University | Elena Thomas/Cameron Pierce/Christoher Hadwerger | Thomas, Cameron, and Hadwerger each had their protected speech violated by the university when they were arrested and punished under a policy changed without due notice. The night before a planned nationwide pro-Palestine protest, administrators revised their expressive policies to prohibit unapproved structures. The change was posted online the morning of the protest but administrators didn't notify the student body or protest organizers of the change. Then, just hours later, pamphlets with the change were distributed at the protest and police arrested attendees for trespassing when, citing the old rule, some protestors refused to take down their structures. All three stufents were banned from university property for a year. | -1.0 |
Deplatformings
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Indiana University | Chris Geidner | Geidner was scheduled to be one of the keynote speakers at an LGBTQ+ Health Care Conference but was then infomed by the university that the conference was canceled after President Trump issused executive orders restricting the use of federal funds on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. | -3.0 |
| 2024 | Indiana University | Jim Banks/Chaya Raichick | The College Republicans invited Raichick and Representative Banks to campus. On the day before the event a local Antifa group, Red Orchestra_AFA, posted on X: "Indiana and fishers Indiana. Libs of TT homophobic bigot chaya raichik and far right bigot jim banks will be speaking at 2 locations. You know what to do." On the day of the event, IU Alumni for Palestine posted an image on Instagram with an image of Raichick and Banks with their mouths covered and urged their supporters to stop "bigots on campus." At the event, protesters reportedly "pushed" and harassed attendees there to listen to the speakers and chanted "how many kids has she (Raichick) killed today?" Protesters also shouted that Raichick had "blood [on her] hands" and accused both speakers of supporting "genocide" and that they are "killing children." Several protesters were removed by police, the event then resumed and was completed successfully. | -1.0 |
| 2024 | Indiana University | Mosab Hassan Yousef | IU Hillel postponed Yousef's talk, "The Truth About Hamas and Israel," after multiple student groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Committee and the Middle Eastern Student Association, criticized the event and called Yousef "Islamophobic." A counterprotest was organizaed and a flyer listed 30 buses leaving from eight different locations throughout the state. The university then informed Yousef that the were postponing the event because of "secutrity threats involving the Muslim community and several white supremacist groups." The event was not rescheduled. | -2.0 |
| 2024 | Indiana University | Samia Halaby: Centers of Energy | Administrators canceled a retrospective art exhibit of paintings by Samia Halaby, a Palestinian-American painter, at the university's Eskenazi Museum of Art because employees of the art museum had concerns about Halaby's comments on social media in support of Palestinian causes, in which she expressed outrage at the violence occurring in Gaza and compared Israel's actions to genocide. | -2.0 |
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Survey Results
Survey Results: Student Perspectives
See how students at Indiana University perceive free speech on their campus. This section breaks down survey responses to key questions, providing insights into overall trends as well as demographic differences in how students experience free expression.
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See Your School's Ranking
The College Free Speech Rankings are based on student surveys, campus policies, and recent speech-related controversies.
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