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.
40.7 Treanding Down
/ 100
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 257 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
257 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
Barnard College ranks last place, 257 out of 257 schools, in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings, earning a score of 41. Free Speech controversies contributed to a 7-point penalty. For example, administrators investigated and briefly suspended student journalists who covered pro-Palestinian protests. These penalties dragged down the score.But so did students’ perceptions with 5 out of 6 areas ranking near the bottom: Barnard places last for both “Comfort Expressing Ideas” and “Administrative Support,” with its “Administrative Support” score being the worst in the history of the College Free Speech Rankings. Additionally, Barnard is in the bottom 25 for “Political Tolerance” and “Self-Censorship,” and in the bottom 50 for “Disruptive Conduct.”
Barnard’s last place ranking reflects a campus climate where free expression is neither protected nor prioritized. If Barnard hopes to repair its reputation and regain student trust, it must take immediate and visible steps to reverse course. That means overhauling its restrictive speech codes to earn a “green light” Spotlight rating, as well as adopting the Chicago Statement and an official commitment to institutional neutrality to prevent future perceived administrative bias on debates of social or political concern. Barnard should also incorporate robust First Amendment education into orientation to ensure students understand not just their rights, but also the difference between protected speech and unlawful conduct. Without bold, systemic change, Barnard risks remaining the worst environment for campus speech in the country.
Highlights
61% of students say they have self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month.
78% of students say shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
33% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
13.94:1
There are roughly 13.94 liberal students for every one conservative student.
Spotlight Rating
Yellow
Score over time
Student Voices
I feel as though for a lot of opinions I have to censor it or else there might be administrative backlash or discipline because our administration tends to be very harsh if you hold an opinion different to theirs.
Protests are relatively common on my campus, but there is a fear of being identified and expelled/reprimanded by administration for expressing opinions on specifically the Israel/Palestine conflict, due to high security and police presence on campus.
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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.
40.7 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.
257 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).
F
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).
C
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.
2
Deplatformings Deplatformings are the number of incidents where a scheduled event or speaker is canceled or prevented from taking place.
3
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.
2
Students Under Fire
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Barnard College | Georgia Dillane/Celeste Gamble | Dillane and Gamble, student journalists with Columbia's student-run WKCR ratio station, both received a "fact-finding" email from Barnard's Community Accountability, Response, and Emergency Services (CARES) about a March protest they did not even attend. The email requested a meeting "to provide any information you would like to share, including information that refutes any suggestion that you were involved, are a witness, or have information about this incident," and noted that they would not be allowed to bring anyone else to the meeting and that failure to engage could be viewed as a violation of Barnard's student code of conduct. Dillane claims that she was at the radio station, anchoring its broadcast on the day of the protest, and suggested that the request threatened her press freedoms and journalistic ethics. The radio station's legal team sent a message to Barnard, and three weeks later, Dillane received a second email, this time from Barnard's director of Student Intervention and Success, alleging she had violated the student code of conduct and charging her with "disorderly conduct, disruptive behavior, failure to comply, unauthorized entry, threatening behavior, and theft, vandalism or damage to property." Ultimately, several hours before her mandated May 5 meeting, Dillane was notified that Barnard not longer believed she was present during the "unauthorized protest" and that "[t]his matter is now closed." Gamble reportedly wore her press ID during the protest, and left when Barnard officials announced an alleged bomb threat. The radio station's legal team sent a message to Barnard. | -1.0 |
| 2025 | Barnard College | Celeste Gamble/Luisa Sullar/Natalie Lahr | Barnard placed Gamble, Sukkar, and Lahr on interim suspension for their alleged involvement in a disruptive protest at Columbia University in May. Gamble identified herself to Public Safety as student press (with the WKCR student radio station) before scanning her school ID on her way out of Columbia's library, where a pro-Palestinian protest was taking place. This occured before Columbia's president had authorized the NYPD to "assist in securing the building," which resulted in 78 arrests. Afterwards the WKCR broadcast about the protest based on on-the ground reporting (presumably Gamble's). Shortly thereafter, Barnard Dean Leslie Grinage reportedly emailed Gamble and the others about their "alleged actions at Butler Library" and informed them of their suspension. | -2.0 |
Deplatformings
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Barnard College | Laura Rosenbury | After calls by pro-Palestinian student groups --- including Apartheid Divest, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Pease, --- to boycott Rosenbury's immaugural speech as the college's president, protesters shouted over Rosenbury as she began her remarks. Ten protesters were escorted out of the event and Rosenbury completed her remarks. | -1.0 |
| 2024 | Barnard College | Sean Eren/Nerdeen Kiswani/Charlotte Kates/Khaled Barakat | The Barnard Center for Research on Women was scheduled to host a panel titled "Resistance 101". At the start of the event, student organizers said they were being forced to hold the event at Columbia University's Q House, an LGTBQ+ community at Columbia, because of a student complaint to Barnard's administration. The panel discussion occurred successfully at the Q House and was livestreamed over Zoom. | -2.0 |
| 2023 | Barnard College | Mohammed el-Kurd/Mahmood Mamdani | Columbia University's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine planned to host and co-sponsor an event with the Barnard Center for Research on Women featuring Mohammed El-Kurd and Mahmood Mamdani. Administrators at Barnard canceled the event two days after the Center had confirmed it, due to a policy requiring prior approval five weeks in advance of an event co-spnsored by a non-Barnard entity. However, the Center itself suggests administrators selectively enforced the policy, since they had worked with non-Barnard entities on a number of other events in the past without issue. | -1.0 |
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Survey Results
Survey Results: Student Perspectives
See how students at Barnard College 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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