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.
42.9 Treanding Up
/ 100
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 257 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
256 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.
11
Overview
Columbia University ranks 256 out of 257 schools in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings. It earns a score of 43, an F speech climate grade. A string of investigations, classroom disruptions, and suspensions last academic year led to 14 penalty points, leaving the university near last place — just above its sister school Barnard College.Student perceptions place Columbia in the top 50 for “Political Tolerance,” but in the bottom 10 for “Comfort Expressing Ideas” and “Administrative Support,” and in the bottom 50 for “Self-Censorship.” Coupled with a “yellow light” Spotlight rating and no commitment to institutional neutrality, these weaknesses continue to weigh on the campus speech environment.
Columbia’s near-bottom ranking reflects a campus environment where free expression is consistently undermined by administrative overreach, policy ambiguity, and a lack of student understanding in First Amendment principles. To begin reversing course, Columbia should revise its speech codes to earn a “green light” Spotlight rating, formally adopt an official commitment to institutional neutrality, and devote to limiting administrative investigations to conduct that clearly falls outside the bounds of protected speech. Beyond policy, Columbia must also work to rebuild trust by making clear — in both word and action — that it values open inquiry and will defend the rights of students and faculty to express dissenting views without fear of punishment or censorship.
Highlights
63% 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.
26% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
4.02:1
There are roughly 4.02 liberal students for every one conservative student.
Spotlight Rating
Yellow
Score over time
Student Voices
I wanted to express an opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but I was worried other students would jump to conclusions.
Before I entered into college, I quickly learned that sharing my views on abortion on social media would result in many people sending hateful messages to me, unfollowing me, or calling me out in a class group chat, so I did not post this type of content anymore.
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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.
42.9 Treanding Up
/ 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.
256 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.
11
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
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.
11
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.
4
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.
5
Deplatformings Deplatformings are the number of incidents where a scheduled event or speaker is canceled or prevented from taking place.
2
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.
5
Scholars Under Fire
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Columbia University | Daniel Di Martino | After complaints were filed against Di Martino, a Ph.D. student in economics, for his social media posts expressing criticism of transgenderism and its unalignment with his Catholic faith, Columbia's Office of Institutional Equity investigated him for "conduct that could constitute discriminatory harassment." During a subsequent meeting with OIE officials, Di Martino was presented with screenshots of his posts, including statements like "God does not teach us that we can change our gender" and comments supporting politicians who oppose gender-transition procedures for minors. The officials suggested that such posts could create a "hostile environment" for other students. Di Martino defended his posts as expressions of his religious beliefs and argued that the investigation infringed upon his First Amendment rights. He also highlighted that the OIE's actions seemed to target conservative and religious viewpoints under the guise of promoting inclusivity. | -1.0 |
| 2025 | Columbia University | Avi Shilon | Shilon, a professor of history at the university, was teaching a graduate-level course titled "History of Modern Israel." On the first day of the spring semester, his class was disrupted by masked protesters who entered the classroom, accused the course of promoting "Zionist and imperialist" narratives, and distributed flyers depicting violent imagery, including a boot poised to crush a Star of David with the caption "Crush Zionism." The university administration condemned the disruption, stating that such actions violated campus rules and were unacceptable. A swift investigation led to the suspension of one university student involved, pending a full disciplinary process. Additionally, two external participants were identified and banned from campus, with their respective institutions notified for further action. | 0.0 |
| 2024 | Columbia University | Abdul Kayum Ahmed | Ahmed, a professor at the university's Mailman School of Public Health (SPH), was accused of "pro-Palestinian indoctrination" in a Wall Street Journal article that highlighted Ahmed's references to Israel as a "colonial settler state" and his teachings on the health impacts of displacement among Palestinians. Following the article's publication, university administrators took several actions. Ahmed was informed by the director of SPH's Core Curriculum, that he was being removed from the Core Curriculum teaching team, citing concerns about his approach to teaching about Palestine. The interim chair of the Department of Population and Family Health then notified Ahmed that he would not be permitted to teach his Health and Human Rights Advocacy course. Finally, Ahmed received a letter from the dean of the SPH stating that his appointment would not be renewed. The non-renewal of Ahmed's appointment was finalized, ending his tenure at the university. | -2.0 |
| 2024 | Columbia University | Mohamed Abdou | Abdou, the Arcapita Visiting Assistant Professor in Modern Arab Studies at the university, posted on Facebook: "Yes, I'm with the muqawamah (the resistance) be it Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad but up to a point—given ultimate differences over our ethical political commitments; that's the difference between a strategy and tactic too." In April 2024, the university's president testified before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, stating that Abdou "will never work at Columbia again." Abdou contested this assertion, clarifying that his contract was set to conclude on May 30, 2024, and that he had not been formally terminated prior to its natural end. | -2.0 |
Students Under Fire
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Columbia University | Sawyer Huckabee | Columbia placed Huckabee on interim suspension for their alleged involvement in a disruptive campus protest in May. Huckabee identified himself to Public Safety as student press (with the Columbia Spectator student newspaper) before leaving 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. Shortly thereafter, Columbia's Rules Administrator Gregory Wawro reportedly notified Huckabee of his suspension, which was ultimately lifted hours later. | -2.0 |
| 2025 | Columbia University | Maryam Alwan/Layla | Alwan was investigated by Columbia's Office of Institutional Equity for alleged discriminatory harassment after writing an op-ed in the campus newspaper calling for divestment from Israel. The Office also reportedly requires students to sign nondisclosure agreements before speaking with investigators or accessing materials related to their investigation. In an email sent by the Office, Alwan was told she may have subjected other students to "unwelcome conduct" based on their religion, military service or national origin. A master's student, known only as Layla, alleges being investigated by the Columbia's Office of Institutional Equity for writing an op-ed in the campus newspaper calling for divestment from Israel. | -1.0 |
| 2025 | Columbia University | Unnamed Student | An unnamed student was reportedly investigated by Columbia's Office of Institutional Equity for co-hosting an art exhibition focusing on last spring's occupation of campus buildings by pro-Palestinian protesters. The Office also reportedly requires students to sign nondisclosure agreements before speaking with investigators or accessing materials related to their investigation. The two-story exhibit, housed in a private building belonging to school's Alpha Delta Phi chapter, features work from artists around the world. | -1.0 |
| 2024 | Columbia University | Aidan Parisi/Brandon Murphy/Catherine Curran-Groome/ Unnamed Student | Four students were investigated and suspended by the university for their alleged involvement in an an "unauthorized" event hosted via Zoon which featured an alleged member of designated terror organization, Popular front for the Liberation of Palestine. | -2.0 |
| 2024 | Columbia University | Columbia University Apartheid Divest | Columbia University Apartheid Divest had organized an event featuring pro-Palestinian speakers Charlotte Kates, Khaled Barakat, and Nerdeen Kiswani. After a Ph.D student complained to the administration, the group claims they were forced to change rooms and then cancel the event. Some members of the student group ultimately held the event virtually in a dorm room. Columbia administrators later called the event "unsanctioned" and, after an investigation, suspended six students and evicted them from campus housing. They would, however, reverse the sanctions for two of those students. | -1.0 |
Deplatformings
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Columbia University | Hillary Clinton/Linda Thomas-Greenfield | The university's School of International and Public Affairs invited Clinton and Thomas-Greenfield to speak at an event titled “Preventing and Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.” As Clinton was speaking a heckler began shouting over her calling her a "war criminal." The school's dean had the heckler escorted out by security. A second heckler then began to shout over Clinton. Clinton paused her speech for a minute before resuming and completing her remarks. As Thomas-Greenfield was speaking protesters began shouting over her calling for attendees to walk out. Some attendees stood up, chanted "Free, free Palestine," and blocked the entrance, before leaving. Thomas-Greenfield finsihed her remarks. | -1.0 |
| 2023 | Columbia University | Black Lesbian Films | Members of LionLez's board, the student group sponsoring the film screening "postponed" the event after an email from LionLez's president defended a controversial flyer promoting the event that said "It’s FREE PALESTINE over here. Zionists aren’t invited" led to "threats from a genocidal group of people." The email stated that "white Jewish people are today and always have been the oppressors of all brown people,” “WHEN I SAY THE HOLOCAUST WASN’T SPECIAL, I MEAN THAT,” and that “Israelites are the Nazis. University administrators then demanded that LionLez leadership take down its post about the event being rescheduled, because "the event has not been rescheduled and Columbia has policies and a process through which students can be disciplined for their behavior." | -1.0 |
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More Student Voices
I always avoid expressing my opinion on the Israeli Palestinian conflict in any setting other than with my close friends
Survey Results
Survey Results: Student Perspectives
See how students at Columbia 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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