Can the University of Chicago Regain Its Formerly Prestigious Ranking for Freedom of Speech?

The University of Chicago is historically known as an institution that protects academic freedom and freedom of speech on its campus. Its famous Chicago Principles go so far as to state, “…the University’s fundamental commitment is to the principle that debate or deliberation may not be suppressed because the ideas put forth are thought by some or even by most members of the University community to be offensive, unwise, immoral, or wrong-headed.” This culture of free speech contributed to my own desire to attend UChicago while researching colleges. However, it is important to ask if this commitment is taken seriously, or if it is just an empty slew of words paying lip service to advocates of free expression. 

At one time, the university could boast of its high ranking on the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s (FIRE) annual college freedom of speech ranking. As recently as 2022, UChicago was ranked as the best in the nation on FIRE’s index. Even today, FIRE gives the university high marks for administrative support, specifically for its handling of deplatformings, disruptions, and honor roll students. Yet, if one were to look at the free speech index today, UChicago would not be found in any of the top three places. It would not even be found in the top ten or twenty. In less than four years, UChicago has fallen to 43rd out of 251 on FIRE’s free speech ranking. When the ranking falls that fast, it begs the question: what exactly went wrong?

What is FIRE? 

According to their website, “FIRE has become the nation’s leading defender of fundamental rights on college campuses through our unique mix of programming, including student and faculty outreach, public education campaigns, individual case advocacy, and policy reform efforts.” Since its inception, FIRE has far expanded beyond being a mere advocacy group. The foundation lobbies both lawmakers and university policymakers to protect student and faculty rights to free expression. To date, FIRE claims to have won over 500 advocacy ‘battles’ against administrations on America’s college campuses. Those victories are said to have affected over five million students and influenced legislation in twenty states. 

Why the Ranking Slipped into Free Fall

UChicago’s sharp decline in FIRE’s free speech rankings can be largely attributed to two events. The first was the university’s initial decision not to grant the activist group Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative organization aimed at educating students about the importance of freedom, free markets, and limited government, status as a Recognized Student Organization (RSO) in 2023. While TPUSA undoubtedly aligns with many of the values held by fellow conservative RSO UChicago College Republicans, TPUSA’s emphasis on mobilizing students separates its intentions from those of the College Republicans as a more social organization. In their denial of TPUSA’s RSO status, the university cited its “similarity to the University of Chicago Republicans.” At the time, the Thinker reported, “the University of Chicago came in 166th place for ‘tolerance difference,’ indicating that controversial liberal speakers are much more tolerated on campus than controversial conservative ones, and 156th for ‘disruptive conduct,’ meaning that many students are comfortable resorting to yelling and force to shut down on-campus speakers.” This was demonstrated by the University’s explanation for their denial of TPUSA’s RSO application, where an official claimed that TPUSA was denied due to a lack of interest and “pressing need.” This is in clear contrast to the myriad of left-leaning RSOs that exist on campus, including UC Democrats, Platypus Affiliated Society, Students for Justice in Palestine, Environmental Justice Task Force, Project Reproductive Freedom, and more than fifty RSOs that revolve around immutable identity characteristics. Yet the university thought that there was no space for even one more conservative-leaning club on campus. At the time, FIRE reported that had the incident with TPUSA not occurred, UChicago would have been ranked 2nd instead of 13th. 

The second incident occurred in 2024 following protests on campus over the Israeli-Gazan conflict in the Middle East. Like many universities, a more than one-week-long encampment took place on the university’s Main Quadrangle. The occupation of private university property almost resulted in five students not receiving their diplomas. Eventually, the university, in coordination with the University of Chicago Police Department, squashed the rowdiness. However, it was not this event that FIRE took issue with, but rather a student-led protest and shouting down of a speaker invited to campus. When UChicago invited the (at the time) newly elected president of the American Medical Association, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, to speak on campus, he was shouted down by a masked activist who screamed at him for daring to speak about inclusive medicine while saying nothing about the situation in Gaza. In another situation, a panel of speakers was meant to speak in cooperation with a protest against Hamas and the October 7th attacks, but were thwarted by ‘pro-Palestinian’ activists who disrupted the organized event. 

One important caveat was made by FIRE when describing why they lowered the UChicago’s ranking so drastically. The organization noted that “To the University of Chicago’s credit, on both of these occasions, students, not the administration, suppressed speech. The attempted disruption failed because university security escorted the protesters out of the event, allowing the speaker to complete his remarks. And, in the aftermath of the disrupted event, the university president reiterated the school’s famous Chicago Principles — a positive action that mitigated the penalty applied because of the disruption and which is reflected in the school’s rankings score.” If a 43rd place ranking was accounting for the fact that the suppression of free speech was student-led and not staff-led, just imagine how bad the fall would have been had the university supported the inappropriate conduct from so-called activists. Could UChicago have fallen as far as below the top 75 if our administration hadn’t supported the speakers?

Public Reactions

Following the October 7th-related events on campus, UChicago president Paul Alivisatos released the following statement: “[N]o member of our community may shout down or seek to prevent the protected expression of those with whom they disagree. You may not tear down a poster. You may not seek to intimidate or threaten another person, or prevent them from hearing an invited speaker. These are egregious offenses against our community.” It is encouraging to hear that the university president continues to side with advocates of free speech rather than the mob of students wishing to suppress others’ speech in the name of social justice. 

Dr. Vinay Prasad, an alumnus of the UChicago Medical School and current Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, had the following to say at the event where Dr.  Ehrenfeld was shouted down: “When I was a student, no one would do this in medical school. Half the faculty and deans would rip you apart for such an outburst. You might be suspended, but at a minimum, someone would certainly tell you, ‘this is not the venue for this.’”

Moving Forward: Can UChicago Regain its Ranking? Some Good News

As part of my orientation for the Class of 2029, I was required to sign up for a freedom of speech and expression webinar meeting on Zoom. Though small, this could still be a step in the right direction. These webinars, alongside an entire section of the orientation modules, are designed to cultivate support for the Chicago Principles among the university’s newest students. My peers at other institutions were not required to interact with similar messages about freedom of speech on their respective campuses, even though these schools placed above UChicago on FIRE’s rankings. This demonstrates the university administration’s desire to uphold its storied history of advocating for freedom of speech. Perhaps this is a sign that the University will be more mindful in the future about the implications of both its own actions and the actions of its students surrounding free expression on campus. 

It is important to note that UChicago still outperforms many of its peer institutions, with a ranking of 43rd, still placing it in the top 17% of colleges ranked. Additionally, UChicago was described as “slightly above average”, whereas numerous other top universities received dubious rankings, such as Harvard (last place), Columbia (250th), New York University (249th), University of Pennsylvania (248th), University of Southern California (245th), and Georgetown University (240th) to name a few. In the context of elite private institutions, the University of Chicago is still a top-performing institution in spite of its 42-spot drop in rank over the last three rankings. As FIRE so eloquently put it, “the University of Chicago’s track record is better than most when it comes to fostering and upholding its students’ expressive rights. But that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, and it is certainly not above criticism.”

Additionally, the university recently established the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression in 2023. The Forum’s goal is to hold events focused on exposing attendees to differing, often controversial, topics and viewpoints that promote discussion and debate. Their events aim to engage heavily with students and are greatly influenced by a student-led board that organizes a significant portion of their programming. Since its establishment, the Forum has received numerous donations from high-profile individuals, notably including an anonymous $100 million dollar donation last year, signaling the desire among the broader community to further free speech on UChicago’s campus. 

As students and stakeholders in UChicago’s future, it is critical for us not to rest on our laurels. As demonstrated here, a campus’s culture and attitude towards free speech can decline rapidly. At the same time that UChicago was ranked 1st, Harvard was ranked 170th. We must take these rapid declines as a warning and use them to motivate us as students to continue upholding the Chicago Principles and advocating for the freedom of speech and expression that is so near and dear to the heart of UChicago. Tomorrow, September 10th, FIRE will publicly announce the new 2026 edition of its Free Speech Rankings during its monthly webinar. With a new ranking comes the potential for the University of Chicago to regain its status as a beacon of free speech for other universities to emulate.