According to a report one of the world's most prestigious academic institutions, Harvard University, received a free speech ranking of 0.00 points on a 100-point scale, published by the New York Post.

 The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) unveiled these free speech rankings; positioning Harvard a substantial 11 points below the next lowest-ranked institution. In its report, FIRE characterized the state of free speech at Harvard as "abysmal."

Sean Stevens, the Director of Polling and Analytics at FIRE, said he is “not totally surprised” at the result. “We've done these rankings for years now, and Harvard is consistently near the bottom," he said. However, FIRE deemed the 0.00 score as "generous”, considering that their actual calculations place Harvard's score at -10.69.

The low score is a result of nine professors and researchers at Harvard facing calls for punishment or dismissal due to their spoken or written words. Out of these nine individuals, seven faced professional discipline.

"I thought it would be pretty much impossible for a school to fall below zero, but they've had so many scholar sanctions," Stevens said.

According to FIRE's ranking methodology, several factors are considered, including a school's policies supporting free speech and the instances where professors, students, and campus speakers faced repercussions for their speech. Schools can receive bonuses if their administrators actively defend the rights of those whose free speech has been threatened. Additionally, student sentiment on free speech is taken into account based on polling conducted by FIRE in collaboration with research firm College Pulse.

Harvard University's bottom-tier ranking stands out, despite more than 100 of its professors establishing a Council on Academic Freedom earlier in the year to safeguard open inquiry on campus.

Following Harvard as the second-worst school in the free speech rankings is the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, followed by the University of South Carolina in Columbia, Georgetown University in DC, and Fordham University in the Bronx and Manhattan.

Columbia University, previously ranked as the worst school for free speech, has seen a significant shift, now standing at 214th out of 248 schools in the current report.

Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, secured the top spot in the rankings with a score of 78.01 out of a possible 100 points.

Other universities in the top five of the free speech rankings include Auburn University, the University of New Hampshire, Oregon State University, and Florida State University.

Apart from specific rankings, FIRE's survey of 55,000 current students from 254 universities highlights concerning trends. A significant 56% of students expressed concerns about being "canceled" for their speech, and 27% indicated that they believe it is acceptable to use violence to suppress campus speech under certain circumstances.

Image source: HT