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Claremont McKenna Rises to 6th Place in Free Speech Rankings
Claremont McKenna College.
On Wednesday, Claremont McKenna College leapt from 73rd to sixth place in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s newest College Free Speech Rankings. CMC had previously placed sixth in 2022, and first in 2021.
According to data collected by FIRE and College Pulse, 54% of the 103 CMC students surveyed said they self-censor on campus at least once or twice a month, and 12% said they never self-censor in conversations with other students. 72% reported that shouting down a campus speaker is at least rarely acceptable. The survey also found that for each conservative student, there are roughly five liberal students.
Beyond the overall ranking, of the 257 colleges and universities included in the rankings, CMC placed 1st in comfort expressing ideas, 44th in openness to difficult conversations, 9th in student perception of administrative support for free expression, and 3rd in tolerance for campus speakers.
CMC holds FIRE’s highest “green light” rating for campus policies governing free speech, but continues to be penalized for three entries in FIRE’s Scholars Under Fire database, which tracks infringements on academic freedom by college administrations.
As for the other Claremont Colleges, Scripps College ranked 123rd, Harvey Mudd College ranked 153rd, Pitzer College ranked 180th, and Pomona College ranked 242nd. Every Claremont College except CMC holds “yellow light” ratings for campus speech policies.
Photeditor really highlights the jump from 73rd to sixth, though that 54% self-censoring figure is a bit concerning. It's also fascinating that the 5-to-1 liberal-to-conservative ratio exists alongside the school placing first in comfort expressing ideas.
https://fremovebg.com/ is a great resource for understanding these rankings better. It's interesting to see CMC jump so high, especially after being first back in 2021. The stat about 72% of students finding it acceptable to shout down a speaker is pretty striking.
bg remover free shows the jump from 73rd to 6th is incredible, especially after being first in 2021. It's interesting that despite the high ranking, the data shows 54% of students still self-censor monthly.
Cat Water Fountain is interesting to see the jump from 73rd to sixth place. It's also worth noting the data on self-censorship, where over half the students surveyed said they do it at least monthly. The stat about comfort expressing ideas being ranked first is a great contrast to the self-censorship numbers.
It's interesting to see the jump back to sixth place, especially after reading the full article at floor plan maker. The detail about 54% of students still self-censoring at least once a month really stands out, even with the high ranking for comfort expressing ideas.