Surprising Share of College Students Thinks ‘Words Can Be Violence’

The vast majority of American college students agree with the sentiment that “words can be violence,” according to a new poll tracking campus speech culture.

The survey from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which polled 2,028 college students between Oct. 3 and Oct. 31, followed opinions on campus speech after the murder of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

The poll had a +/- 2.2 percent margin of error and intentionally overrepresented Utah Valley University, where Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10.

About 48 percent of students nationwide agreed either “completely” or “mostly” with the sentiment that “words can be violence.”

A slightly lower of Utah Valley students agreed, with 46 percent “completely” or “mostly” concurring with the sentiment.

“Students were also more likely than the general public to say political violence is a bipartisan problem, suggesting a broader sense of threat but perhaps also a more universal framing of the issue,” the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said of the results.

The aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder shows how fragile free expression has become in America.

Let’s be clear: If free speech only survives when convenient, it isn’t free.

Endurance, not outrage, is the true measure of democracy.

✍🏻: FIRE’s @SamuelAbramsAEI pic.twitter.com/JauIUWYilm

— FIRE (@TheFIREorg) December 3, 2025

The survey therefore showed that most students conflate political speech with violence, a mentality that Tyler Robinson, the progressive alleged shooter of Kirk, expressed before the assassination.

Utah Valley students were meanwhile more likely than their peers across the country to say “political violence is a problem among progressives,” with 34 percent agreeing with the statement versus 28 percent nationwide.

But a higher of both Utah Valley students and students from other schools think that “political violence is a problem among conservatives,” with 42 percent of both samples agreeing.

Slight majorities meanwhile said that “political violence is a problem among all political groups.”

The Kirk assassination also led to an increase in self-censorship among students.

About 24 percent of respondents from Utah Valley previously said in the College Free Speech Rankings from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression that they self-censor during classroom discussions, but now 34 percent of Utah Valley students say the same.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression concluded that “the assassination has had a chilling effect — not just at UVU, but across the country.”

“Students say they are pulling back, are speaking less, and are less comfortable attending events. This is not being done in response to policy, but because of fear,” the organization said.

“If campus leaders, faculty, and policymakers want to protect academic freedom and open inquiry, they must reckon with that fear, and work to rebuild a culture of expression that can withstand not just controversy, but crisis.”

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