Harvard may be considered one of the top schools in the world on paper, but when it comes to free speech on campus they rank dead last, according to a top group that tracks the issue closely.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), has just released their annual rankings and Harvard scored the worst of all.
The more progressive an organization becomes, the less they seem to value free speech and Harvard is all in on that front.
From the FIRE Newsdesk:
Harvard gets worst score ever in FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings
Harvard is consistently ranked one of the best universities in the United States. But FIRE frequently finds itself in the odd position of giving this all-star academic school failing grades.
Simply put, Harvard has never performed well in FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings, finishing below 75% of the schools surveyed in each of the past four years.
In 2020, Harvard ranked 46 out of 55 schools. In 2021, it ranked 130 out of 154 schools. Last year, it ranked 170 out of 203 schools. And this year, Harvard completed its downward spiral in dramatic fashion, coming in dead last with the worst score ever: 0.00 out of a possible 100.00. This earns it the notorious distinction of being the only school ranked this year with an “Abysmal” speech climate.
What’s more, granting Harvard a score of 0.00 is generous. Its actual score is -10.69, more than six standard deviations below the average and more than two standard deviations below the second-to-last school in the rankings, its Ivy League counterpart, the University of Pennsylvania. (Penn obtained an overall score of 11.13.)
Do you think that the folks who run Harvard are embarrassed about this? They should be.
Harvard is #1!!
(for being the worst school for free speech) pic.twitter.com/jJoQ06len7
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) September 6, 2023
Really sad & embarrassing for my alma mater. Free speech matters.
You’d think after getting trounced at the Supreme Court last year, Havard would at least pretend to try to care about the First Amendment. https://t.co/UVImsq8jej
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 6, 2023
Freedom of speech is essential to education. You would think Harvard would know that.