{"id":295382,"date":"2026-09-28T05:46:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T05:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/295382\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T05:46:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T05:46:18","slug":"pitt-receives-an-f-in-annual-college-free-speech-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/295382\/","title":{"rendered":"Pitt receives an F in annual college free speech rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the fifth consecutive year, Pitt earned an F in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expressions\u2019s free speech rankings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FIRE<\/a> released its 2027 College Free Speech Rankings<\/a> earlier this month, ranking<\/a> Pitt at No. 205 out of 261 colleges for free speech nationally. Other higher education institutions in Pennsylvania also received low free speech grades, and Pitt students report feeling mixed about the ranking.<\/p>\n

The ranking considers six factoring categories, including comfort expressing ideas, disruptive conduct, openness, self-censorship, administrative support and political tolerance. The overall rating is based on both student survey results and university policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The highest grade Pitt received was a C+ in disruptive conduct, which measures how acceptable students think it is to disrupt a campus speaker. Pitt\u2019s lowest rankings were in administrative support, which measures students\u2019 perceptions of whether their university administration supports free speech, and political tolerance. It received failing grades in both.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pitt\u2019s ranking in how comfortable students feel sharing their views on controversial topics on campus moved up 108 places from the previous year, with the University now landing at No. 142.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On average, the 15 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania evaluated by FIRE received<\/a> an F as their free speech grade. The national average was a D-.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asked to comment on the ranking, University spokesperson Meredith Herndon said in an email Pitt is \u201cdeeply committed\u201d to affirming free speech on campus and that it has a \u201cstrong record of supporting free speech\u201d for students, faculty and staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we acknowledge there are always opportunities to improve in this ongoing work, we will continue to approach it with steadfast dedication and determination to get it right,\u201d Herndon said.<\/p>\n

FIRE also gave Pitt a \u201cyellow-light\u201d for its \u201cSpotlight\u201d rating, which evaluates written university policies regarding student expression. The \u201cyellow-light\u201d rating is the result of having one or more ambiguous policies that could be misused by the university administration.<\/p>\n

As for how Pitt students feel about the rankings, it\u2019s a mixed bag.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eddie Conn, a junior data science major who was not previously aware of the rankings, said he \u201cdoesn\u2019t feel great about it,\u201d considering Pitt\u2019s effort<\/a> to market itself as diverse and inclusive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, Conn does not believe that knowing this rating prior to attending Pitt would have stopped him from enrolling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it would have decided it, but it would definitely be in consideration,\u201d Conn said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anders Jacobson, a junior film and media studies and public and professional writing major, said he feels the University adequately addresses free speech, recalling a discussion during his first-year convocation about free speech and diversity on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe important thing for colleges to do is to give students the tools to speak and express themselves clearly, but respectfully,\u201d Jacobson said. \u201cI think the fact that there are expressions of distaste from students is a sign that free speech is at least alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fabio Lauriano, a senior biology major, said he would have considered the ranking before attending Pitt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think the University\u2019s not going to support you and your opinion and you might get in trouble for it, you might not be willing to say what you think,\u201d Lauriano said.<\/p>\n

Bryn McGhiey, a first-year law, criminal justice and society student, said she believes college is a time for expanding knowledge and that if Pitt doesn\u2019t allow expression of free speech, it\u2019s \u201cjust not good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

McGhiey said she thinks University administration can make improvements in free speech and provided suggestions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[They could] talk about how important it is and maybe encourage students to use their free speech with friendly protests against things that students feel passionate about and to not shut it down,\u201d McGhiey said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the fifth consecutive year, Pitt earned an F in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expressions\u2019s free…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-295382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}