FIRE poll: 90% of undergrads believe words can be violence even after killing of Charlie Kirk

• Nine out of ten undergrads believe that “words can be violence”
• Differences in views becoming more stark between liberal and conservative students

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 2, 2025 — Ninety one percent of undergraduate students believe that words can be violence, according to a new poll by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and College Pulse.

The survey’s findings are especially startling coming in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination — an extreme and tragic example of the sharp difference between words and violence.

“When people start thinking that words can be violence, violence becomes an acceptable response to words,” said FIRE Chief Research Advisor Sean Stevens. “Even after the murder of Charlie Kirk at a speaking event, college students think that someone’s words can be a threat. This is antithetical to a free and open society, where words are the best alternative to political violence.”

The new 21-question poll, conducted between Oct. 3-31 by FIRE and College Pulse, assessed free speech on campus in the wake of Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 and asked undergraduates about their comfort level with a number of controversial topics. The survey of 2,028 undergrads included an oversample of 204 students at Utah Valley, and has a margin of error of +/- 2%. 

Half of students surveyed say that because of what happened to Kirk, they are now less comfortable attending or hosting controversial public events on their campus, and one in five say they are less comfortable attending class. 

Other findings show stark differences between students at Utah Valley and other schools, as well as widening rifts between liberal and conservative students:

• When asked whether the country is headed in the right or wrong direction for people’s ability to freely express their views, 84% of Utah Valley students said “wrong direction,” significantly higher than the 73% reported by students at other schools.
• Moderate and conservative students across the country became significantly less likely to say that shouting down a speaker, blocking entry to an event, or using violence to stop a campus speech are acceptable actions. In contrast, liberal students’ support for these tactics held steady, or even increased slightly.
• Among moderate and conservative students, opposition to controversial speakers generally declined. Opposition among liberal students, on the other hand, either held steady or increased for all of the controversial speakers compared to the spring.

The gaps between conservative and liberal students may be widening, but some concerns transcend politics. A majority of students of all persuasions (53%) say that political violence is a problem among all groups, considerably more than the 35% of Americans who recently said this in FIRE’s October National Speech Index. 

“Students want to feel safe, and the killing of Charlie Kirk naturally eroded their sense of safety,” said Stevens. “What we want students to recognize is that the safest environment is one in which people can speak their minds without fear of censorship or violence.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

Katie Stalcup, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org