Overall Score The Overall Score is made up of 12 parts. Six measure how students feel about free speech on campus. Three look at school speech policies. The last three look at how people on campus respond during speech controversies. A higher score reflects a better free speech climate.
58.0 Treanding Down
/ 100
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 257 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
119 Treanding Down
/ 257
Overall grade The Grade is a letter based on the college's rounded Overall Score. Scores fall into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Speech Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
2
Overview
Franklin and Marshall College ranks 119 out of 257 schools in the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings with a score of 58, an F speech climate grade. This year's total reflects another penalty after administrators disabled Instagram comments that criticized the school, adding to the penalty incurred by last year's attempted disruption of a talk by former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlan.The college has adopted the Chicago Statement, but its “yellow light” Spotlight rating and the absence of an institutional neutrality policy continue to dampen its overall score. Recurrent penalties for censoring or obstructing expression reinforce students' poor perceptions across most survey measures, leaving the school without a single top-50 showing.
Franklin & Marshall could make immediate progress by revising its written policies to earn a “green light” Spotlight rating and formally adopting an official commitment to institutional neutrality.
Highlights
55% of students say they have self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month.
79% of students say shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
30% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases.
3.12:1
There are roughly 3.12 liberal students for every one conservative student.
Spotlight Rating
Yellow
Score over time
Student Voices
One time I felt as though I couldn't give an opinion on abortion because I was in a room with mostly conservative people that wouldn't like my perspective
While my school tries to be neutral and open to discussion the students have different viewpoint. As someone who is neutral, I don't want to voice my opinions that are non liberal because there are so many students on social media who openly express their liberal views.
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Score Calculator
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Every school's score is shaped by campus policies. Adjust the factors below to see how different policies affect the ranking for Franklin & Marshall College.
Score Deep Dive
Inside the Score
Explore the key factors shaping this score. This section provides a detailed look at the data, policies, and student experiences that influence free speech on campus.
Overall Score The Overall Score is made up of 12 parts. Six measure how students feel about free speech on campus. Three look at school speech policies. The last three look at how people on campus respond during speech controversies. A higher score reflects a better free speech climate.
58.0 Treanding Down
/ 100
This score out of 100 reflects how open and supportive a campus is for free speech, based on student surveys, campus policies, and recent speech-related controversies.
Overall Rank The Overall Rank shows where a school stands among the 257 institutions evaluated, based on its Overall Score.
119 Treanding Down
/ 257
A comparison of 257 U.S. colleges and universities on free speech, based on overall scores from student surveys, campus policies, and speech-related controversies.
Overall grade The Grade is a letter based on the college's rounded Overall Score. Scores fall into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
A school’s speech climate, shown as a letter grade (A–F), based on its overall score from student surveys, campus policies, and speech-related controversies.
Speech Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
2
Reflect recent incidents where a speaker, professor, student, or student group faced efforts to punish, disinvite, or silence them for expressing a controversial view.
Chicago Statement for Free Speech
Adopted
Institutional Neutrality
Not Adopted
Spotlight Rating
Yellow
Comfort Expressing Ideas Comfort Expressing Ideas measures how comfortable students feel sharing their views on controversial topics in different campus settings. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
D
Disruptive Conduct Disruptive Conduct measures how acceptable students think it is to disrupt a campus speaker. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
C
Openness Openness measures how many controversial topics students feel they can openly discuss on campus. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
C-
Self-Censorship Self-Censorship measures how often students hold back their views on campus. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93–100) to F (below 60).
D-
Administrative Support Administrative Support measures how clearly students think their school supports free speech and how likely the administration is to defend a speaker's rights during a controversy. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Political Tolerance Political Tolerance measures how willing students are to allow controversial speakers — on both the left and right — to speak on campus, even if they disagree with their views. The grade falls into standard grade ranges from A (93-100) to F (below 60).
F
Speech Controversies
Speech Controversies: When Free Expression Is Challenged
Explore notable incidents where free speech was tested on campus. From speaker deplatformings to administrative actions, these events highlight the challenges — and consequences — of restricting expression.
Total Controversies Controversies are campus incidents where a student, professor, or speaker faces backlash or pressure for speech that's protected by the First Amendment or academic freedom.
2
Scholars Under Fire Scholar Controversies are campus incidents where a professor or academic staff member faces backlash or punishment for speech protected by academic freedom or the First Amendment.
0
Students Under Fire Student Controversies are campus incidents where a student or student group faces punishment or pressure from the school for speech that's protected by the First Amendment.
1
Deplatformings Deplatformings are the number of incidents where a scheduled event or speaker is canceled or prevented from taking place.
1
Honor Roll Statements Honor Roll Statements are the number of public messages from a college or university defending free speech during a campus controversy. Schools that make these statements can earn bonus points on their Overall Score for standing up for free expression when it counts.
0
Attempted Disruptions Attempted Disruptions are the number of incidents where people on campus try to stop a scheduled event or speaker.
0
New in 2025 The number of controversies that have occurred since the previous launch of the College Free Speech Rankings.
1
Students Under Fire
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Franklin & Marshall College | Student Commenters | Administrators disabled comments on one its social media posts, thereby hiding student comments accusing the institution of hypocrisy. On its official Instagram page, the university made a post celebrating Transgender Visibility Day just days after sharing a post from the account of the campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom promoting their upcoming event with “detransitioner” Chloe Cole. Upset students criticized then responded with criticism, but had these comments hidden by the university who disabled comments. | -1.0 | Read More |
Deplatformings
| Year | School | Target | Controversy Explanation | Score Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Franklin & Marshall College | Paula Scanlan | Over 125 administrators, faculty members, and college staff signed a letter calling on the college to “unequivocally denounce the choice to invite transphobic speaker Paula Scanlan to our campus” because the appearance was scheduled during the same week as Transgender Day of Visibility. College administrators also refused a request by Young Americans for Freedom, the student group that organized Scanlan’s appearance, to allow the event to be recorded and livestreamed. Scanlan spoke successfully on campus, but the livestream of her talk did not occur. | -1.0 | Read More |
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More Student Voices
Because I come from an extremely liberal arts campus, I feel pressured to be censored on my opinion every day
Survey Results
Survey Results: Student Perspectives
See how students at Franklin & Marshall College perceive free speech on their campus. This section breaks down survey responses to key questions, providing insights into overall trends as well as demographic differences in how students experience free expression.
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The College Free Speech Rankings are based on student surveys, campus policies, and recent speech-related controversies.
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The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression defends and sustains 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.
