With a surge in on-campus protests since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last fall, many students across the country have come face-to-face with university policies governing free expression and demonstrations. Students have also navigated rising tensions in and out of the classroom when expressing their views.
Navigating regulations around free speech on campus may be more of a challenge on College Hill compared to at other schools.
A report by the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression placed Brown 229th out of 251 top U.S. colleges in campus free speech in its 2025 College Free Speech Rankings published earlier this month. Brown is the fourth worst-ranked Ivy League school, ahead of Columbia, Penn and Harvard.
The ranking was based on 14 metrics with two main categories: student perception of the speech climate on their campus and behavior by administrators, faculty and students. FIRE used campus surveys conducted from Jan. 25 through June 17, 2024 to make the ranking, receiving 119 responses from undergraduates at Brown.
Some have criticized FIRE for its recent receipt of funding from prominent groups supporting conservative and libertarian policies. FIRE Executive Vice President Nico Perrino reaffirmed the group’s position as “a nonpartisan organization that receives funding from across the political and ideological spectrum” in an email to The Herald.
FIRE ranked Brown 212th in “student perception of their college’s support for free speech.”
Student activists, as well as respondents on the FIRE page, alleged that University policies were selectively enforced to discourage campus protests.
During last semester’s encampment in support of divesting of the endowment from companies affiliated with Israel, University administrators told students their encampments on the Main Green were a policy violation. But some students pointed out that on different occasions, tents were present for extended periods of time on Historical Greens during the school year without warnings from administrators.
The University policy does not define what constitutes an encampment.
“The University only chooses to enforce those rules against protestors, not against the act itself, which makes it a very discretionary system,” claimed Rafi Ash ’26, a member of Brown Divest Coalition. “The rule itself may not specifically target political speech, but it's a violation that only comes when it's enforced.”
University Spokesperson Brian Clark reiterated Brown’s policy that encampments on University historic and residential greens violate the policy, adding that the policy has been in place for years.
Clark emphasized that free speech has been a long-standing value upheld by the University.
“Protest and demonstration have long been respected as an acceptable means of expression within the Brown community, but this is always subject to time, place and manner restrictions,” he said.
“This is a decades-long standard. It becomes unacceptable when it violates University policies that are intended to ensure the safety and security of members of the Brown community and that there is no interference in the rights of others to engage in the regular operations of the University,” he continued.
Caitlyn Carpenter ’26, a student coordinator with climate activist group Sunrise, asserted the current political climate may deter some students from speaking freely and attending protests out of fear of doxxing and losing employment prospects. “I think that there’s serious ethical questions that (are raised), like who has power and control in what Brown University students feel like they can say on campus?”
Some students articulated challenges they had faced when trying to express their viewpoints with peers.
“I think something that a lot of my friends fear is that they can’t speak freely because they’re afraid of getting canceled,” said Alex Shieh ’27, the co-president of the Federalist Society.
“When people encounter opposite viewpoints, the response shouldn’t be to make fun of them or shun them or make fun of them on Sidechat,” he added. “That’s not necessarily the best response if you really want to have a diverse environment of ideas.”
Brooke Verschleiser ’25, the President of Brown Students for Israel, said she believes “there is an issue at Brown that there’s a sense of, ‘This is the only right answer, and this is the only opinion I'm going to listen to.’”
Other students believed that the University fared better than other peer institutions with the surge of nationwide protests last spring. Brown was one of a small handful of schools to reach an agreement with protesters that resulted in the promise of an official divestment vote and the voluntary dismantling of the encampment.
“The University last year, especially with the encampments, did a pretty good job, especially compared to what we saw from other schools,” Nash Riebe ’27 said in an interview with The Herald.
Some students noted that administrative policy has not eliminated protests and demonstrations.
“It’s up to students to what degree they want to push through the administrative barrier,” Everton Prospere ’27 said.
“People are always going to find a way to express themselves, regardless of whatever actions the administration might take to discourage that,” Michael Ziegler GS, the president of the Graduate Labor Organization, said in an interview with The Herald.
Other students were more skeptical. Ian Weiss ’26, Director of Engagement of the Brown Political Union, said that he generally hasn’t faced hostility when expressing his viewpoints on campus.
“There are times when voicing more classically Republican or Democratic tones isn’t as accepted because it’s not the traditional viewpoint of a lot of Brown students,” he said. “But I don't find that my (speech) is being met with hostility so much as it’s just that I disagree with someone.”
Some campus organizations are working to facilitate civil discourse among students. Logan Tullai ’25 founded the Brown Political Union to create an environment where people can exchange viewpoints with peers without fear of judgment through engaging in debates and listening to speakers, he said. Students “appreciate that it’s not an environment where you’re shut down,” Tullai told The Herald.
Gray Bittker ’27, a speaker in BPU, emphasized the importance of fostering dialogue among students and creating environments where they can express themselves openly.
“A lot of the responsibility has to fall on us as students to make these spaces,” he said.
Grace Hu is a senior staff writer covering graduate student life. She is a sophomore from Massachusetts studying English and Neuroscience.
