“I’m extremely worried about the state of our college and university campuses today,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday at the University of Virginia. Governor Youngkin stressed the need to defend 1st Amendment rights and value “diversity of thought” in higher education, citing a new report card issued by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

“In 2023 a study found that 63% of students believe that shouting down a speaker is acceptable. Thank you for allowing me to speak today,” Governor Youngkin added.

“One in five students self-censor because of fear of how other students, professors or administrators would respond. Twenty seven percent of students think using violence to stop a campus speech is at least rarely acceptable. This is a shocking report card!”

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin

“Free speech is one of the foundations of our Commonwealth and country,” the governor posted Thursday on X. “I will always stand up for the rights of our students to speak their minds, and it is vital that our colleges and universities do the same by fostering an environment of intellectual diversity.”

Representatives from all of Virginia’s public colleges and universities — as well as 17 of the state’s 23 private institutions of higher learning — were in the audience on Wednesday. Governor Youngkin urged them all to create action plans to protect intellectual diversity and 1st Amendment rights on campus. 

SEE FIRE’S 2024 COLLEGE FREE SPEECH RANKINGS

RELATED: AG JASON MIYARES ON THE DUTIES OF HIGHER EDUCATION BOARD MEMBERS