Unleashing Pluralism Within American Higher Education

Since the October 7th attacks in 2023, universities and college campuses have become front facing symbols for intolerance, illiberalism, and ideological echo chambers. Many colleges have expressed genuine concern about their ability to foster open-minded conversations and rebuild a sense of safety to express ideas constructively. However, higher education is not as far away as we think it might be from establishing pluralism and constructive dialogue as the dominant norms on campus.

This view may cut across the mainstream narratives about higher education, and that is because we are missing an important dynamic. Many surveys have shown that there is in fact strong demand for dialogue and pluralism amongst the relevant stakeholder groups on any given college campus. According to More In Common and CDI’s report on Free Speech and Inclusion, “94% of students agree that we should listen with an open mind” and “90% agree that no matter how different we are, we can understand each other’s experiences by listening and empathizing”. Faculty feel similarly- according to FIRE’s report on academic freedom, roughly 61% of faculty surveyed said that, “a university professor should be free to express any of their ideas or convictions on any subject.” In fact, even 86% of employers that hire regularly on college campuses believe that exposure to diverse viewpoints is an important contributor towards preparing students for the workforce.