Class on Campus: Student SES and Tolerance of Controversial Speech

Abstract

U.S. higher education faces free speech controversies. Here, we use survey data from 58,807 undergraduates on 257 campuses to test how class affects tolerance of controversial speech. Findings are mixed. OLS regressions with a range of controls indicate that self-identified “lower-class” students are less tolerant than self-identified “upper-class” peers of controversial conservative speech, generally more tolerant of controversial liberal speech, and no more willing to disrupt speech. Upper-class students are more tolerant of conservative speech and more willing to disrupt speech, perhaps reflecting class privilege. We discuss limitations, and directions for future research.