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Did a recent survey find that a majority of Wisconsin college students agree instructors should be reported if they say something perceived to harm to certain groups?

By Erin Gretzinger
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YES

According to a University of Wisconsin System survey of student views on freedom of speech, a majority of respondents agreed to varying degrees that students should report instructors who say something they feel causes harm to certain groups. 

In response to how much they believed students should report instructors in that scenario, 25.4% said "somewhat," 25.7% said "quite a bit" and 16.9% said "a great deal" for a total of 68%. 

Responses to the question were spilt along self-identified political affiliation. Of students who identified as Democrats, 61.2% said "quite a bit" or "a great deal" in response to how much they thought instructors should be reported, in contrast to about 21.7% of students who identified as Republicans. 

The survey polled over 10,000 undergraduate students across UW System schools about free speech on campus, finding students' opinions varied greatly across different political affiliations, genders and races. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
University of Wisconsin System UW System Student Views on Freedom of Speech
Wisconsin Public Radio Survey: Conservative UW System students say they've felt political pressure in class
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.