Freedom of Expression at Davidson College: Is There a Problem? Answers from the Fall 2021 Survey of Davidson College Students

The alumni group Davidsonians for Freedom of Thought and Discourse (DFTD) was founded in 2018 to monitor the state of free expression, diversity of viewpoints, and ideological balance at Davidson College. DFTD was also founded to undertake research to help clarify whether perceived problems in these key areas are real. Fall 2021 survey of major donors to Davidson College, virtually all of whom are alumni, revealed an urgent problem: Only 20% answered that it is "extremely" or "very clear" to them that the college administration protects free speech on campus, and 94% said that Davidson's next president should make campus freedom of speech and open, civil discourse a priority. But do Davidson's major donors have it right? Is there in reality a problem that needs to be addressed? To help answer this question, DFTD commissioned College Pulse--an online survey and analytics company dedicated to understanding the attitudes, preferences, and behaviors of today's college students--to conduct an independent, anonymous survey of Davidson students. The following summary of the Fall 2021 Davidson student survey findings presents the first available empirical data on the extent to which obstacles to freedom of expression are real and pervasive at Davidson. The findings also include insights from students on what they believe the priorities for Davidson's next president should be. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) commends this report to the close attention of Davidson's Board of Trustees and of the Presidential Search Committee that is now working to identify Davidson's next president.