Roughly half of all college students say Charlie Kirk ‘difficult to discuss’ on campus: survey

September 15, 2026

A civil liberties group that has long documented the “dismal climate” for free speech on U.S. college campuses, says he life and work of Christian political activist Charlie Kirk is cited a topic many college students are too afraid to discuss on campus.

The Christian Post reports that Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) lists the co-founder of Turning Point USA among a handful of topics that nearly half of all college students nationwide identified as a “difficult” topic to discuss on campus.

In FIRE’s 2027 College Free Speech Rankings of 261 schools on a number of free speech-related questions, over half of students at 61 of the ranked schools said Kirk remains “difficult to discuss” among students on campus.

Among the topics students found most difficult to discuss, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict took the top spot, followed by President Donald Trump and Kirk as the third-most “difficult” topic.

According to FIRE, Abortion ranked fourth, while religion also rounded out the top 10.

FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff said in a media statement, “At a tumultuous time for higher education, we are seeing some progress in campus free speech policies and indications that students may be less willing to tolerate ‘shout-downs’ and violence on campus compared to recent years.”

Lukianoff added, “Too many college administrators wield their power to cancel controversial speakers, cave to government or student calls for censorship, and limit academic freedom. This report emphasizes the need for colleges to embrace their constitutional obligations wholeheartedly.”

According to the report, Kirk’s assassination also led to “increased pressure from public officials to sanction faculty speech” specifically in response to social media comments following his death.

The survey also found several campus chapters of Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Kirk in 2012 with businessman and Tea Party activist Bill Montgomery, were “denied recognition or faced calls for their de-recognition as an official student organization” following Kirk’s assassination.

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