Student Survey: UW Practices Free Expression and Respectful Dialogue

A majority of University of Wyoming students say the university practices academic and intellectual freedom, constructive dialogue and freedom of expression, according to a recent survey.

The survey was conducted for President Ed Seidel’s Freedom of Expression, Intellectual Freedom and Constructive Dialogue Working Group in collaboration with the Associated Students of UW. With a response of 680 students, the survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Among the findings:

-- Asked whether UW promotes an environment of free and open intellectual inquiry in classes, 69 percent of students said they agree or strongly agree, with just 8 percent disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

-- Some 93 percent of students identified one or more sectors of campus life as having offered them opportunities to engage in respectful dialogue amid controversial or sensitive topics, with classes within their major most often mentioned.

-- Some 58 percent of students said they agree or strongly agree that UW protects their access to spoken words, printed matter, symbolic messages, freedom of association, books, art, music, movies, television programs and internet sites. Sixteen percent disagreed or strongly disagreed.

-- Asked whether UW promotes an open culture of tolerance, discussion and debate surrounding controversial or sensitive topics on campus outside of classes, 55 percent of students said they agree or strongly agree, with 25 percent disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

The survey results helped inform the working group’s recommendations to the president, “As the data suggest where to target interventions,” says Martha McCaughey, a Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology visiting researcher who co-chaired the Freedom of Expression, Intellectual Freedom and Constructive Dialogue Working Group.