University president sounds alarm as nearly half of students justify violence to stop 'hate speech'
A new national survey reveals that a significant portion of undergraduate students believe physical violence can be justified to prevent what they consider hate speech, prompting urgent warnings from one university president about the state of higher education in the United States.
According to the Buckley Institute’s 2026 National Undergraduate Student Survey, 45% of surveyed students agreed that violence is permissible to stop hate speech. This sentiment is particularly prevalent among liberals, with 54% holding this view, compared to 36% of moderates and 30% of conservatives. The poll also found that 46% of students support the tactic of "shout downs," and 40% believe that offensive speech should face criminal prosecution. Additionally, the survey indicated a substantial portion of the student body holds left-leaning economic views, with 42% favoring socialism over capitalism, and 22% stating the U.S. deserved the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Reacting to these findings, Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño, president of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, characterized the data as a "moral formation issue" rather than a free speech debate. He warned that modern universities have abandoned their role in shaping moral character, leaving students with a "violent entitlement."
"American colleges and universities for a long time now have really ceased to form students morally and are teaching resentment, teaching grievance politics, teaching violent entitlement," Dr. Moreno-Riaño told reporters. "So, when graduates leave these universities, they leave with that. They're not leaving with a moral formation of their hearts, their minds, their lives. They're leaving with resentment."
Dr. Moreno-Riaño argued that this moral decline extends to the historical curriculum, noting an "anti-history bent" where students do not learn about the alleged evils of communism and socialism. He believes this creates a vacuum filled by progressive ideologies, resulting in an academic environment that trains "socialists and Marxists" who wish to destroy the existing system rather than refine it.
The university president also highlighted growing concerns among employers regarding the practical value of college degrees. He argued that graduates enter the workforce armed with resentment, anger, and entitlement rather than the ability to reason and deliberate, making them potentially dangerous.
"It's not just what some will say are worthless degrees. It's also what's behind the degree. Individuals who have been taught to resent, not to reason, not to deliberate, not to have deep conversations with those with whom they disagree," Dr. Moreno-Riaño explained. "And that to me is a significant problem. ... We're training people to be resentful, angry, entitled, violent. And that does not bode well for our democracy and our republic."
Dr. Moreno-Riaño urged higher education institutions to take moral formation seriously and abandon a culture rooted in entitlement and grievance. He suggested that some employers may increasingly bypass colleges altogether, opting instead to train workers directly out of high school, citing the ideological unpreparedness of recent graduates.