A report from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) says students’ views on free speech and campus “cancellation” vary by social background. The findings suggest that students who attended private school are more likely to express fear about being “cancelled” on campus. The report frames this as the first attempt to link perceptions of free speech to background factors, arguing that the way students understand and anticipate limits on expression is not uniform across groups.
The analysis is presented as evidence that students’ experiences and expectations may differ depending on where they studied before university, with private school attendance associated with greater concern about reputational or social consequences for speaking. The report does not describe a single cause for the differences, but it emphasizes that perceptions of free speech should be examined in relation to students’ social circumstances. The findings add to broader discussions in the UK about free expression in higher education, including how students interpret norms around controversial speech and institutional responses.
