Geer is a senior advisor to the chancellor, head of Vanderbilt's Project on Unity and American Democracy, and co-director of Vanderbilt Poll at Vanderbilt University. Mchangama is a research professor of political science and executive director of The Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University.

Americans’ views on free speech change directions every so often. One of those times was during the protests at U.S. universities about the Israel-Hamas war. As scholars of free speech and public opinion, we set out to find out what happened and why.

The Supreme Court itself, as recently as 1989, has declared that the “bedrock principle” of the First Amendment is that “the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”

For years, conservative politicians and commentators have warned that college campuses are not strong enough protectors of free speech. But as demonstrations erupted, these same people complained that the protests were filled with antisemitic hate speech. Leading conservatives declared the demonstrations should be banned and halted, by force if necessary.