Four elite Ivy League institutions ranked at the bottom of 251 U.S. colleges and universities for their free speech climate as rated by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, with Harvard finishing last for the second straight year.

FIRE published its College Free Speech Rankings on Friday, with Harvard tying a record it set last year with a 0.00 score and an “abysmal” rating. But it was not alone. Columbia University also was given a 0.00 score and “abysmal” rating; and New York University, which finished 249th, was given an “abysmal” rating but had a 3.33 score. The University of Pennsylvania finished 248th, with a “very poor” rating and 12.53 score.

“With scores ranging from zero to 100, NYU plummeted nearly 30 points this year, and Columbia fared even worse, becoming the second school after Harvard to ever receive a zero,” Sean Stevens, FIRE’s chief research analyst, wrote in a news release.

“And Columbia, like Harvard, actually received a negative score that we ’rounded up’ to zero. The only reason Columbia was spared from receiving the title of this year’s Worst College for Free Speech is that Harvard’s actual score was even worse, a full 21 points lower.”

FIRE said its data comes from a sample of 58,807 undergraduate students taken from Jan. 25 to June 17 who were enrolled full-time in four-year degree programs. The rankings are based on a composite score of 14 components, seven of which assess student perceptions of various aspects of the speech climate on campus. The other seven assess behavior by administrators, faculty, and students regarding free expression on campus.

Iran-backed Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack in southern Israel and Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip led to a anti-Israel protests on college campuses across the nation and scrutiny of how university administrations managed incidents of antisemitism.

“So why did NYU and Columbia fare so poorly?” Stevens wrote. “In short, their responses to campus speech controversies after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel, and to subsequent campus protests, demonstrated a total lack of regard for expressive rights. Both schools experienced numerous deplatformings and attempted disruptions of events on campus, and both have also sanctioned scholars, students, and student groups.

“Almost all of these recent controversies involved speech about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

The University of Virginia finished on top of the rankings with a 73.41 score and a “good rating.” Michigan Technological University was next with a 73.15 score and a “good” rating and Florida State University was third with a 72.46 score and a “good” rating.

Six private institutions that were part of the survey and excluded from the rankings were given warning labels. FIRE said the schools — Pepperdine, Saint Louis University, Liberty, Baylor, Hillsdale College, and Brigham Young — have policies “that clearly and consistently state that it prioritizes other values over a commitment to freedom of speech.”

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