Print The debate about free speech on college campuses has become a favorite of conservative political commentators, so much so that some in America could be fooled into believing there is a “free speech crisis” on college campuses. That is a false narrative, at least in the way it’s typically construed — that conservative speech and speakers are being driven off campuses and are not tolerated by liberal college students and faculty. National polls consistently show that college students overwhelmingly — 70 to 78 percent — favor an open learning environment, including divergent or even offensive views. Typically students are more supportive of an open environment than the general American public is, polls show.