Nearly a quarter of college students surveyed agreed that America deserved the September 11th terrorist attacks, according to a national undergraduate poll. The survey found that 22% endorsed that statement about the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001. Other questions revealed substantial support for socialism and for using physical violence to silence speech students consider hateful.
The Buckley Institute commissioned Inquire LLC to survey 803 American undergraduates between September 5th and September 14th, 2026. Participants were full-time students ages 18 through 24 attending four-year public or private institutions. The polling period coincided with the 25th anniversary of the attacks, and the institute released its findings on October 8th. Respondents included students from all four regions of the country and each undergraduate class year, from freshmen through seniors.
Students were asked whether they agreed with the statement, “America deserved September 11th.” The detailed results show that 11% strongly agreed and 10.8% somewhat agreed. Another 71.7% disagreed, including 63.2% who strongly rejected the statement, while 6.5% were unsure. On a separate question, 65% of students said they were proud to be American. Agreement with that statement reached 86% among conservative students, compared with 67% among moderates and 62% among students who identified as liberal.
The New York Post reported on the findings November 11th. The institute’s published topline results also show how respondents described their politics: 51.7% identified as liberal, 29% as moderate and 13.4% as conservative. Students attending state institutions accounted for approximately 70% of participants, with private-school students making up the remaining 30%.
The Buckley Institute reported that agreement with the September 11th statement reached 28% among liberal students. Among respondents who endorsed violence to stop hate speech, 41% also agreed that America deserved the attacks. Students favoring socialism were more likely to endorse the September 11 statement than those favoring capitalism, at 33% compared with 18%.
The poll’s questions about campus speech found that 45% agreed physical violence can be justified to prevent someone from expressing views considered hateful or racially charged. Support reached 54% among liberals, compared with 36% of moderates and 30% of conservatives. Separately, 46% of students considered it sometimes appropriate to shout down campus speakers.
Forty percent supported criminal prosecution for offensive speech, the highest level in the three years that question has been asked, while 52% opposed it. Buckley founder and executive director Lauren Noble said, “This year’s survey demonstrates that censorious attitudes remain stubbornly high on America’s college campuses.”
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See ABC News’ September report on how a college class teaches students about September 11 here.
Economic questions produced the widest advantage for socialism in the five years the survey has asked students to choose between the two systems. Inquire’s executive summary put support for socialism at 42%, compared with 28% for capitalism. Conservative students preferred capitalism by 48% to 19%, while 58% of liberals chose socialism. Half of moderate students were unsure which economic system they preferred.
The survey also asked about political disagreements inside classrooms and friendships across party lines. Forty-four percent said they would avoid a class taught by a professor who publicly expressed opinions they opposed, including 55% of liberals and 33% each of moderates and conservatives. Forty-eight percent said they couldn’t bring themselves to be close friends with someone affiliated with another political party. That figure reached 65% among liberal students, compared with 33% among moderates and 27% among conservatives.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.