WashU ranked 72nd out of 257 colleges in the 2026 Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) College Free Speech Rankings survey, with an overall “D- speech climate grade.”

The posts, even if not directly targeting us, feed our insecurities and make us hyperaware of how we’re perceived because we know we might be posted if we slip up or stand out in the wrong way. Instead of connecting, it makes us perform: who’s the funniest, who’s the wittiest, and who’s the boldest at throwing shade?