University president sounds alarm as nearly half of students justify violence to stop 'hate speech'

Gerson Moreno-Riaño, who runs Cornerstone University, a private Christian school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is warning that American higher education is graduating students steeped in grievance. He told Fox News Digital that the trouble is ethical rather than a dispute over free expression, and he blames campuses for neglecting students' moral development for years.

His concern follows a Buckley Institute poll of undergraduates for 2026. Respondents were split nearly evenly on force: 45% said physical violence can be warranted to halt speech they regard as hateful. Agreement reached 54% among liberal students, 36% among moderates and 30% among conservatives. Further, 46% back drowning out speakers, and 40% want offensive remarks prosecuted as crimes. Socialism was preferred by 42% over the 28% who chose capitalism, and 22% said America merited the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Moreno-Riaño, president since 2021, said schools instill "violent entitlement," leaving graduates inclined to resent rather than reason or talk with people who disagree. He tied that to employers' doubts about what a degree is worth, and said the pattern is a poor sign for American democracy. He also faulted the sector for abandoning religion.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →