Texas Tech University given F for free speech on campus. Here's why - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

FIRE released the ranking on Sept. 9, and the fall is steep for a school that draws students from across West Texas and beyond. Two professors got tangled up in speech controversies tied to a new review process covering course content on race, sex, and gender, according to the report.

The drop lands Texas Tech in the bottom half of universities both nationally and among Texas schools. FIRE pointed directly to that review process as the source of the incidents it flagged in its scoring.

For students walking to class near the Administration Building or debating professors in a lecture hall, this ranking raises real questions about what can get taught and how. Faculty who saw colleagues pulled into speech disputes may rethink how they teach sensitive material. Parents deciding where to send their kids, and alumni proud of Tech's reputation, now have a data point that complicates the pitch.

A 91-spot drop in one year is the kind of number that demands an explanation, and right now Texas Tech hasn't offered much of one publicly.