It should be noted that vastly different numbers resulted for older generations in the Pew poll on the issue of offensive speech and the government's role.

Around 27 percent of Generation X'ers (ages 35-50) support such an idea, while 24 percent of Baby Boomers (ages 51-69) agree that censoring offensive speech about minorities should be a government issue. Only 12 percent of the Silent Generation (ages 70-87) thinks that government should prevent offensive speech toward minorities.

The poll comes at a time when college activists, such as the group "Black Lives Matter," are making demands in the name of racial and ethnic equality at over 20 universities across the nation.