and controversy ===
According to U.S. News & World Report University Rankings, George Mason University is ranked #1 in Social Mobility among universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia and nationally ranked #72 in Top Performers on Social Mobility. The New York Times Top U.S. Colleges with the Greatest Economic Diversity ranking ranks the university at #19 for advancing social mobility for its students and alumni and having socioeconomic status diversity through cultural capital. The university is also ranked No. 8 in the nation for Freedom of Speech and protecting rights enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), FIRE also posits that the majority viewpoint of the student body leans politically liberal in the sense of modern liberalism in the United States, although the political ideologies of libertarianism in the United States and conservatism in the United States are also visible on campus with the university …
