Story highlights The hearing was titled, "Free Speech 101: The Assault on the First Amendment on College Campuses"

The students found a sympathetic audience in Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ted Cruz

Washington (CNN) Two college students warned of increasingly stifled speech on college campuses at a Senate judiciary committee hearing Tuesday.

Zachary Wood, a rising senior at Williams College, and Isaac Smith, a student at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, appeared before the committee at a hearing titled "Free Speech 101: The Assault on the First Amendment on College Campuses."

As the president of "Uncomfortable Learning," Wood faced backlash for his student organization inviting controversial speakers to campus, like conservative commentator John Derbyshire. According to Wood's testimony, Derbyshire's invitation was canceled after significant outcry from Williams students and faculty over Derbyshire's inflammatory comments about race.

"In my time at Williams, I cannot name a single conservative speaker that has been brought to campus by the administration," said Wood, who himself identifies as a liberal Democrat.

Smith echoed Wood's sentiment in his own testimony, sharing how he sued Ohio University for penalizing his student group over allegedly offensive T-shirts, which violated OU's code of conduct at the time.

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