On college campuses, “political correctness” ostensibly refers to a confluence of academic thought and misalignment of official priorities. A common concern, predominantly vocalized by conservative commentators, that American schools reflect and prioritize inclusivity over self-efficacy is legitimate. However, in practice, political correctness has become an imprecise term, an artificial construction co-opted to simplify and distort positive changes occurring in society.

When watchdog organizations like the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education wage their fallacious war against progressive student culture, they undermine rather than secure First Amendment rights. When they enlist a cohort of campus pirates, an ideologically-aligned network of student spectators, to magnify alleged cases of PC, they harm rather than strengthen learning outcomes. And when they regard flashpoints in this debate – guest speaker events gone awry, library book signings turned shouting matches, and Halloween costume party spectacles – as emblems of youth ignorance rather than empowerment, they are the ones “coddling American minds.”

In their widely read Atlantic cover story, Greg Lukianoff, president of FIRE, and Jonathan Haidt, an NYU social psychology professor, claim trigger warnings and microaggressions, popular moves to protect student emotional well-being, as disastrous for cognitive development and mental health. They are wrong on all fronts.

Microaggressions, seemingly minor expressions and actions that actually insult people of distinct cultural backgrounds, represent a major area of disagreement between political correctness defenders and critics. The latter camp argues paying attention to human feelings restricts conversation. Notably, in years past, some university administrators took to assembling lists of microaggressions in order to advise student bodies about campus expectations. Community resources which explain points of cultural divergence are valuable assets since many students come from racially and ethnically homogeneous high schools. Stereotypes persist in society precisely due to a lack of cross-cultural interaction. Nothing is more enlightening, nothing more enriching to character than exposing oneself to alternative attitudes, working to quell implicit biases. Microaggressions reflect unnecessary imbecility. Heartfelt, open dialogue, free of insult and disrespect, is an easily achievable yet essential component for impactful class discussions.

Another contested element in political correctness discourse are trigger warnings, statements professors use to preface potentially uncomfortable conversation. In their article, Lukianoff and Haidt argue that trigger warnings foster an atmosphere of hypersensitivity inside classrooms. College courses should absolutely confront any intense subject matter that meets pedagogical merit. They do. And students should expect to encounter topics that provoke intense reactions. We do. Professors who incorporate trigger warnings into lectures still address sensitive texts, yet they approach such material from a more honest position. Based on past experience, very few students feel compelled to excuse themselves at these impasses. We should trust that those who do step aside understand themselves, their maturity and tolerance, better than any professor. No hour-long lesson is worth potentially reliving a psychologically traumatic experience.

Shifting gears to controversial public speakers, on numerous occasions, liberal-leaning student activists pressured their universities to cancel events with conservative speakers. Other cases entailed guest lecturers, usually radical thinkers like Dinesh D’Souza, arriving on campus, and upon presenting their case, being met with aggressive backlash. Critics of political correctness assert that mobilization through protest runs counter to First Amendment protections. They are woefully misinformed. A third scenario involved alt-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, an adversarial figure, who repeatedly abuses temporary positions of authority to insult minority audience members. A rally at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee became incendiary last December when Yiannopoulos identified and verbally accosted a transgender student. Twitter permanently banned him after repeatedly harassing Saturday Night Live cast member Leslie Jones.

Milo exemplifies a larger trend of provocative speakers purposefully traveling to colleges in order to face pushback and produce national news stories, fuel for false narratives about “rampant political correctness.” While campus political organizations stand within their rights when they invite tasteless egomaniacs like Yiannopoulos to speak, they are naïve to expect communities proud and inclusive to stand by amid barrage, endless attacks against good-hearted and well-meaning peers simply to make Breitbart headlines. They claim to be valiant guardians of free speech yet use their voices to spread ill. The hypocrisy is disgusting.