Former University of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam, the first openly LGBTQIA* athlete to be drafted in the NFL, spoke to students about his journey in College Hall Thursday.

Students in this day and age are taking the credo of John Lewis—“Get in the way”—to heart and it’s working. But what is it working towards?

In light of recent altercations between journalists and community members at Mizzou working to protect protesters, Student Life finds it necessary to address the differences between the rights of photojournalists and our ethical responsibilities.

Discussing student athletes has always been a controversial conversation. I’ve personally always found it amazing that places of education give scholarships to those who are athletically inclined.

Throughout the recent social unrest at both Yale University and the University of Missouri, it can be hard to remember one of the founding principles of our country—freedom of speech. However, the right of an individual to speak freely is to be in no way infringed upon by the federal or local government.

These past few weeks have seen numerous examples of student activism on university campuses around the country, including universities very close to our own. The events at the University of Missouri, Claremont McKenna College and Yale University remind us all of the importance of our college education, more so due to the exposure to differing identities and viewpoints, than anything that can be learned in the classroom.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: If you don’t understand what’s going on at Mizzou—or why so many of your classmates are posting Facebook statuses about standing in solidarity with Mizzou students—you’re not alone. Don’t know where to begin? Here are some of the basics.

It seems time we set some things straight. Being “PC” is not the same thing as infringing people’s right to free speech. Furthermore, it’s not nitpicky political correctness to criticize overtly racist acts like dressing in blackface, yelling the n-word at a group of black students or drawing a swastika in feces on a dorm.

A few careful considerations may be in order in the wake of recent protests at Yale and the University of Missouri (Mizzou).

Missouri’s own Michael Sam is a 6-foot-2, 255 pound lineman with a fierce first step off the line and brutal closing speed as he chases down quarterbacks. His conference-leading 11.