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.

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).

As a St. Louis native, I didn’t have the prototypical senior year “Washington… as in Seattle?” experience. However, thanks to the insights of Society members such as Georgetown alum Ben Pike (he wants girls who are smart and pretty), I think I am finally catching on to the subtleties of collegiate rankings: evolution.