Recently, you may have heard about the University of Chicago’s new policy for incoming freshmen that’s causing more controversy than when Alicia Keys didn’t wear makeup that one time. They condemned the creation of so-called “safe spaces” on college campuses and the use of “trigger warnings” before displaying challenging, disturbing, or offensive material. This also means they won’t disinvite speakers from giving lectures on campus just because students may disagree with them. This divided people in a huge way, with some applauding UChicago for taking a stand against the “PC police” and others criticizing them for creating a harmful environment for students who may have experienced trauma. So, I figured it was up to me to make sense of this whole mess.

Before I do that, though, let’s get the basics down. College can be a weird place; a place where you have experiences you wouldn’t have anywhere else, and that can be a good thing and a bad thing. Some people handle that better than others, so colleges might create safe spaces in order to make sure no one gets hurt and students who have experienced trauma don’t get “triggered.” Brown University, for example, has created a room with Play-Doh, coloring books, videos of frolicking puppies, and soothing music as a safe space for students. Professors might also preface a lecture with a “trigger warning” when they’re about to talk about sensitive material like rape, mental illness, or eating disorders. The controversy arises when college students claim they are triggered and need safe spaces from subjects some of us would consider not a big deal, like the Republican National Convention or, in the case of my school, the U.S. Constitution. Some students may also say they need a safe space when they hear an opinion that differs from their own, which also causes fierce debate.

Now, allow me to make something perfectly clear; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a big deal and shouldn’t be ignored. If you’re reading this right now and you think you might have PTSD after a traumatic experience, go to a psychiatrist or a specialist and get yourself some help. Mental illness is a problem that sadly goes unaddressed and, if you have PTSD, my heart cries for you and I hope you get better. If you suffered sexual assault so traumatic that a lecture about Brock Turner could trigger anxiety because of PTSD, it makes sense that you not want to be subject to that experience. But, here’s the thing, not everyone who claim triggering has PTSD.

This leads to critics saying, rightfully so, that college students have become so coddled by their institutions that they now have a warped perception of what the real world is like. Some comedians are even refusing to do stand-up sets on college campuses because of the audience’s unwillingness to be challenged or offended. One of those comedians is Jerry Seinfeld, who was criticized when he told a joke comparing teenagers swiping on their smartphones to “gay French kings.” We’re talking about the least provocative comedian on the planet here, people! Unfortunately, we don’t live in a society where you’re going to be protected and sheltered, and college should reflect that. College is a place where you should be challenged and encouraged to listen to new perspectives, if for no other reason but to debate them on issues that matter to me. I’ve made fun of Fox News a billion times on this site but, if a contributor came to my campus, I’d be the first person in line to ask for an interview and absolutely destroy them in an awesome debate. That’s how we deal with people who disagree with you, not by hiding, but by confronting and debating.

At the end of the day, there’s a time and place for trigger warnings, but there isn’t really a manual to tell people when they’re appropriate and when they’re not; you just have to use common sense and weigh the pros and cons. I applaud the University of Chicago for starting this important conversation, a conversation we need to have to understand the future of free speech and censorship. We’ll see where it goes from here!