America’s colleges and universities are supposed to be avenues for expanding knowledge and opening minds. Unfortunately, some are becoming a bit of a dead end when it comes to free speech and considering someone else’s views.

Just this week at the University of Pennsylvania, CIA Director John Brennan gave up trying to speak during a debate with a professor after constantly being interrupted by students opposed to his organization’s tactics and policies.

The protesters’ concerns might be valid, but suppressing Brennan’s response to them was wrong. They should have allowed him to speak and then countered with their own ideas.

The rights of free speech and to protest are inexorably linked and require a delicate balance. Raw emotion is beginning to outweigh reason, tipping the scales in an unhealthy direction. Many students are demanding freedom from speech instead of freedom of speech.

In October 2015, Yale University’s William F. Buckley Jr. Program released a survey that found 72 percent support disciplinary action against “any student or faculty member on campus who uses language that is considered racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise offensive.” That result is in line with a recent Pew Research Center finding that 40 percent of U.S. millennials [ages 18–34] believe the government should be able to punish speech offensive to minority groups (as compared to only 12 percent of the Silent generation [70–87 year-olds], 24 percent of the Boomer generation [51–69 year-olds] and 27 percent of Gen Xers [35–50 year-olds]).

Some students aren’t waiting to hear what someone has to say before deeming them offensive. Since 2014, “disinvitation” attempts to get rid of commencement speakers has been on the rise. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, former Secretary of State Condi Rice, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde were targets of such a move.

Everyone should remember that the freedom of speech is one of America’s building blocks. Its importance is signified by being guaranteed in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Pennsylvania administrators responded to the Brennan incident perfectly. They admonished the disruptive students and defended the free exchange of ideas as the “treasured freedom” it is.

“As you exercise your right to free expression, it is critical that you also respect the rights of others to express their ideas and thoughts,” Provost Vincent Price and Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum wrote in an email sent to undergraduate students. “The freedom goes both ways.”