Northwestern University human sexuality professor John Michael Bailey came under fire in recent weeks for an after-class demonstration he held on Feb. 21. The optional demonstration involved a naked woman onstage being brought to orgasm multiple times by a mechanical sex toy. Approximately 120 students attended—all legal adults who were warned of the demonstration’s explicit nature and consented to be there. The risque demonstration was followed by a lengthy lecture and Q-and-A session between the students and a guest speaker.

Opponents were quick to cry out that the demonstration was inappropriate, offensive or wrong, but as Bailey pointed out in a statement on March 5, they provided no legitimate reasons to back up their criticism. Rather, it appears his most vocal critics are outraged merely for the sake of outrage. Northwestern administrators stood by Bailey when the news first broke, but they soon changed their tone and said they were “troubled” by the situation after it drew national media attention.

However, many people continue to overlook how the students who attended the demonstration reacted to it. Most considered it to be a positive, enlightening and educational experience that expanded on topics the class had discussed earlier that day, such as various arousal techniques and certain scientifically controversial aspects of the female orgasm. Most of Bailey’s criticism came from outside the university—namely from pundits, parents and alumni who said they thought the demonstration “crossed the line”—without mentioning how Bailey’s students thought it was a valuable educational experience that helped them understand the professor’s points more clearly than a lecture would have.

It is the responsibility of an academic institution to teach students the value of curiosity, free inquiry and question traditional values. It’s not a college’s role to act as a surrogate parent or ensure students adhere to any specific set of moral principles, no matter how many outraged parents insist otherwise. Legitimate academic inquiry should not be stifled because some people are offended by it.

Colleges should encourage professors and students to push the boundaries of academic inquiry. They shouldn’t bow to popular pressure at the first sign of controversy. Taboos and social norms shift throughout time. They always have. It’s the job of academic institutions to examine and analyze these cultural shifts and encourage students to question the world around them. Any action that hinders such efforts is counterproductive to the goals of higher education.