I think it would be better to allow people to express their opinions, try to understand where they are coming from, and then challenge them.

hmm, in my experience/opinion, (undergrad) college is not a great environment for that. college is one giant "safe space." students say the stupidest things when they raise their hand (it varies by subject), but a teacher can't go Billy Madison on his or her ass, even when i sometimes wish they would lol. half-serious,

maybe i'm biased, but the internet is the best medium for that. you are free to say what you want, observe what others say, and form your own opinions without the nuances of in-person/group communication that obstruct the flow of ideas. you have access to the highest levels of discussion going on if you can filter for the good online communities. over time, provided one has a decent sense of emotional intelligence, you can figure out which people aren't worth the time engaging, and the internet offers you the freedom to simply walk away when you've decided someone isn't worth your time. it's like women blocking a guy off Tinder versus having to deal with the possibility of being harassed in person. the internet has its advantages. one also doesn't need to engage. just genuinely reading blogs and following people on twitter whose ideas either challenge yours or are completely unrelated expands your mind.

if not the internet, then in-person discussion with a small, selected sample of individuals (ex: in the context of education, think grad school or smaller, upper-level philosophy-based classes) i would think works well.

undergrad college classes are rarely conducive to good discussion, it's a flawed model. more importantly, and unfortunately, when people talk about "expanding your mind" and "challenging your views," in this Milo/BLM kind of context, what they usually refer to are morals and political ideals, which is doomed from the start. it's precisely why i can't take Free Speech Warriors any more seriously than i can take left extremists. this Milo guy is a sociopathic troll, not a gentlemanly scholar. he's good at getting paid to rally people and piss off others, i will give him that. but anyone who subscribes to him has gone too far down the hole. his Facebook event literally had people taking photos with him as if they met their Jesus Christ Savior. to think the average person among them would actually sit in some Gender Studies class with an open-mind is silly. the Free Speech/Intellectualism card is just an (effective) propaganda tool meant to attack an opposing group. defending the integrity of higher education becomes their fight.

i would say it's nice that they don't march into classrooms and throw paint everywhere, but if the opportunity presented itself to cause disruption, they absolutely would.. i have no personal opinion on GamerGate, but considering Milo is associated with that act, it's obvious they are happy to play that game.