Something WE ALL can do to support the student protesters: contact our local high schools
Last edited Fri Feb 23, 2018, 08:18 AM - Edit history (1)
and urge them NOT to suspend or otherwise discipline students who take part in peaceful gun protests.
AND for those of us who went to college, contact our alma mater's admissions department, and ask them to join the other schools that have announced that they will not penalize in the admissions process any high school students who get suspended or disciplined because of participation in peaceful protests.
MIT was one of the leaders, in a long blog post about this issue, and other colleges and universities have also joined in supporting these young people in peaceful protests. If you're not sure what to say, read MIT's statement. Maybe it will give you some ideas.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/02/23/admissions-officers-take-stand-back-high-school-students-engaged-anti-gun-protests
High schoolers regularly joke about infractions that might end up on their "permanent record," the one that will be reported to colleges to which they apply. But now some school districts, faced with growing activism by high school students pushing for tougher gun laws, have promised to suspend students who stage walkouts or protests during school hours. The superintendent of a Houston-area district specified that all such activity would result in three-day suspensions, even if parents authorized participation.
For those students who have been accepted to college, have applications pending or would apply in the future, suspensions can be serious business. Many colleges require high schools to report on suspensions and some other sanctions against students. And so students have been asking: If I join the growing protest movement, will I endanger my admission to college?
On Wednesday and Thursday, a number of colleges answered that question: such suspensions will not be held against applicants in the future or those already admitted to college, whose high schools would also report suspensions. It is highly unusual for college admissions offices to tell high schoolers that being suspended won't hurt their chances, but statements from admissions leaders made clear that they would view such suspensions as highly unusual if not inappropriate.
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Further, Schmill expressed support for the idea of participating in protests that reflect student values. "We also believe that civic responsibility is, like most things at MIT, something you learn best by doing: indeed, to be civically responsible is to put into practice the obligation we owe to each other and to the common good." He added, "So: if any admitted students or applicants are disciplined by their high school for practicing responsible citizenship by engaging in peaceful, meaningful protest related to this (or any other) issue, we will still require them to report it to us. However, because we do not view such conduct on its face as inappropriate or inconsistent with their prior conduct, or anything we wouldn't applaud amongst our own students, it will not negatively impact their admissions outcome."
Schmill was not the only one to speak out. On Twitter, admissions leaders from the California Institute of Technology, DePaul University, Smith College, Trinity College in Connecticut, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Worcester Polytechnic Institute all posted assurances to students. Tulane University published such a statement on its admissions blog.
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