Ditching class won’t hurt your chances of gaining admission to the college of your dreams — and may even help — as long as you’re playing hooky in order to agitate for gun control.
More than 200 universities, including Harvard, Yale and MIT, have rushed to reassure applicants that they won’t be penalized if they’re suspended or otherwise disciplined for participating in peaceful school walkouts spurred by the Feb. 14 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Not only that, but some university officials have commended and encouraged would-be protesters, leaving the impression that those who take to the streets during school hours may be better positioned to win admission than those who obey the rules and attend class.
“#ParklandStudentsSpeak College admission officers seek students who stand up for their beliefs. We’ve got you on this side,” tweeted Kirk Brennan, USC associate dean and director of undergraduate admissions.
#ParklandStudentsSpeak College admission officers seek students who stand up for their beliefs. We’ve got you on this side.
— Kirk Brennan (@kirk_brennan) February 22, 2018
Dartmouth urged students to “speak your truth,” saying the college “applauds students’ expressions of belief,” while Mount Holyoke declared that “we support you fully as you lead peaceful demonstrations against gun violence.”
High school students planning to walk out for gun control on April 20: We’ve got your back. Participation in the nationwide protest or other peaceful actions will not affect admission decisions. Full statement: pic.twitter.com/oFLjlZHb7u
— Univ. of Puget Sound (@univpugetsound) February 24, 2018
“You can be assured that peaceful, responsible protests against gun violence will not negatively impact decisions on admission to Brown,” said the Brown admissions office.
Applicants to Brown: Expect a socially conscious, intellectually independent campus where freedom of expression is fundamentally important. You can be assured that peaceful, responsible protests against gun violence will not negatively impact decisions on admission to Brown.
— Brown Admission (@BrownUAdmission) February 23, 2018
Wake Forest president Nathan O. Hatch gave student protesters his blessing by tweeting, “Prospective @WakeForest students protesting for change: We applaud your courage and would be proud to call you Demon Deacons.”
Prospective @WakeForest students protesting for change: we applaud your courage and would be proud to call you Demon Deacons. Full statement → https://t.co/zE12tfuhG8
— Nathan O. Hatch (@PresidentHatch) February 24, 2018
The overwhelmingly pro-walkout sentiment from colleges threatens to undercut principals struggling to keep the classroom chaos to a minimum, not to mention parents worried about the safety issues associated with crowds of teens flooding the streets during the workday.
In 2014, four Denver police officers were struck by a car as they tried to manage traffic during an impromptu Black Lives Matter walkout by 500 students at East High School, with one officer critically injured after he was dragged underneath the vehicle.
The two national walkouts scheduled so far should be far larger. More than 185,000 students are expected to cut class for the March 14 protest hosted by Women’s March Youth EMPOWER, the youth arm of the left-wing Women’s March, according to a Wednesday press release.
A second protest, the National School Walkout, is slated for April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School mass shooting. The first event falls on a Wednesday, the second on a Thursday.
Colleges seek protesters
Universities rode to the rescue after K-12 officials began warning that walking out would come at a cost, notably Curtis Rhodes, superintendent of the Needville [Texas] Independent School District, who spurred an outcry last week by warning that class-cutters would receive three-day suspensions.
“Life is all about choices and every choice has a consequence whether it be positive or negative. We will discipline no matter if it is one, fifty, or five hundred students involved. All will be suspended for 3 days and parent notes will not alleviate the discipline,” Mr. Rhodes said in an online statement.
After his warning of suspensions met with a spate of negative publicity, superintendent Todd Gray said Waukesha [Wisconsin] School District students would be excused during the walkout if they had notes from their parents.
“Further, if students disrupt the learning environment for others, they will be addressed through our discipline policies, as we expect that our students are learning in a safe, disruption free environment,” said Mr. Gray in a memo, as reported by the Journal Sentinel.
Whatever the headaches for school officials, parents and police, the protests have met with nothing but support from from sympathetic college officials.
“Furthering knowledge requires students and faculty who are willing to share their views and consider others,” Mr. Brennan said in a statement. “Therefore, we do not penalize students for speaking up. In fact, we seek them.”
Would the same standard apply to students cutting class to support conservative or libertarian causes? “Sure. Effective education involves all voices,” tweeted Mr. Brennan.
Not everyone was convinced. As one respondent put it, “I look forward to your office being transparent about which political philosophies the application process encourages and rewards.”
I look forward to your office being transparent about which political philosophies the application process encourages and rewards.
— Vake (@vakeraj) February 23, 2018
Other admissions officials have made no secret of their support for the gun-control agenda behind the walkouts.
Hannah Mendlowitz, Yale assistant director of admissions, said she would be “cheering these students on from New Haven,” adding that those admitted to Yale are expected “to be versed in the issues of social justice.”
“Now, high schoolers have taken the issue of gun control personally. And rightly so,” said Ms. Mendlowitz in a post titled, “In Defense of Student Protests.” “The phrase ’school shooting’ is now ingrained in our national vocabulary; how could our teenagers possibly stand idly by?”
The walkouts have been billed as student-led, although the teens are getting some expert help. The high-powered New York City agency Sunshine Sachs is doing public-relations work for Women’s March Youth EMPOWER, according to a Wednesday press release.
Some high schoolers aren’t waiting for the national events. Groups of students in at least a dozen localities, including St. Louis, Fort Collins, Miami and Minneapolis, have already staged walkouts to call for gun control since the Feb. 14 shooting.
The National Association for College Admissions Counseling has posted a list of colleges issuing updated policies on the walkouts. As of Wednesday, 238 universities had weighed in.
The ACLU pitched in by offering students a March 1 training on their protest rights and urging school officials to go easy on the kids.
“Their activism inspires confidence in the future of our democracy, and their schools should be proud of them,” said the ACLU’s Vera Eidelman. “We hope those schools recognize that even when they are within their right to discipline students for protests, that doesn’t always mean they should.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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