Colleges across the country are taking to Twitter and Facebook assuring admitted and prospective students that if they partake in peaceful protests for stricter gun control, such actions will not impact their admission. In the days and weeks following the massacre in Parkland, FL, demonstrations and walk-outs are being planned by student activists across the country. Ordinarily these protests would be followed by disciplinary action from their high schools, but the current message from several universities and colleges is that not only will your admission not be impacted, but these schools applaud the students’ passion and civic engagement. Schools from the East Coast to Seattle including but not limited to SUNY Binghamton, Brown University, Northeastern,Boston University, University of Puget Sound,and Bucknell have been tweeting and posting assurances. Tweets like the following have been appearing on social media.
“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.” University of Puget Sound
“We want to reassure students who have applied or have been admitted to Northeastern University that disciplinary actions associated with participation in peaceful protests will not jeopardize your admission.” Northeastern University
“If you’ve applied or been admitted to Bucknell University and receive disciplinary action due to participation in peaceful protests, please be assured that it will not impact our admission decision. Questions? Contact us!” Bucknell University
In addition a website has been created allowing prospective students to see updates on which colleges are committed to the #NeverAgain Movement. Check out http://neveragaincolleges.com/ to discover which colleges have set a policy and which have not. With a click of a button one can urge those colleges who have not yet commented to take action. If you do not find an institution’s name on the website, then feel free to reach out to the admission offices and find out about that particular school’s policy.
Students who choose to participate in these activities must note the very important word “peaceful.” Protesters need to be sure that their actions remain consistent with the guidelines posted by the colleges.
As most schools do require that applicants disclose any disciplinary action, taking a chance without all the information could have dire consequences.