NCC: ‘Peaceful protests’ won’t affect admission

The nation’s recent mass shooting predicatively touched off a wave of dialogue concerning gun control, with an unlikely group leading the charge: high school students. It’s a surprising, albeit welcome development for this young generation best known for trying to eat laundry detergent.

On Feb. 14, a heavily armed gunman stormed his former high school in an attack that claimed 17 lives and left 14 more wounded. Since then, high school students inspired by the tragedy their peers in Florida endured have become a focal point in the gun control debate. Thousands of students have walked out of classes across the United States to demand action on gun control to prevent similar shootings.

These protests are expected to continue intermittently throughout the next couple months. March 24 will see a March for Life in the streets of Washington, D.C., while similar protests will take place in major cities across the country. Meanwhile, another walkout is planned for April 20, which marks 19 years since the Columbine shooting.

The hashtags #ParklandStudentsSpeak and #StudentsStandUp are trending on Twitter and show national growth in student involvement:

 

Obviously, it’s typically frowned upon to simply up-and-leave school, but these are different conditions. High schools have been overwhelmingly supportive of students who want to take part in peaceful walkouts and protests, and excused absences related to activism. However, one Texas superintendent — a registered Republican, some media outlets were quick to note — garnered national attention for threatening students with a three-day suspension if they protested; he proved to be the exception.

While there doesn’t appear to be any recorded instances of students actually being suspended for protesting, some colleges and universities took the initiative to reassure prospective students that activism-related absences or disciplinary actions wouldn’t be held against them. Some Ivy League and other East Coast schools led the charge, with Dartmouth College encouraging students to “Speak your truth.”

Since then, dozens of schools across the nation followed suit. The National Association for College Admission Counseling created a page that provides an up-to-date list of schools that have made statements regarding student activism. So far, 210 institutions have done so, including eight from Illinois, notably Augustana College, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois.

As for North Central, Martha Stolze, the dean of admissions, says the College “hasn’t formally crafted a policy yet.” But that doesn’t mean students would be in danger if they decide to participate. “We review cases on an individualized basis,” Stolze said. “We’re typically concerned about students that might threaten others.”

However, as of March 5, the Office of Admissions tweeted out that students would not have their enrollment in the College affected by potential protests or walkouts.

While some North Central students agreed high school students are within their rights to protest, others disagreed on whether they should face disciplinary action at school.

“I believe students should exercise their right to protest as stated in the First Amendment,” said Elena Hauser, ’21. “However they should be prepared to accept the repercussions that come from that.”

But Alyssa Tovar, ’21, disagreed: “Students should be allowed to protest peacefully and not be penalized by the institution they attend. All our lives we are taught to stand up for what we believe, and schools penalizing students for protesting is discouraging them for fighting for their beliefs.”

In a statement regarding the Stoneman Douglas shooting, Student Government Association president Connor McGury, ’18, said it is “important that we continue to have an open dialogue on recent events and situations that students feel passionately about.”

Despite the recent protests, school shootings are still happening. On March 2, a Central Michigan University student reportedly shot and killed his parents inside a residence hall, marking the 12th school shooting of 2018. The suspect was apprehended without incident around midnight on March 3, after spending the rest of the day on the run.