“Applicants who choose to peacefully exercise their right to free speech do not need to be anxious about the consequences in the #Admissions process”.
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“Yale will NOT be rescinding anyone’s admission decision for participating in peaceful walkouts for this or other causes, regardless of any high school’s disciplinary policy”, Hannah Mendlowitz, a senior assistant director of admissions and recruitment at Yale University, wrote on Friday in a blog post.
Brown University is assuring politically active high school students that they will not be penalized in the admission process if they are arrested as part of a political protest.
UM’s response came less than a week after high school students across the country have protested and walked out of classes to support gun control and school safety.
One of the nationwide protests, the March For Our Lives in Washington and other cities, is set for Saturday, March 24 – and thus, fears of school suspensions would be moot. Universities are fertile grounds for peaceful protests, and the initiative shown by these student activists is worth commending, considering their activism has spurred change.
The four universities joined a lengthening list of universities that are issuing reassurances after a few school districts in Texas and Wisconsin threatened to suspend students who participate in walkouts to protest the recent mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. But Vice President of Enrollment Linda Quimby said through a spokesman Monday that all applicants to the university are evaluated holistically, and the reasoning for any past suspensions is taken into consideration.
Hatch, of Wake Forest, applauded high school students’ efforts, saying, “We believe in your passion, your resolve, and your willingness to engage in thoughtful conversation”.
After the Parkland shooting, students from around the country organized walkouts at their respective high schools.
He said he couldn’t remember another such time, and certainly not one when students were asking his office and alumni interviewers if walking out of class to protest could imperil their admission prospects.
Schools can’t bring more serious consequences to students for expressing a political view – even if the view isn’t supported by school administrators.
Some high schools are pushing back against national protests like March for Our Lives and National School Walkout with internal policies. On Twitter, students behind the protest claim, “We are students, we are victims, we are change”.
“There is no doubt that this statement is very specific and very narrow to what students are doing today as an outcry against these repeated events of violence in their school”, Walter said.
While we can not condone weekly or even monthly occurrences like this, we try to encourage our students’ interest in expressing their ideas and opinions.
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“Fundamental to our mission is our belief that students have the right to protest peacefully about issues of concern to them”, the new statement reads.
