Ever since the massacre that left 17 people dead at a high school in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day this year, high school students and their educators have been planning protests and walkouts to draw attention to the inaction by legislature to prevent school shootings.
Brandon Moulton / equinox staff
While many are passionate about this issue, it is natural that some high school students may fear college rejection should they be suspended or even arrested for engaging in civic action.
Many colleges and universities, big and small, are sharing with the world that students’ protesting will not affect admission.
On Feb. 26, Keene State College posted on their official Facebook page that they would not deny or revoke admission to prospective students if they should face punishment due to protesting.
While the post gathered 162 likes in just a couple days and a good amount of supportive feedback, some alumni have commented that it is disappointing their alma mater is supporting student protests. One said KSC was encouraging students to be “a bunch of snowflake victim mentality whiny babies.”
I believe their disappointment and name-calling is misplaced.
If you don’t want high school students to break the rules, then how would you suggest that they engage civically?
If a nationwide walk-out is organized to protest gun violence and students are punished for walking out, we are therefore teaching students to conform and to comply instead of fighting for justice.
While these protests are in their formative stages, many social movements were organized by young people and students.
Teenagers were mowed down by fire hoses and arrested in huge numbers for protesting segregation in the 1950s and 1960s, and students at Kent State University were killed by the National Guard for protesting the draft in 1970.
Many people look back at these protesters 50 years later as those who should be celebrated for fighting for what was right.
They weren’t “snowflake whiny babies,” and they didn’t have a “victim mentality.” They were people going in the direction of progress and imploring the government and the other adults in power to make a change. What they did worked.
Similarly to the social movements of the 1960s, young people are facing inaction by legislatures. They are also facing violence and even death, be it the Vietnam War or their high school cafeteria.
My little sister is a senior in high school, and she is one of the smartest and most passionate people I know. She and her friends inspire me in the way they participate in protests and social movements, both in-person and digitally. She is planning on walking out of school on March 24. One alumni commented that high school students will look for any reason to skip class, and therefore protest organizers are making them “pawns to be manipulated.” My sister is not a pawn. She is an activist, and she knows exactly what she is doing, just like all of these students across the country.
Give high schoolers more credit. They are real people who fear going to school because of these tragedies. We may joke about them eating laundry detergent in 2018, but they will vote in 2020. They will make KSC proud, should they choose to attend this school, and I’m glad that KSC is making a place for them.
Abby Shepherd can be contacted at ashepherd@kscequinox.com
