school districts and administrators are working hard to scare students out of protesting in the wake of the Parkland shooting.
donât fall for their bullshit. you have the right to speak up and make yourself heard. a local superintendent doesnât overrule the first amendment, much as they might like to.
and hereâs an open invitation: Iâm a teacher, recent PhD, one-time educational administrator (although not in a public school), and hopefully soon to be a college professor. if you need advice on navigating the crap your school is giving you or minimizing the impact they can have on your chances of getting into the college of your dreams, message me. Iâll help you find legal resources, write admissions essays, find ways to argue for your right to protest to your school board - whatever I can do.
please signal boost this, and if youâre someone who can help (civil rights lawyer? college admissions counsellor? experienced activist leader?), join in and let young activists know what you can do to help.
Hi there is no such thing as a âpermanent recordâ outside of the legal system. Your school records donât go to the FBI or the cops.
Also if you get suspended or punished for protesting, call the ACLU. Thereâs case law protecting the first amendment rights of students. They can help.
Not to mention,
âI see you got suspended. Why?â
âI got suspended for organizing/participating in a direct action initiative to address gun violence in American schools in the wake of the Florida Shooting.â
That shows an engagement with current events and an active participation in civil government. Trust me, colleges eat that shit up with a spoon.
the common application will specifically ask you to write an essay explaining why you got suspended, and you absolutely imagine you could use it to sell yourself as a candidate in this situation
My school has already assured some admitted incoming freshmen that their status will not be affected by suspensions, etc. related to walkouts. If youâre concerned about that, reach out to your school(s) of choice and shoot the admissions office an email. They probably have either released a statement or have a standard response by now.
Is there any tips anyone can give concerning private schools and students within the schools that try to protest?
private schools are a lot less limited in what they can do than public schools. most vitally, they can expel you with very little reason. tread very carefully dealing with a private school. study your schoolâs handbook, the policies on attendance, expression, discipline. they canât go outside the lines of whatâs allowed under their own rules (or if they do, your family has grounds to sue). also, it makes a big difference whether or not the administration is supportive of student political engagement, so try to get a sense of that. you might even ask a teacher you trust if, in general, the school would be likely to crack down on protests.
it may be safer to act entirely outside the school grounds if you go to a private school that seems likely to be unfriendly toward you speaking out. you could arrange to start your action out by the busses first thing in the morning, and walk away from school without ever going inside - then, theoretically, the most they could punish you for would be absence from class, and thereâs almost certainly a written policy that spells out a maximum penalty for that.

























