Will joining protests hurt your chances of getting into university?

Discipline IS a factor in US university admissions. Misconducts of the criminal, civil and educational forms will likely be asked to be disclosed in applications. These will then be reviewed by the admissions team.

It shall come as a relief to thousands of students then that many universities have come out in support of the planned nationwide student walkouts and protests against gun violence, following the tragedy of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

On March 24 we will take the streets of Washington DC and our communities across the country to #MarchForOurLives. Sign up at https://t.co/2m7ItdfFjV pic.twitter.com/yokyEdj7Jq

— March For Our Lives ☮️🟧 (@AMarch4OurLives) February 18, 2018

Universities have assured students that their chances of admission will not be affected by any disciplinary action they may face from their current high school for participating in the upcoming peaceful protests.

Indiana University-Bloomington’s admissions office tweeted Saturday:

“At IU, we encourage students to engage in meaningful, informed, and civil discourse regarding difficult and important issues.”

“Disciplinary action associated with participation in peaceful protest will not affect your admission decision in any way.”

According to ThinkProgress, other institutions who have posted similar messages include Dartmouth College, Tulane University, University of Puget Sound, John Hopkins University, Northeastern University, Brown University, University of Connecticut, University of California, Los Angeles.

Dartmouth supports active citizenship and applauds students’ expression of their beliefs. pic.twitter.com/TlcKcQIxQ1

— Dartmouth 🌲 (@dartmouth) February 23, 2018

Working toward meaningful change on issues of consequence is central to who we are as a community, as expressed by our motto, "Challenge Convention. Change Our World." If you’re considering Clark, we doubt you’re waiting for our permission to stand up for your beliefs. 2/3

— Clark University (@ClarkUniversity) February 23, 2018

Texas school district says it will suspend all students who take part in "any type of protest or awareness” in aftermath of the Parkland school shooting: https://t.co/LTegTHAS78 pic.twitter.com/jfaN0WsVw6

— Sarah McLaughlin (@sarahemclaugh) February 21, 2018

Some high schools in the US have announced that they will suspend students who take part in “any type of protest or awareness”.

Students who protest during school hours face a three-day suspension, a district superintendent in Texas said, ABC News reported.

In a Facebook post that has since been deleted, Rhodes wrote, “Life is all about choices and every choice has a consequence whether it be positive or negative. We will discipline no matter if it is one, fifty, or five hundred students involved.”

Superintendent of Needville Independent School District, Curtis Rhodes, wrote in a Facebook post that has since been deleted:

“Life is all about choices and every choice has a consequence whether it be positive or negative. We will discipline no matter if it is one, fifty, or five hundred students involved.”

Heather Mesch and her daughter Alexa hold roses before placing them next to crosses and Stars of David placed in front of the fence of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to commemorate the victims of the Parkland mass shooting on Feb 21, 2018. Source: Reuters

This month, a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida left 17 students and staff dead – the deadliest high school shooting in America since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

Unlike previous shootings, the survivors are now the nation’s public faces for gun control, dominating news headlines, social media and taking on the powerful National Rifle Association.

A nationwide rally “A March For Our Lives” is scheduled for March 24, where students, their families as well as celebrities will take to the streets to demand for an end to gun violence and mass shootings in US schools.

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