美国国家公共电台 NPR Students Get Mixed Messages On Whether Protesting Will Get Them In Trouble

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

As students across the country protest gun violence, schools have reacted in different ways. Some have tried to crack down, even threatening to suspend the protesters. But many colleges are sending students the opposite message. They're encouraging and congratulating the teens' activism. NPR's Tovia Smith reports.

TOVIA SMITH, BYLINE¹: Since last month's mass shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead, the wave of student protests has been building.

VIKIANA PETIT-HOMME: So if you are in this room, we want you to help plan this movement because...

SMITH: Vikiana Petit-Homme, a Boston Latin Academy junior, led an organizing meeting in Boston last night urging students to join a national walkout planned for March 14.

PETIT-HOMME: ...Yeah, so can we please split up, groups of three and four? Logistics. Finance.

SMITH: But some students here say their schools are discouraging their protests, like New Mission High School junior Ariyana Jones.

ARIYANA JONES: Teachers, like, will tell you straight up, like, if you were to walk out, you would get written up and suspended. And they are trying to intimidate² students. And I feel like it's working because they don't want to get that on their record or get in trouble period.

SMITH: Other schools have sent explicit³ threats in writing. The superintendent⁴ in Needville, Texas, posted a warning on Facebook forbidding demonstrations⁵ during school hours and threatening three-day suspensions for anyone taking part. The post has since been taken down and the school declined to comment, but the warning got students worried and lawyers involved. Texas ACLU attorney Kali Cohn says the hard-line approach is unconstitutional.

KALI COHN: That's really what that is, is it's retaliation⁶ for a student expressing their First Amendment⁷ rights.

SMITH: Cohn says the crackdown also flies in the face of schools' mission as affirmed by the U.S. Supreme⁸ Court to prepare young people to be engaged citizens. As it turns out, colleges couldn't agree more.

JENNIFER WALKER: From a Brandeis perspective, I think speaking up and speaking out is a good fit for our campus culture.

SMITH: Brandeis University Dean of Admissions Jennifer Walker says if a student is suspended for peaceful protest not only will it not hurt their chances of getting accepted, it may actually help.

WALKER: Having the bravery to stand up, to organize people to stand up for what they believe, that takes a lot of courage. And that is certainly something that I think would be applauded here.

SMITH: Scores of other colleges are sending a similar message telling students they do not have to choose between speaking out and getting in, as MIT put it. It all seems to have prompted some high schools to soften⁹ their stance. In Virginia, Prince William County schools had sent out a letter warning that students who disrupt class or leave school without permission will face disciplinary action. After a bit of an uproar¹⁰, officials said they sent the wrong message and promised to be flexible. But Associate Superintendent Phil Kavits says schools have to balance students' rights with students' safety.

PHIL KAVITS: There have been examples in the past where people have done walkouts where they've perhaps decided¹¹ to march down busy streets. And when they do that, we've lost the ability to keep them safe.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #1: If you - did you sign it? Yeah, so, like, I'll contact you.

SMITH: In Boston, high schoolers gathered last night were still waiting for an official school policy on protests when school superintendent Tommy Chang popped in unexpectedly. He offered his encouragement.

TOMMY CHANG: I just wanted to say it's great that you guys are doing this work. I can't stay. I just want to say hello.

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT #2: Thank you.

CHANG: OK. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: The kids are concerned about getting disciplinary action if they walk.

CHANG: They will not be disciplined.

SMITH: That was welcome news to students like Vikiana Petit-Homme. But she says no official policy would've stopped her anyway.

PETIT-HOMME: At this point, we've seen that the adults are not doing what they are supposed to be doing, which is keep us safe. So we're done going to them and asking for permission.

SMITH: Protests will be peaceful, Petit-Homme says, but some disruption is needed to get attention and make change. And no matter what, there will definitely be a college essay out of it. Tovia Smith, NPR News, Boston.

(SOUNDBITE OF HOT CHIP SONG, "THE WARNING")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

3 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

4 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

6 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

10 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。