美国大学不会惩罚学生抗议枪支暴力

US Universities Won't Punish Students for Protesting Gun Violence

American universities across the country are publicly supporting high school students who participate in peaceful protests against gun violence.

University admissions officials have posted on official websites and the social media service Twitter. The announcements are aimed at students who are applying for colleges and universities. They say students who are suspended for protesting gun violence will not be punished in the application process.

The statements come in response to a national discussion about how to fix the problem of gun violence in American schools.

Supporting the right to protest

On February 14, Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people at his former high school in Parkland, Florida. Since then, high school-age activists² have created a national movement calling on politicians to find a solution to gun violence.

The students have organized many peaceful protests, including a call for a national school walkout on March 14. A march in Washington D.C, called March for Our Lives, is also planned for later in the month. People participating in the events are demanding that U.S. lawmakers in Congress make changes to the country’s gun policies.

However, officials at some high schools have threatened to punish students if they protest during school hours.

For example, an official at the Needville Independent School District in Texas spoke³ about the issue last week. Curtis Rhodes sent a letter to families and wrote on the school’s website. Rhodes said students who take part in protests during school hours will be suspended. That is, the students will not be permitted to return to school for several days, and they will not receive credit for any tests or work they missed during that time.

Rhodes was firm about the rule. He said the district would suspend high school students who protested during school hours “no matter if it is one, fifty, or five hundred students involved." He added that parents who approved the students’ absences from school would not change the rule.

Representing university values

A suspension is a serious punishment in American high schools. It can hurt a student’s chances of being accepted into a college or university.

A high school counselor⁴ in the state of Washington, David Quinn, was concerned about how the suspensions would affect applicants⁵. So he spoke admissions representatives from three schools: DePaul University in Chicago, Trinity University in Washington, and Smith College in Massachusetts.

The educators wanted to create a social media movement supporting students’ right to protest. They posted their support on Twitter.

The movement quickly grew. Now, more than 200 American universities have made public statements promising⁶ not to punish students in the college application process for any peaceful protest-related suspensions.

Hanna Hendlowitz is the senior assistant director of admissions for Yale University. She posted on the school website: “We value student voices on campus and we encourage discourse⁷ and action. To punish our applicants for doing just that would go against the very beliefs that make Yale such a special place to study.”

Stu Schmill is the dean of admissions for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT. He posted on the school’s website: “We have long held that students should not make decisions based on what they think will get them into college, but instead based on values and interests that are important to them… We believe that civic⁸ responsibility is something that is learned best by doing.”

University of California San Diego student Alex Garcia created the website www.neveragaincolleges.com to list the U.S. universities that have made official statements supporting students’ right to protest.

Moving society forward

Angel B. Perez is the vice¹ president of enrollment⁹ and student success at Trinity University in Washington, DC. He told VOA he wasn’t trying to make a political statement or to “choose a side” in the gun debate. Instead, he was supporting students participating in protests as a way to learn and express their ideas.

“It was a representation of our values, what it is that we care about. We want students who stand up for what they believe in, who take controversial views and perspectives… that’s something we would admire in the college admissions process.”

Perez also said peaceful protests are important to American society. Right now, Perez said, people are not “constructively disagreeing with each other.” He says speaking out on social media and holding debates can move society forward on difficult issues.

“Part of what we’re trying to teach them in higher education is to mobilize and stand up for the issues that you believe in, but also learn to listen to the other side. If you are saying to students at the high school level that we are going to punish you for trying to do these things, that actually really disrupts the education process that we are trying to engage in, in higher education.”

Other universities that have publicly supported high school students engaging in peaceful protests include Harvard, University of Virginia, Cornell, and Stanford.

I'm Alice Bryant.

And I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

admire - v. to feel respect or approval for?

application - n. a formal and usually written request for something (such as a job, admission to a school, a loan, etc.)?

constructive¹⁰ - adj. helping¹¹ to develop or improve something?

controversial - adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument?

discourse - n. the use of words to exchange thoughts and ideas?

disrupt - v. to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way?

encourage - v. to make (someone) more determined¹², hopeful, or confident?

engage - v. to get and keep (someone's attention, interest, etc.)?

perspective - n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general)?

mobilize - v. to bring (people) together for action

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

5 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

6 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

7 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

8 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

9 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

10 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。