Feb 28, 2018 3 min read

Barbara Ehrenreich, the social critic and author, once observed that “dissent, rebellion and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.”

Legions of high school students around the country who have lived with the specter of school shootings for their entire lives – keep in mind that today’s seniors were not yet born when the massacre happened at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 – have decided to give vent to their anger and frustration about the country’s gun laws by staging walkouts and protests at their schools in the wake of the Feb. 14 massacre in Parkland, Fla.

Administrators and teachers who can see beyond the daily demands of the classroom routine or maintaining ironclad discipline realize students participating in peaceful protests is a tremendous “teachable moment.”

As long as students don’t break windows, hurl Molotov cocktails, hurt people or damage property in any other way, engaging in these protests can impart valuable lessons on civic engagement and involvement, how laws are made or changed, and injustices remedied.

Who knows, today’s student protesters could decide to one day extend their involvement by running for city council seats or becoming school board members. Maybe something more.

Perhaps not surprisingly, some administrators have warned their students that any kinds of protests on school time will not be tolerated and result in disciplinary action. For students worried about getting into a college or university, a black mark on their disciplinary record could make the difference when it comes to an institution where the competition is intense. That could make some a little apprehensive about participating, no matter how important the issue may be to them.

Fortunately, an escalating number of colleges and universities have decided to let prospective students know that it’s OK if they want to protest peacefully, and any disciplinary action will not be held against them.

To cite an example, here’s what Nathan O. Hatch, the president of Wake Forest University, had to say: “It is time for courage and time for compromise. And it is time for real conversation in which every idea and every person is taken seriously. We stand with you as you seek the truth and endeavor to make this a more perfect union.”

Hatch continued, “Wake Forest University joins dozens of colleges and universities in assuring all those applicants who choose to participate in peaceful protest in response to the tragic events that transpired in Parkland, Fla.”

In this region, both the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University have let applicants know their protests will not be held against them, with the Pitt admissions office saying it will “not penalize students for exhibiting leadership or activism conducted in a respectful manner as part of peaceful protests.”

These colleges and universities should be commended. They realize that to students who might soon be on their campuses, issues surrounding gun violence are more urgent than one day’s algebra class. That’s something more adults need to wake up to.