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High school students across the country have rallied together to call for gun control and reform in wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting that killed 17 people on February 14.
Many are protesting under the #NeverAgain movement, and intend to participate in the March for Our Lives demonstration on March 24. The movement has raised millions of dollars and ushered in legislative talks, including a listening session with President Donald Trump and a CNN-hosted town hall with politicians such as Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
In response, more than 190 U.S. colleges and universities—or officials working for those entities—have issued statements that prospective students or those already accepted to their programs will not be punished for peaceful activism, according to a #NeverAgain Colleges website, which tracks such statements.
Among the more than 30 states that have institutions publicizing support, Massachusetts and New York lead the pack with over 45 universities.
Here's a breakdown of universities, by state. Note: This data is based on a site compilation and may be incomplete.
California:
University of California Berkeley
Dear prospective students: We fully support your right to peacefully protest, and would never refuse your admittance for doing so. Signed, the home of free speech
— UC Berkeley (@UCBerkeley) February 24, 2018
CalTech University
University of California Los Angeles
Mills College
Pomona College
Occidental College
Scripps College
ArtCenter College
Harvey Mudd College
University of Southern California
University of California Davis
Chapman University
University of Redlands
Colorado:
Colorado State University
University of Colorado Boulder
Regis University
University of Colorado Denver
Connecticut:
University of Connecticut
I’m in too. I would never punish students in the #Admissions process for standing up for what they believe in. https://t.co/aJZ5OBjVOo
— Angel B. Pérez (@AngelBPerez) February 22, 2018
Sacred Heart University
University of New Haven
Wesleyan University
Connecticut College
Trinity College
Florida:
Florida International University
Eckerd University
University of Florida
UF supports the First Amendment right to freedom of expression, including by peaceful and lawful protest. We would not consider participating in such a protest a negative in our admission process. We will review conduct that leads to discipline on a case-by-case basis.
— UF Admissions (@UFAdmissions) February 24, 2018
Stetson University
Georgia:
Illinois:
Northwestern University
2/2 While we’ll continue to review all applicant and admitted-student disciplinary actions on a case-by-case basis, rest assured that a school-issued penalty for peaceful participation in such protests will not jeopardize your admission to Northwestern.
— Northwestern Undergraduate Admissions (@NorthwesternADM) February 23, 2018
DePaul University
Wheaton College
Illinois State University
Bradley University
Knox College
Indiana:
University of Notre Dame
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions respects a student's right to participate in peaceful protests and demonstrations. Students will not be negatively impacted in our admissions process if they choose to participate in such protests and are disciplined by their high schools.
— ND Admissions (@NDadmissions) February 27, 2018
Ball State University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Blackburn College
Goshen College
Iowa:
Cornell College
Kentucky:
Bellarmine University
Louisiana:
Tulane University
Maine:
Colby College
University of New England
Maryland:
St. John's College
University of Maryland
We recognize that students benefit from civic discourse and dialogue. Non-academic disciplinary action from high school will not affect a student’s admission to the University of Maryland if they are engaged in peaceful and respectful protest.
— ApplyMaryland (@ApplyMaryland) February 26, 2018
Loyola University Maryland
Goucher College
Washington College
Massachusetts:
Harvard University
Boston College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Emerson College
Emerson College believes in the transformative power of dissent as a catalyst for social change. The College supports the right of all students to participate in peaceful protests without fear of reprisal. (1/2)
— Emerson College (@EmersonCollege) February 24, 2018
Brandeis University
Bridgewater State University
Springfield University
Hampshire College
Mount Holyoke College
Smith College
University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Students: If you participate in peaceful protests against gun violence and receive school discipline for walking out, staging your protest, etc., please rest assured that you can report it to UMass Amherst, and we won't hold it against you. #ParklandStudentsSpeak
— UMass Undergraduate Admissions (@UMassAdmissions) February 22, 2018
Clark University
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Babson College
Williams College
Suffolk University
Salem State University
Michigan:
Albion College
Minnesota:
Carleton College
Our statement to prospective students/admitted students regarding peaceful protesting. #WeStandWithYou #ParklandStudentsSpeak #LiveTheMission pic.twitter.com/hWrWeTNkRr
— Carleton College (@CarletonCollege) February 26, 2018
Macalester College
Missouri:
Washington University in St. Louis
Lindenwood University
New Hampshire:
Dartmouth College
New York:
New York University
2/2: Other than acts of violence, NYU does not consider any form of school disciplinary action as part of our admissions process. Therefore we would not take account of school discipline in a circumstance of peaceful protest on a pressing matter of national debate.
— New York University (@nyuniversity) February 25, 2018
Rochester Institute of Technology
Adelphi University
Fordham University
Hamilton College
Hofstra University
University of Rochester
Colgate University
At Colgate, and as now articulated by many of our peers, Colgate will not penalize applicants or admitted students involved in lawful, peaceful protest during their high school years.
— Colgate University (@colgateuniv) February 25, 2018
Sarah Lawrence College
Barnard College
Union College
The New School
Binghamton University
Saint Mary's College
Pace University
Purchase College SUNY
New Jersey:
Rutgers University
We want to reassure students who have applied or have been admitted to @RutgersU that disciplinary actions associated with participation in peaceful protests will not jeopardize your admission.
— Rutgers University (@RutgersU) February 26, 2018
Drew University
Seton Hall University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology
The College of New Jersey
The College of New Jersey encourages civil discourse and respects the rights of students to participate in peaceful and lawful protests. Discipline resulting from such participation will not be held against applicants to TCNJ.
— TCNJ Admissions (@TCNJ_Admissions) February 26, 2018
North Carolina:
North Carolina State University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Elon University
Duke University
Wake Forest University
Ohio:
Kenyon College
#KenyonCollege encourages rigorous and civil discourse. Discipline resulting from responsible civil action will not have a negative influence on applications to Kenyon. #StudentsStandUp #Kenyon2022
— Kenyon College (@KenyonCollege) February 24, 2018
Oberlin College
Ohio Wesleyan University
Case Western Reserve University
College of Wooster
Denison University
Oregon:
Willamette University
Reed College
Pennsylvania:
Pennsylvania State University
Students who are disciplined for walking out or otherwise staging a respectful and peaceful protest against gun violence, are hereby assured that it can be reported on their Penn State application without adverse effect on their admission decision.
— Penn State (@penn_state) February 24, 2018
Carnegie Mellon University
Franklin & Marshall College
University of Pittsburgh
Lebanon Valley College
Villanova University
Dickinson College
Lafayette College
Lafayette has joined other colleges and universities in promising not to penalize applicants who may be suspended by their high schools for participating in walkouts to protest gun violence
— Alison Byerly (@alisonbyerly) February 23, 2018
Allegheny College
Widener University
Haverford College
Juniata College
Ursinus College
Rhode Island:
Brown University
Johnson & Wales University
Providence College
South Carolina:
University of South Carolina
The Carolinian Creed is central to who we are and what we do, including when standing up for one's beliefs in a peaceable, civil and lawful way. #UofSC applicants and admitted students, you should not be concerned about how it might impact your admission. pic.twitter.com/IrN3TuFNfz
— UofSC Admissions (@UofSCAdmissions) February 25, 2018
Furman University
Tennessee:
Sewanee: The University of the South
Rhodes College
Texas:
Southwestern University
Rice University
Trinity University
Utah:
Westminster College
Vermont:
Bennington College
University of Vermont
Goddard College
Champlain College
Virginia:
University of Richmond
What we know we can do right now is to reiterate our policy that those who choose to peaceably participate in civic protest will not be impacted negatively in any way in the admissions process to the University of Richmond.
— University of Richmond (@urichmond) February 26, 2018
Virginia Tech University
The College of William and Mary
Radford University
George Mason University
Washington, D.C.:
We provide all applicants an opportunity to elaborate on any disciplinary infraction and carefully consider all context they provide. Participation in a peaceful protest will not negatively impact admission to Georgetown.
— Georgetown Admissions (@gogeorgetown) February 26, 2018
Catholic University of America
The George Washington University
Trinity Washington University
Washington state:
University of Washington
Seattle University
Gonzaga University
Whitman College
University of Puget Sound
West Virginia:
West Virginia University
Wisconsin:
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Lawrence University
About the writer
Taylor Swaak is a breaking news and education reporter for Newsweek with published work in Newsday and the Hartford Courant, as ... Read more