Several Massachusetts colleges and universities are pledging not to rescind the acceptance of any high school student who may be punished for protesting gun violence.

The call to end gun violence, and in its place create stricter and effective gun control, has resonated with students across the United States. Since students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida launched a "Never Again" movement following the devastating school shooting last week, students everywhere are heeding the call to plan localized protests. Several nationwide rallies are in the works, including the "Student Walkout Against Gun Violence" and the "National School Walkout" slated for March 14.

Colleges across the state -- including Worcester Polytechnic Institute, The University of Massachusetts Amherst, Smith College the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- shared public messages this week to express their support for students who may be disciplined for protesting gun violence during school hours.

The announcements were motivated by news of a superintendent in Needville, a town southwest of Houston, Texas, who said students who protested during school hours would be suspended for three days, according to a Washington Post report.

Needville Superintendent Curtis Rhodes issued a written warning that has since gone viral and sparked a discussion of students' first amendment rights. In the warning, Rhodes tells students and parents, "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."

Typically, colleges can rescind student acceptances if the applicant shows a decline in character or academics. A suspension, say, or a failing grade will result in some colleges taking back an acceptance offer.

Massachusetts schools wanted to make it clear that any student punished for participating in the nationwide movement to demand better gun control will not be impacted by poor conduct.

Agreed. I can’t believe I even have to clarify this: students applying to WPI will not be penalized for exercising their 1st Amendment rights to speak out against gun violence.



Thanks @JonBoeckenstedt, @akilbello & others for spreading this movement of support for our students. https://t.co/z2BtVpc7yu — Andrew B. Palumbo (@InsideAdmission) February 22, 2018

To students worried about disciplinary action for getting

suspended for standing up for your beliefs: we’ve got you on this side. #Smith2022 #ParklandStudentsSpeak — Deanna Dixon (@DeanDeannaD) February 22, 2018

"We always encourage students to undertake whatever course of action in life is most meaningful to, and consistent with, their own principles, and not prioritize how it might impact their college applications," Stu Schmill, MIT's dean of admissions and student financial services, wrote in a blog post published Thursday.