Young Americans are frequently criticized for their apathy and lack of understanding of the political process and civic participation in general. In fact, in 1997, according to a UCLA survey, only 27 percent of college freshmen, nationwide, even take enough interest in politics to keep current. 

In light of such data, it might seem that when today’s youth take the initiative to make an impact on politics and society, that they would be encouraged and supported, especially by educators.

But this hasn’t been the case for David Dial, an eleventh grader in Broomfield, Colorado, who wants to make known to politicians and the country, his and his fellow classmates’ opposition to the pending war against Iraq. More troubling, he has actually met strict resistance from school authorities.

On March 5, a peaceful, international anti-war demonstration will take place. The student walkout is sponsored by the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition.  Dial has been attempting to post fliers in his own school to announce the event, but has been denied the right to do so.  When he posted the fliers anyway, he received a one-day suspension. 

The school administrators argue that it would be an interruption of the educational process and that the walkout would be against school rules. A spokesperson for the school said that the problem was not the particular view, but the appearance that the school was in support of the walkout, itself.

According to Dial, the dean has indicated that if the walkout does take place, he could be expelled, although a spokesperson for the school has suggested a less severe discipline measure would be imposed such as suspension or work detail.

I can certainly see how it would be a problem if student walkouts were commonplace. But how one day could be so catastrophic to the educational process is beyond me, especially given numerous other occasions when classroom time is interrupted for nonacademic activities such as field trips to theme or water parks, pep assemblies, and the like. 

According to a March 21, 2001, report in car Education Week online, the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress test found that, despite students performing well on basic facts about the government, most lacked deeper understanding of our government and political processes.

There may be far more value to this walkout than the school administrators realize or care to admit.  While it may serve immediately and most visibly as a protest against war, where students are actively working as a team to attract the attention of our government with hopes it will lead to a change, there are other ways that students may learn and gain from the event as well.

Should the demonstration prove unsuccessful in halting an advancing war, the seriousness of the President’s actions and the students’ strong opposition to it might bring them to the conclusion that participation in the political process, from the very start, by campaigning and voting, is the best measure for preventing such circumstances in the future.

Furthermore, students are going to engage in discussion before, during, and after the walkout because they’re choosing to be involved in it. This may lead students who otherwise would not show interest in politics, to listen and even participate in discussion about it.  Students on both sides of the issue will be talking and hopefully learning how to engage in civil debate and hear each others’ sides. In turn this could lead to discussion of various aspects of politics and government, leading to deeper levels of understanding. 

Teachers could also use the opportunity to talk with students during class time about the students’ activism in relationship to the walkout, the overall effectiveness of their plan, and other ways that students can participate in the political process, both now and in the future when they’re old enough to vote.

One of the main reasons many Americans don’t bother to go to the polls is because they fail to realize that one person can make a difference. In the end, hopefully events such as the walkout will lead more students to understand the importance of each person’s contribution in the political process. 

Kimberly Blaker’s The Wall™ appears weekly. She is editor and coauthor of the The Fundamentals of Extremism: the Christian Right in America. Send your comments to Kimberly Blaker: TheWall@TheWall-OnChurchAndState.com   © 2002, Kimberly Blaker

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