“Young people have helped lead all our great movements. How inspiring to see it again in so many smart, fearless students standing up for their right to be safe; marching and organizing to remake the world as it should be. We’ve been waiting for you. And we’ve got your backs.”

Eight days after the mass-shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, former president Barack Obama tweeted the above message, publically denoting his support for student walkouts against gun violence.

Following the Parkland shooting on Feb. 14, hundreds of students across the country have arranged walkouts to protest gun violence, advocate for gun control, and give voice to the 17 students and staff members silenced by our government’s failure to pass adequate gun control policy.

Through various social media outlets, “come to action” movements have begun to spread. CNN created the hashtag #yesCNN as a platform for people to share photos and stories of their student walkouts.

A debate is surfacing, as some school administrations are threatening to punish students for participating in these peaceful protests.

The Needville Independent School District in Texas threatened a three-day suspension for all students engaging in a walkout. “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. All will be suspended for 3 days and parent notes will not alleviate the discipline,” Superintendent Curtis Rhodes posted on the Needville High School Facebook page. “A school is a place to learn and grow educationally, emotionally and morally. A disruption of the school will not be tolerated,” he said.

Rhodes’ statement has gone viral, gaining attention from many members of the Twitter community. “#CurtisRhodes should be ashamed of himself. Suspend the whole damn school you a**hole! At least your students will be safe for those 3 days off. Can you make that same promise the other 177? #yesCNN” tweeted Kyle Rainey by the pen name @clubkyle.

I fail to see how exercising one’s right to free speech qualifies as a “disruption of the school.” The purpose of school is to provide us with the education needed to excel when we turn 18 and are released into the “real world.”

If we students are denied our right to peaceful protest, the “real world” my generation will face will be one plagued by catastrophic gun violence.

The hypocrisy communicated by these schools is a disservice to everyone in the community. Our generation is standing up to address an issue that current politicians have failed to undertake, and yet the acknowledgment they receive is public ostracism followed by disciplinary action.

Despite the number of districts dissociating their schools from the walkouts, multiple schools have embraced the movement, encouraging youth to take part in the call to action, including many high schools across the Chicagoland area.

As stated in the Chicago Tribune, the administration and students of York High School have worked together to plan a get-out-to-vote drive and organize their plan to join the national walkouts. Drew McGuire, the assistant principal of activities, emphasized the importance of students communicating with administrators about adressing current issues. “You guys are the generation that is going to make some sort of change if change is going to happen,” McGuire said. “We want to support you in that, but we also want to make sure you’re safe.”

Oak Park-River Forest High School also showed their support, assisting thousands of students in a walkout Feb. 21. “They have a right to peacefully protest. Our goal is to ensure that they are kept safe in the process,” Principal Nathaniel Rouse told school faculty and staff in an email early Wednesday.

Schools claiming that the protests are “disruptive” can learn from schools such as Oak Park. Supporting the walkout allowed security staff, school administrators and police officers to be available on the scene to monitor the rally.

Everyone deserves to feel safe and protected at school. The members of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School lost that privilege when an assault rifle killed 14 students and three staff members on school property.

Hear Parkland students’ cry for action, and allow our nation’s students the right to join the movement.