Context of the Incident:

On July 12, the three students briefly left their room after the 11:30 PM curfew to get water from the lobby, where Resident Counselors were. They did not attempt to leave the building or engage in any other prohibited activity.

Earlier that week, Fabian and Yoonho had missed two days of class due to food poisoning, making access to clean drinking water a legitimate health concern. Before leaving their room, they attempted to contact their Resident Counselor but received no response as it was her day off, which they were not informed of until the next day. They also considered calling the office but had been instructed during orientation not to call after 11:30 PM unless it was an emergency. Believing that requesting water did not qualify as an emergency, they instead walked to the lobby.

As M&TSI students, we are enrolled in a rigorous, credit-bearing program centered around collaborative projects. The removal of dedicated team members has disrupted both our academic work and the learning experience of other students.

The Student & Parent Commitment Agreement states that "Supporting student health and wellness is fundamental to ensuring a successful pre-college experience" and identifies "Safety and Support: Ensuring a secure and nurturing environment for all participants" as one of the program's five core pillars. Seeking filtered drinking water after recovering from food poisoning was an effort to protect their health, not to disregard program rules. Under these circumstances, denying access to water and issuing an immediate dismissal appears inconsistent with the program's stated commitment to student wellness.

Summer Discovery Policy:

The handbook states that "Violations of the curfew policy will result in disciplinary action, and repeated violations may result in dismissal from the program." This was the students' first curfew violation, contradicting the language used in the handbook.

M&TSI is an intensely rigorous academic summer program in which students earn grades and college credit through teamwork and collaboration. Removing three students from the program affects not only them, but also their project teams (including 11 direct group members) and classmates who depend on their participation.

We deeply respect the responsibility of the Resident Counselors and program administrators to maintain a safe community. However, we respectfully ask that the administration reconsider the dismissal of Fabian Solorzano, Maiyong Guo, and Yoonho Cho and replace it with a more proportionate disciplinary action. We believe doing so would better reflect the values of Safety and Support, fairness, and student well-being that Summer Discovery and the Wharton Global Youth Program seek to uphold.

Consequences of Dismissal:

The three students are not local to the program, coming from Maryland, Florida, and China. Two of the students applied through QuestBridge, an organization that connects high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with educational opportunities that would otherwise be financially inaccessible. For Questbridge students like Anthony and Fabian, and international students such as Michael, programs like M&TSI represent once-in-a-lifetime opportunities; A dismissal under these circumstances therefore carries consequences that extend well beyond the loss of a 3 week program. It means losing access to an academic opportunity that cannot be replaced. We ask for the recognition of the extraordinary impact that dismissal over seeking viable water has on students who have to overcome substantial economic barriers to simply participate

This petition was written by Anthony, Fabian, and Michael’s fellow WGYP students. We all care about this program and the people in it. Their action might have been a misstep but the intent was undeniably innocent. All of this raises a larger question about how a seventeen-year-old’s error can be met with understanding or expulsion. The precedent we set today will shape the values we encourage tomorrow, especially in the unique atmosphere of growth cultivated by Summer Discovery’s programs. Once again, we strongly urge the reconsideration of the dismissal of our fellow classmates, who have already made such positive impacts on all of our lives.