Students: Leave Criminal History Out of It

Actions have consequences, or so we thought.

Students from New York University are asking that the Common Application, widely used for the college admissions process, be stripped of any questions regarding criminal behavior.

Applicants filling out the Common App are asked to disclose the following:

1. Have you ever been found responsible for a disciplinary violation at any educational institution you have attended from the 9th grade (or the international equivalent) forward, whether related to academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct, that resulted in a disciplinary action?
2. Have you ever been adjudicated guilty or convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or other crime?

The campaign against the current form of the Common App is called “Abolish the Box,” in reference to the check boxes on the application.

Students claim that because schools like NYU have extensive involvement in prison education, there is a hypocrisy and double standard. In NYU’s Prison Education Program, inmates take classes while incarcerated, and upon release, continue their education at NYU’s campus.

[lz_infobox]This piece is part of a CampusZette series exploring the culture, oddities and experiences of students on college campuses through their eyes.[/lz_infobox]

M.J. Knoll-Finn, NYU’s vice president of enrollment management, has joined these protesters, taking their case to the CEO of the Common App.

She wrote a letter that reads, in part, “Especially in the context of high rates of school discipline and incarceration among people of color, it seems vital to pose two questions about the checkboxes: Do they, in fact, have any predictive value, and does their presence work against universities’ mission as engines of social mobility and diversity either by discouraging applicants or by resulting in unjustified denials of admissions on the grounds of safety or integrity?”

Knoll-Finn acknowledges, however, that there is not enough objective research to identify the positive or negative consequences of including the checkboxes. Of course, this lack of facts doesn’t keep campus leftists from a good protest.

Furthermore, NYU’s own admission process still takes a student’s criminal past into account, after the initial, cursory view of the application.

“Once an initial admissions determination is made, a team of admissions officers — specially trained on fact-based assessment and issues of bias — will evaluate whether a past criminal offense would justify a denial of admission,” a release from NYU Enrollment Management explained.

While there are many, many cases in which criminal behavior by a minor would have little to no impact on one’s ability to study in a collegiate setting, it’s ridiculous to suggest colleges should blindly ignore all criminal history.

After all, would these leftist students really want to go to school with an individual who carried a gun without a legal permit or someone who is a convicted rapist? Leftists should be careful what they wish for.