Posted on 10/27/2014 7:10:23 AM PDT by reaganaut1
The application for admission to St. John’s University takes 12 pages to get to the question, but when it arises, it is hard to miss. Set off by a border of bold red, as if to warn of dangerous contents, it asks, “Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a felony?”
On paper, the inquiry seems straightforward enough. But critics, noting the racial imbalances in how some crimes are processed, have argued that asking it can amount to a form of unintended discrimination.
Responding to those concerns, as raised by the advocacy group Center for Community Alternatives, New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has reached an agreement with St. John’s and two other institutions under which the schools will drop such questions from their standard application process.
“An arrest or police stop that did not result in a conviction, or a criminal record that was sealed or expunged, should not – indeed must not – be a standard question on a college application,” Mr. Schneiderman said in a statement. “Such a question can serve only to discourage New Yorkers from seeking a higher education."
In addition to St. John’s, a private Roman Catholic university with 20,000 students on four New York campuses, the schools in question are Five Towns College, a tiny for-profit school located in Dix Hills, Long Island; and Dowling College, which is primarily situated in a former Vanderbilt estate in Oakdale, Long Island. They had been the only three institutions, out of 70 colleges and universities reviewed by Mr. Schneiderman’s office, that took such a broad approach to seeking criminal justice information.
Susan Barr, the interim president of Five Towns, said the inquiry by the attorney general’s office had come as a surprise.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
So you can't prefer law-abiding applicants over criminals because a higher fraction of blacks than whites have criminal records. Ever get the feeling you are living in an insane asylum?
Should be limited to conviction. Arrest does not establish guilt.
I agree with this.
They should shorten the question.
It should ask if you have ever been convicted of any felony. Just being arrested is not a crime.
“Have you ever been convicted of felonious sexual assault?”
Well, if so, we don’t care, because our policy requires you and your “dates” to sign consent forms. Everything’s cool
So they’re going to quit harassing George Zimmerman now, since he was never convicted of a crime? I didn’t think so...
Heck, no new news there.
Harvard let the Obamadork/felon/cretin into their law school.
So much for their “process”.
To liberals criminals aren’t criminals.
They’re just nice people with alternate belief systems.
/s
So for some perceived nonsensical PC charge of discrimination we will allow rapist and sexual offenders on to the college campus?
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