3 New York Colleges to Drop Crime Queries for Applicants

[Liberal_in_LA]

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."

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/nyregion/three-new-york-colleges-will-omit-criminal-record-question-for-applicants.html?hpw&rref=education&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

[elehhhhna]

1. but one underage pot posession on yr record

And you get no federal financial aid.

I Think convictions should be disclosed. Its the liability, stupid.