Crime, Education / Schools

Criminally Yours: Even A Felon Deserves A Shot At College

Instead of excluding people with criminal records from higher education, let’s help them get to the next positive point of their lives.

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justice-handcuffs-e1372182679824-300x286Once convicted of a crime, collateral consequences inevitably follow — even after you’ve served your sentence and paid your so-called “debt” to society. Of those consequences, one of the worst is proving you deserve to get into college.

There’s an assumption that if you have a criminal record, you’re dangerous.  Because of this, many schools using the Common Application include the question: Have you ever been convicted of a crime?  (Some inquire about high school disciplinary issues as well, or ask if you’ve ever been arrested — a question, I submit, is unfair in any context since being arrested is not synonymous with wrongdoing.)

According to a 2010 study by the Center for Community Alternatives (CCA), many of the applicants who admit they have criminal convictions are then excluded.  Check that box and the next stop for your application is likely the garbage can. Furthermore, as many as 60 percent of applicants with criminal histories don’t even complete the form, due to the “chilling effect” of the question. Why go through the humiliation, embarrassment, and hassle of filling out the application if you’re just going to be turned away?

The CCA report, the first of its kind, was based on a survey sent to the 3,248 members of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.  It specifically explored the use of criminal-history screening in college admissions. In all, 273 institutions responded.  The results clearly showed that a broad array of convictions are viewed as negative factors in the context of admissions decision-making, including drug and alcohol convictions, misdemeanor convictions, and even youthful-offender adjudications.

If the applicant tries to hide his record, that might work in the short run, but most institutions conduct secondary checks and if the conviction were to be discovered, the offer of admission would be rescinded.

According to the study, this practice of excluding people with criminal histories from college has particularly hit young black and Hispanic men the hardest, making the goal of getting a higher education all the more difficult for the very population that needs it most.

But good news is on the horizon for the state of New York. Due to a recent decision by the Chancellor of the New York State public university system (SUNY schools), the question about prior convictions will be eliminated from its application form in July 2017.

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It doesn’t mean SUNY won’t know who among their students has been in trouble with the law, but they’ve decided they won’t use that criteria in the first instance to determine if a candidate should be admitted.

The issue, of course, is campus safety.  Any responsible institution wants to know if a convicted robber, sexual predator, or even false-check writer is living in a student dorm, working in the library, or doing an internship at an elementary school.  But according to SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, that inquiry will come after admission. Post-admission, students would have to reveal any criminal history, and if necessary (on a case-by-case basis), safeguards would be put in place such as excluding that person from on-campus housing or participating in clinical, field, or study-abroad programs.  It would be up to the school to show that the person would pose an “unreasonable” safety risk before they could be excluded.

This is an enlightened decision.  Studies show that most campus crime is not committed by admitted students with prior criminal histories, but by people either outside the campus or students without any criminal past.

Many people with criminal records and even stints in jail have gone on to get college degrees, and find fulfilling, professional work.

As Zimpher put it, “It is in the interest of the State of New York to facilitate the admission of individuals with previous criminal convictions into the university because access to higher education can enhance public safety by reducing recidivism and facilitating successful reintegration.”

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So instead of excluding people with criminal records, let’s help them get to the next positive point of their lives.  It not only helps them, it help all of us.

Toni Messina has been practicing criminal defense law since 1990, although during law school she spent one summer as an intern in a large Boston law firm and realized quickly it wasn’t for her. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a journalist from Rome, Italy, reporting stories of international interest for CBS News and NPR. She keeps sane by balancing her law practice with a family of three children, playing in a BossaNova band, and dancing flamenco. She can be reached by email at tonimessinalw@gmail.com or tonimessinalaw.com, and you can also follow her on Twitter: @tonitamess.

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