Journal Entry 6

Shahadat Rahman

Professor Matyakubova

English 21003

19 October, 2017

Journal Entry 6

The idea that being in jail mandates punishment is absurd; being in jail is already one of the worst punishments one can face. It often crucifies a convict, as seen in both Michelle Jones’ and Stanley Andrisse’s situations, where neither of them could initially attain higher education due to the fact that they had to disclose their criminal histories to the schools they applied to. The language used on these applications is broad, immediately raising a red flag if the “yes” box is checked. Without considering the crime, whether it be violent or nonviolent, there is an assumption that this candidate is a negative influence to the school’s community, and such members of society should not be accepted to toxify the minds on some of the most brilliant students in the country. That is because it widely known, prison is rarely used as rehabilitation, it leans toward punishment.

This does not mean that schools should not be warned if students have a criminal record, but they should only be warned of violent crimes. Those who are jailed for nonviolent crimes are often young individuals who make bad decisions, yet these decisions end up defining them for the rest of their lives, like Stanley Andrisse. Andrisse was reformed, and, unlike Jones, he never hurt anyone. But he was placed under the umbrella term of a felon, without admissions committees being able to consider what thee felony was: that was the first word that entered their minds. For people like Andrisse, nonviolent crimes shouldn’t have to define them. On the other hand, for people like Jones — who committed violent crimes — they should be required to disclose information about their felonies. Violent crimes, especially abuse, are often not one-time offenses. These people should be thoroughly researched to make sure they are not a danger to a college community, but an entire application should be reviewed before the information that the candidate is a convict is known. Jones did commit a horrendous crime, but she decided her life would not be defined by actions she made 20 years ago. Admissions committees should review all the information pertaining to a candidate’s conviction, past what happened and why. They should discuss if there was an early release, why did it happen. Or most importantly, has this person reformed? Only then, when they discuss every aspect of the issue, can they make an informed decision.