First of two parts.
Fundamental fairness is at stake, says Culver City Mayor Jim Clarke, of a nationwide petition he has co-signed.
When Mayor Garcetti made provocative news over the weekend at Los Angeles City Hall, he was joined, both in spirit and in mind, by Mr. Clarke.
Taking his cue from a federal government declaration two months ago, Mr. Garcetti announced he had recruited almost three dozen fellow mayors to plead for colleges to sharply alter their traditional application process.
Mr. Clarke, Mr. Garcetti and 31 other mayors have sent a letter to two companies whose application models are widely used by universities. They asked Common Application and Universal College Application “to remove any box that inquires into a person’s past criminal history from your admissions’ applications.”
In May, Education Secretary John King Jr. was first to declare the mayors’ stance as the federal government’s opinion.
Culver City, no laggard, already is participating.
“Banning the box,” as the petition is known, is established policy at City Hall, Mr. Clarke noted.
“We are doing it in the city,” he said, “so that when you apply for a job with the city, you are not disqualified on the basis of a prior arrest or a felony.
“The arrest rate, particularly among minorities, is so extremely high.”
Mr. Clarke said that if a college applicant survives the interview process, “then they check and see if there is a problem. But (our petition) would assure that an applicant is not precluded right off the top from being considered.”
(To be continued)
