Wow, that would be a really interesting roommate–for me when I was in college about 30 years ago.
But in today’s age for my kids, where that same behavior is likely to result in federal agents barging in with guns drawn–no thanks!
Surely, there are lots of college students who did illegal things (in high school and/or college) that would be misdemeanors or felonies if they got caught, but they were lucky enough not to get caught.
Some become highly productive and respected members of society:
http://blackamericaweb.com/2014/10/28/little-known-black-history-fact-roland-g-fryer-jr/
Federal agents are not going to come barging into a freshman dorm room with guns drawn. They might knock 
I wonder if my freshman roommate had been convicted of anything. Within a week, my scarves went missing, and jewelry. Then my new typewriter, with stones put in the case. The RA was doing nothing, no matter how much I complained of the thefts and the men in room all night. Once checks were stolen from the end of my checkbook. The police got involved. I cannot tell you all what it was like to have men sleeping on the floor of your room, and even one in my bed.
Anyway, she got pregnant and left. Worst ever first semester. I with I could remember her last name,. I wonder what became of her.
My comment above sounds so prejudiced. I have worked hard with patients who have left their colleges because of being caught with a beer in their room. All have finished college and done well. I guess it comes down to what the offense is, while in HS.
Careful…you could end up excluding a lot of highly intelligent students with an extreme form of unbridled curiosity and thus, close them off from realizing their potential to the ill of not only themselves, but our society as a whole.
I personally knew a few HS and a couple of college classmates who experimented with explosive/volatile chemicals during their middle/HS years. Most of them are now Profs who have received tenure/well on their way on the tenure track or productively working as engineering/technology gurus in areas like chemical and biomedical engineering.
As long as Feds indemnify all the colleges.
Regarding chemistry experiments…
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19763952/#Comment_19763952
I have to say that blowing up mailboxes wasn’t my biggest concern. They really thought that the explosion would stay in the newspaper box and the only damage would be to the papers in the box. (most criminals aren’t that bright, and neither are teens). I thought my friends were way to lenient with their son. They just said “let the court handle it” and gave him no additional punishment. That morning she called me and woke me up, but when I asked where her son was she said “Oh, he’s in bed, he was up all night!” My mother would have had us scrubbing the garage floor whether it needed it or not - if she didn’t get to sleep, no one got to sleep. Then they wanted all kinds of exceptions for the probation period. He wanted to go hunting with an adult family friend, and I got permission for that. Oh, can he still play paintball? (no guns). I said no. Well, could I ask? No, I can’t ask the judge I clerked for for a stupid favor, the son could just wait. Oh, when it says he can’t skip school, does that include the three skips per class ALLOWED by the school? What? Well, I was told, sometimes classes are just boring. Really? I couldn’t believe how they wanted him to make no changes to his attitude or activities.
I am so much more strict with my kids (who also would have been scrubbing a floor or two).
Makes lots of sense if you’re a politician. You maximize pandering by doing it out of both sides of your mouth.
Nailed it!
“Big name colleges will be the first to admit “justice-involved” students to demonstrate the world how open and inclusive they are.”
If so, why don’t they admit those kids now? They don’t have to wait for presidential encouragement to take whoever they want. I don’t know if anyone in the world works with more academically high-achieving screwups than I do. My students who’ve been disciplined at their first college are at a gigantic disadvantage – but they have way more options than my students with criminal records, never mind felonies. I can help them, but they shouldn’t expect “big names.”
If you know the secret to getting these kids into “big name colleges,” you are missing a lucrative opportunity to put me out of business.
@twoinanddone , your story reminds me of this recent news item: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/twin-pennsylvania-brothers-set-bombs-winter-break-article-1.2641581
Regarding your friend’s son,
You should have said no to this, imho. You wrote they were too lenient, then you got permission from the court for more leniency.
I asked for permission for him to go hunting with an adult (it was a specific trip, OOS,that he took every year) during the initial meeting with the DA. I didn’t think it was unreasonable and neither did the DA. Then they started asking for more exceptions. What about paintball? What about skipping school? Could I clarify all those things? I said I wouldn’t but he could ask his probation officer. I actually thought the terms of probation were very easy, and set up so that if he completed just a portion of the community service quickly, the bulk of the hours were excused. He did that and was done with the probation period in less than half the time.
I’m pretty strict. My kids know that if they text while driving, they’ll lose not only their license but their phones (to me, not only if court ordered). If they are on probation for something, they’d be walking way inside the edge, not trying to get as close to it as possible with exceptions and interpretations of rules that could result in more penalties. They did not skip school, and now as college students rarely miss class.
Please, check this story, for example. https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2013/07/30/uc-berkeley-student-former-inmate-speaks-out-about-solitary-confinement/
Big name colleges LOVE, love, love to show the World how open-minded they are. Yes, they do accept felons, even now. Real felons, with really interesting life stories. Not some wimpy kids, with some minor imperfections. Wimpy kids with “minor-in-possession” convictions are not interesting → rejected.
The only reason that big-names are not accepting more “out-of-prison” students is the fact that not many of them want to spend the next 5 years in boring dorms.
Twenty-five years ago, when I was taking a year break between my junior and senior year of college (let’s call it a “delayed gap year”), I was arrested and charged with two felonies. The victim was the university that I had been attending. The matter was resolved through a pre-trial intervention program, in which adjudication of guilt was withheld once I served probation, community service and made full restitution.
My crimes were forgiving a bunch of my own library fines at the campus branch library where I worked full time. I did this at the direction of my supervisor who heard me complaining about the number of fines I was paying (which I was doing frequently, up until I received and followed their bad advice). Because the fines were erased numerous times, the total fines forgiven amounted to $300.75… just enough (by 76 cents) to put me over the bar into grand larceny, a felony. I also got a second felony charge called “crimes against computer users” because I used a computer to erase them.
After these events, I reapplied to the same university three times: once to wrap up my undergraduate and finish my B.A.; once as a special student two years later to pick up a prerequisite for grad school that I missed; and once for graduate school. During each application, I made full disclosure of the whole situation, and I was admitted all three times without any extra inquiry or red tape.
I’ll be the first to admit that mine was not a typical felony crime situation, but I am eternally grateful that the school didn’t have a rigid “no exceptions” policy with regard to criminal activity and admissions. The president’s initiative seems like a good idea to encourage more universities to design and adopt a more flexible approach to this issue.
Re #54
The student in question had gone straight and stayed that way for many years after leaving prison (working honest jobs, attending community college). I.e. showing that he was not one to go back to crime like so many others.
How did doing something at the direction of your supervisor end up being considered a crime? Did they decide that the supervisor did not have the discretion to do this and that you should have known?
That was poorly worded. It would be more accurate to say it was done at the suggestion of my supervisor. But regardless of where the idea came from, it was still considered a crime. Yes, I should have known better.
“In boring dorms”
Your sole example was of a 38-year-old who lives with his partner and son, not in dorms. But the takeaway is that your expertise in these matters comes from Google.