All quiet atop Mt. St. James?

Holy Cross students are smarter than that, apparently.

I’m heading to a different college graduation in 3 weeks and have the same concerns. These sorts of protesters (students, faculty members, professionals agitators, and otherwise) are not known for respecting the rights of others and I’d hate to have the graduation experience marred/disrupted/halted. This year’s college seniors have already seen their high school graduations cancelled/curtailed by Covid restrictions and ditto regarding their first year on campus.

Professional agitators? Lisa Fithian was involved in the Columbia protests. Look her up.

HC students don't want their career opportunities jeopardized.

There are a minuscule number of Jewish students matriculating. And a minuscule, if any, number of students with familial ties to Palestine / Middle East matriculating.

If you hide it from your social media. Unemployment rose to 3.9% today and new jobs created came in light at 175,000. It's quickly becoming an employer's market. But I think Pak's explanation rings true also.

Clark student body is approximately 25% Jewish. But it also has a large international student presence and a reputation for being liberal. I would not be surprised if activity happens there.

The side with ten times the number of innocent civilians dead might be "righter" but I understand the point. It's the first time I've heard that phrase and it rings true.

FWIW, more and more states have banned questions asking about criminal convictions on job applications.   Even more (probably most) don't allow questions about arrests which don't result in convictions.  In addition, it is not unusual for these type of arrests to ultimately result in either the outright dismissal of charges or after use of a diversionary program.  

(N.B.  You probably do have to disclose it for federal jobs and certainly on a security clearance application.)


Here is a webstie I found with some information on this.


www.orangetreescreening.com/resource-center/which-states-have-ban-the-box-laws#:~:text=CONNECTICUT,erased%20records%20at%20any%20time.


Finally, many great Americans have been convicted of crimes they felt necessary to commit in order to promote a cause in which they believed and have gone on to have successful lives.  See, for example, Rosa Parks, MLK, John Lewis, the Berrigans, Susan B. Anthony, etc.  I know it is easy to say that what these people are doing is different and more wrong, but you can't ascribe the same motivation to every protester and the actions of the people I mentioned were roundly condemned at the time they committed them, too. 

To be clear, I don't like vandalism and think that protesters should leave buildings when told.  I have no problem with encampments.  I don't think any fellow student should be stopped from walking on campus where they are entitled to be. 

Expunged records are not supposed to show up on background checks and, if used, can result in discriminatory practices complaints in many states.  The agencies that do background checks remove expunged records if they know.  It is not a perfect system and newspaper reports will often still exist but this the system is getting better.

This is not to say that a future employer might not make a hiring decision on the basis of the conduct alone as opposed to an arrest. ( Kyle Rittenhouse's arrest is obviously expunged as he was acquitted but he has a  household name and I am sure that many employers would steer clear of him. )

Lost in all the pro-Hamas/antisemitism/trespass/intimidation/encampment protests at many campuses is this one spectacular bit of weirdness at (of all places, LOL) Harvard. Quite a visual. Apparently the pro-Palestinian encampment at Harvard was unceremoniously invaded by 100 naked men and women participating in a traditional pre-finals "Primal Scream" streaking night. I have absolutely no idea why Harvard gets the reputation of being an oddball place. But kudos for the headline: “Harvard Students Streak Around Encampment in Cheeky Primal Scream Display”

www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/5/2/primal-scream-harvard-yard-encampment/

Speaking personally, if I saw a job application where someone said they were convicted of a crime, I would want more information (unless I had a stack of great applications ).  Depending on the crime and how long ago, I might nor care.   If someone chose not to tell the truth and said no even though they had been convicted and it came up in a background check, that bridge would be permanently burned to me.  But that's just me.

Once, in the days before Uber, we had an employee miss his ride for work, so he stole a car to get here.  I can't hold that little felony over a guy who did it in dedication to the job