NYU must be a leader in ‘abolishing the box’

There’s been a lot of talk lately about “the box”, even culminating in a two day long sit in over the issue. You might be confused as to why it matters so much at NYU if you’re unclear with “the box.” “The box” refers to the section on the common app that asks applicants about their prior disciplinary actions, including whether or not they have been incarcerated. This is problematic because of the implication of incarceration.

If you didn’t think mass incarceration was racist before, perhaps Richard Nixon’s domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman can convince you when he says the Nixon administration was complicit in a larger policy move to criminalize marijuana as a calculated effort to “vilify” the black community. Getting rid of the box on the Common App is one step in unpacking a larger architecture designed to keep minority populations from institutions reserved for people with means.

NYU has a unique responsibility to lead the initiative to abolish the box, and to do as quickly as possible. At this point, despite university claims, the issue is one of morality rather than research. The Incarceration to Education Coalition (IEC) here at NYU has provided the administration with consistent and ample research that shows the individual and societal harm of discrimination in the application process.

While the administration responds to IEC protests with requests for longer periods of research, they do not only sustain the period of time it takes for applicants to have a fair opportunity, but they run the risk of losing the chance to make an important publicity move at a critical time. The university just announced the elevated student worker wage of $15, efforts lead not by the administration by student group SLAM. Media sources like the NYTimes are heralding NYU for being the first private university to do so, and for living up to their mission as a progressive university. If NYU continues to ignore IEC’s efforts, they simultaneously compromise their reputation as a liberal pioneer and lose the momentum of the wage increase.

We’re all familiar with the uncomfortable symbiosis NYU has with the city. The school professes to be “in and of the city,” and relies on that concept to draw in applicants. And yet, we all too often take more than we give. NYU has a selective sense of what composes a New York City experience, and often turns a blind eye to injustices that inform the city’s structure and its citizens’ lives. Mass incarceration is one of these issues, and NYU must be a leader in abolishing the box if the university hopes at all to live up to its name and creed.