This is the third article in an OCA series following NYU’s development in banning THE BOX, following NYU Students Protest to Ban THE BOX and NYU’s IEC Meets With Common App to Abolish THE BOX. On Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, NYU publicly announced an amendment to their undergraduate application: modification of the BOX, a question on the application that requires information regarding the applicant's’ criminal record. This development received positive support from several members of the NYU community, including the Incarceration to Education Coalition at NYU New York.The Incarceration to Education Coalition (IEC) is an organization composed of NYU students, faculty, and other community members with the aim of ending discrimination against formerly incarcerated NYU members of prospective members with a criminal record. IEC has received widespread support for their cause by several individuals and communities within NYU, including NYU administrator Kingsley Rowe. In March 2016, the IEC held a 33-hour sit-in at NYU New York’s Kimmel Center for University Life, the longest student sit-in in NYU history. It resulted in NYU administration promising talks with the CEO of the Common App. Seven members of the IEC met with representatives from the Common App via conference call, with several NYU administrators present but not involved in the meeting. It was decided that the Common App has left individual schools responsible for removing the BOX on their applications, therefore “colleges like New York University have a responsibility to acknowledge the harms posed by THE BOX and demand that it be removed from our application.” In a press conference, NYU stated that they will now ignore THE BOX on their Common Application form because it is “too broad”. In an effort to treat all applicants “with a criminal or disciplinary history fairly and with dignity and respect”, NYU will be replacing the BOX with two questions focused solely on “violent” crimes. The two questions replacing THE BOX will ask whether the applicant, in the last seven years and after the age of 14, has been convicted of trial, or pled guilty to, a criminal offense involving violence. The intended change to NYU’s Common App form follows policy recommendations released from the US Department of Education providing guidelines that can help universities remove barriers for citizens with criminal records pursuing higher education.With regards to this news, the IEC commented on their Facebook page “We know that the classification “violent crimes” is plagued with racism and classism. While changes may increase access for some, this reform does not do so for all. It does nothing to provide our most marginalized community members with access to higher education.” On their personal blog, the IEC wrote, “It should be noted that this reform will improve access to higher education for those who have been convicted of non-violent drug crimes. This constitutes only a portion of people impacted by the criminal publishment system who are most marginalized. Those who this reform will impact are more likely to be white, and middle- or upper-class. In this way, NYU’s reform perpetuates the racism and classism inherent to the criminal punishment system.” The IEC is pushing for NYU to completely remove all questions related to the criminal history of applicants.This article was written by Lathika Chandra Mouli. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Incarceration to Education Coalition