Cuyahoga Community College Reconsiders Exclusion

The folks at Cuyahoga Community College, in Cleveland, Ohio, deserve a lot of credit for reversing an earlier decision not to rehire student ambassador Maria Graciani.

 
In 1995, Ms. Graciani pled guilty to Aggravated Assault (with violence specifications), a fourth-degree felony--for which she successfully completed two years probation.  Ms. Graciani also previously pled guilty to a 1993 first-degree misdemeanor, attempted theft, and served 30 days in jail.

Having long since grown out of her troubled youth, Ms. Graciani ultimately enrolled at Tri-C, which bills itself as "the place where futures begin."  For the past two years, Ms. Graciani served as a student ambassador, earning excellent evaluations for her performance in that capacity, according to The Plain Dealer.  When the results of a recent background check turned up Ms. Graciani's past legal issues, the school elected to not rehire her for the ambassador position.

As voices in the community began to criticize the initial decision, Tri-C thought better of it.  In reversing the decision to not rehire Ms. Graciani, Tri-C has demonstrated a courage I find exemplary. 

Cuyahoga Community College has a unique position of influence in Northeast Ohio.  Having a reputation as one of the best junior colleges in the country, Tri-C has prepared literally thousands of erstwhile disadvantaged students for productive lives, and made a signal contribution to the economic revitalization of a community hit hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs.  Tri-C has demonstrated a sharp awareness of the skills needed for 21st-century jobs, and is leading the charge to fill the much-lamented skills gap that many Northeast Ohio employers cite as a primary business challenge.

I sincerely hope that Tri-C seizes the present moment as an opportunity to leverage its leadership in the Northeast Ohio community even more. 

Northeast Ohio is home to tens of thousands of convicted persons who have been effectively shut out from traditional paths to employment and self sufficiency.  I have long believed that no other institution in Cuyahoga County is better positioned to engage the business community more successfully on behalf of those who have made criminal mistakes in their pasts but have made the personal commitment and transformation to positive, law-abiding lives. I have also long felt that Tri-C simply lacked the courage to engage the business community in this way.

I'd love to be wrong about that.

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