Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Nov. 7, 2017, edition 1 / Page 19
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EWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 bond if people are felons to allevi ate some of that risk.” According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, employ ers who hire former inmates have the opportunity to apply for feder ally funded bonds to cover the risks associated with theft or dishonesty. The bonds insure the employers for up to $5,000 for a span of six months after hiring the at-risk em ployee. Still, Kandra believes the bonds may reduce the business owner’s responsibility to hire qualified em ployees, especially in cases where employees are expected to engage with the public. “I don’t know if the person who has the small business is the best judge about whether or not a par ticular individual should be hired or not and be that gateway through,” Kandra said. Education and opportunity As the Ban the Box movement continues to grow among employ ers, some advocates have shifted focus to another area where for mer inmates face discrimination: college campuses. Former inmates also encounter the question of crim inal conviction on many university and community college applica tions. Dean of Students at UNC Ashe ville Jackie McHargue said while the college requires applicants to disclose their criminal history, unlike employment applications, applications of individuals with DONUT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 “It’s very important to us to not only provide yummy, delicious do nuts, but also to give back to the community of Asheville,” McGee said. “Duck Donuts has a cam paign, the Quack Gives Back, and every month we take pride in giv ing back to our local community.” Since its opening this summer. Duck Donuts has used Quack Gives Back to donate to several elemen criminal backgrounds submitted to UNC system schools undergo a rig orous review process. “It’s a process that the leader ship of that group is representatives from academic and student affairs and we are looking for an under standing of what happened in that situation,” McHargue said. McHargue said the admissions re view process allows UNCA faculty to examine areas such as growth, ownership, rehabilitation, as well as examples of academic, employ ment or service-based work during and after incarceration. “We look at everything. What we have to review is what kind of in cident it was, does that person po tentially pose a risk to the campus, could that individual’s presence on campus be disruptive and is there evidence that that person has the ability to be successful from a so cial, personal and academic per spective.” McHargue said. Despite intentions from UNCA faculty to provide a fair opportunity to the formerly incarcerated, mere ly having the question on the appli cation may be enough to deter po tential students. A report from the Center for Community Alternatives found the presence of the crimi nal conviction question on college applications might inadvertently create a chilling effect toward indi viduals with criminal backgrounds. Almost two out of every three ap plicants who checked the box never finished the application. Regardless, Senior Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at tary schools in the area as well as partner with the Hendersonville police station for their annual mo torcycle ride. In September, they donated close to $1,200 to Mis sion Hospital for children’s cancer through the organization Gabe’s Chemo Duck. “I want this to be a community thing; I want this to be something that the community enjoys and we get to give back,” Smith said . The business aims to be a wel coming and friendly place for both UNCA Steve McKellips said the university will continue to make ef forts to work with former inmates once they choose to disclose their criminal history. “We really don’t think education is something that should be per manently taken away from some body,” McKellips said. “I could understand the reservation on the front end for sure, but I think those who go through the process genu inely feel like they were legitimate ly considered and I think anytime we even say ‘No’ to somebody, I think people hear that they were heard through this process.” Finding the balance Perhaps the biggest issue sur rounding the Ban the Box move ment for both employers and uni versities involves safety. McHargue said most colleges and universities include the criminal conviction question in their applications as a means of protecting students. McHargue cited a 2004 incident in which a student who never dis closed an extensive criminal re cord was admitted into the UNC Wilmington. The student was later charged for killing a fellow student on campus. “Sadly, it came about after a student who had moved between a couple of UNC system schools, who did not disclose his previous disciplinary history, went to Wilm ington and was involved in a double homicide. So that is really where that came from,” McHargue said. Kandra said employers also may find the lack of criminal history in customers and workers. “It’s very important to Terry and I to hire a team to work with, not a staff to work for us,” McGee said. “We roll up our sleeves and we’re right there alongside our team members.” Smith added the team itself has been her favorite part about work ing at Duck Donuts. The Asheville location has quick ly gained interest within the com munity and hopes to become a go to spot for families. formation unsettling. “If I was having a new roof put on my house, it might not matter to me that much whether the person installing my roof had a record. If I was having an HVAC system in stalled in my home, where I have things of value, I have my family, I have things that I care about, would I want someone who was a once or twice convicted burglar or a felon to be in my home? I might choose a different construction compa ny,” Kandra said. “I’m not sure if I would make my decision based on that alone, but certainly I would want to choose a company that I felt was insured and was responsi ble and knew who their employees were.” While Williams said she under stands the concern, employers who choose to ban the box should use common sense approaches such as careful job placement and and probation periods as precautions. Williams also encouraged the use of background checks if employers decide to make a substantial offer of employment. “They have a set. Mission does, of policies and procedures of how this is supposed to be done. They’re not going to hire you if you’re a fel on and you’ve just come out of pris on for murder and you’ve been out 60 days. That’s not going to hap pen,” Williams said. “But people who have been working on them selves and have kept themselves out of trouble, wherever these folks can fit in, they need to be put in and given an opportunity.” “We want this to be a family ori ented business where people can come have fun, whether it’s with their children on a Saturday, after a game, or on their birthday,” McGee said. Overall, Duck Donuts hopes to become a family-favorite for the community. “We get a lot of kids coming with their parents before school, teach ers coming in to get donuts for their kids and people coming to get do nuts for the office,” said Smith.
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