Whereas, the University adopted the language of Standard Practice Guide 601.38 in the wake of highly negative publicity about an individual faculty member,
Whereas, the University already has a policy of criminal background checks of its prospective employees,
Whereas, SPG 601.38 requires the reporting of a charge, whether proven or not,
Whereas, BIPOC individuals in the United States are statistically disproportionately charged for a crime and involved in the criminal carceral system than non-BIPOC individuals, which renders this policy inherently discriminatory, a fact borne out by the ethnographic breakdown of those who have reported under SPG 601.38,
Whereas, the very existence of SPG 601.38 acts as a deterrent for formerly incarcerated people to apply to work at UM,
Whereas, numerous formerly incarcerated individuals work at the University and hugely benefit the University, and numerous University employees have friends and family impacted by the carceral system,
Whereas, formerly incarcerated and disproportionately policed current and prospective university employees have testified that this new SPG is unwelcoming, harmful, and threatening to those who already feel a sense of precarity in their employment at the university,
Whereas, SPG 601.38 serves little practical purpose, as charges and convictions of violent crimes are a matter of public record and reliably reported by the press, as was true with the cases that most likely led to SPG 601.38,
Be it resolved, that SPG 601.38 be rescinded.
Approved Jan. 24, 2022
