Process Premises: An analysis of The Ban the Box Campaign

Here Peterson reveals the psychic discomfort he feels over his previous actions, and his mother reveals that despite her son’s wrong doings she forgave her son and others should too. He strategically plants the seed of thought in these young individuals’ minds so they have the power to change the system as it is when they enter the job force. He tells the students in light of the recent shootings at Virginia Tech, the admissions office opened the door for him. There were several security precautions made by the campus police department and counseling centers but all the same they gave this young man an opportunity to succeed. He closes telling the students, if a great university such as VT can allow passage to someone with his rap sheet than the possibilities are endless for future generations of ex-offenders if other officials, employers and citizens follow in suite. He brought them in with his heart felt story, and closed with the greatest challenge he will face, gaining employment as a civil engineer. He left it on the students in that classroom, to open the doors for future ex-offenders in the job force.

The students graduating this spring from Virginia Tech have the opportunity to put aside their cultural pattern of belief that all ex-offenders are particularly heinous crimes. Lars Peterson served to prove the stereotype surrounding ex-offenders to be false. While there are many ex-offenders who have done awful things in the eye of the law, there are an equal amount of them who had an isolated incident which forever changed their lives. Opinions and attitudes are created early. In addressing the students Peterson set the foundation for new cultural patterns to form. The patterns would less likely follow the prev...

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...ials and law enforcement will seek guidance from their predecessors. This will prove to be difficult to overcome in moving forward with the campaign.

References

Larson, C. (2009). The Making, Use and Misuse of Symbols. In Eckman, M. (Ed.), Persuasion: Reception and Responsibility (12th ed.), 167-255. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Crizer, Z. (2011, April 13). Ex-Felon Moves Foward.

Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news/virginia_tech/article_452b6827-b84b-58a7-90be-103e3fa77e68.html

Knafo, S. (2013, July 11). Employment Discrimination Pushes Felons Onto Food Stamp Rolls, Increasing Program’s Costs.

Retrieved May 2nd, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/food-stamps-felons_n_3574412.html I also used the information found on the Ban the Box campaign website displayed below.

http://bantheboxcampaign.org/?p=20