Courtesy of WSYR-TV
MAGGIE GILROY
Editor in Chief
The College of Education is redrafting its fingerprint protocols following the two-year prison sentence handed to Arthur Lewis, a 2012 graduate of the College of Education.
According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, Lewis was convicted of rape in the third degree, forcible touching and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child by an Onondaga County jury. This case caused the College of Education to require mandatory fingerprinting prior to student teaching.
Syracuse.com states that while 21, Lewis met the first victim, a 15-year-old female, at Eagle Hill Middle School in 2010 when fulfilling classroom observation hours for his teaching degree. Charges were not filed with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office until August of 2012, after charges were filed against Lewis for relations with a second victim.
In the summer of 2011, Lewis met the second victim, also a 15-year-old female, at a community event. At the time, he was also engaging in a sexual relationship with the first victim. Charges were filed by the second victim in January of 2012.
Also in January of 2012, Lewis began student-teaching in the Dunkirk City School District during his second semester of his senior year. However, the mandatory fingerprinting that is required by school districts to student-teach was completed the previous December — before any charges against Lewis were filed.
“As of the Fall of 2011, which was when he would have been setting up the next semester, this would not have occurred,” said Mike Barone, Fredonia director of marketing and communications, in a recent interview. “So, there would have been no way for either of us to know anything was wrong.”
While Lewis received his bachelors in education, he did not receive his teaching certifications due to the charges pressed against him. He then returned to Fredonia for his graduate degree in the Fall of 2013.
“Once he returned here for his graduate degree, he was no longer engaged in any education courses,” Barone said. “His graduate degree was not a teaching degree — he was no longer in a risky environment relative to minors. But we had been made aware at the start of his graduate degree and we took precautions to make sure that he wouldn’t be around any minors or they wouldn’t be at any risk.”
At this time, Lewis had not yet been found guilty and was therefore innocent until proven guilty.
According to WSYR-TV, on July 15 Lewis was found guilty of the charges by an Onondaga County jury. On Sept. 3, Judge Joseph Fahey sentenced Lewis to two years in prison, followed by 10 years of post-release supervision.
“It’s important to know that all of the students are trained in their coursework to know better,” Barone said. “They need to know the law. They need to know that they can’t engage in this act, even if it is with a willing participant. The way the state defines that law, anyone under the age of 17 in the state’s mind, in the law’s mind, is not capable of making a responsible decision about this relative to somebody over the age of 17, and he was taught that, for certain, in multiple courses.”
Fingerprinting is currently a requirement for certification by the state of New York. In the summer of 2013, the College of Education began discussion about having all teacher candidates to complete fingerprinting earlier than graduation, when it is time to apply for teaching certifications, prior to student teaching.
“Over the last year, representatives from the school districts — teachers, principals and superintendents — we have [had] partnership meetings,” said Dr. Christine Givner, dean of the College of Education. “It seemed to us that, because their accountability is higher, that we need to kind of ramp that up and have our candidates do fingerprinting earlier.”
This discussion is ongoing and is currently centered on mandating fingerprinting for freshmen enrolled in the education program. This will not be implemented until there is a consensus reached.
“I just think it’s part of our modern world,” Givner said. “There are a lot of issues and the schools are realizing they have to do more; they have to be more vigilant to ensure that they are protecting the safety and welfare of their students.”
Other provisions that were in place prior to this case include disposition reviews that each candidate goes through every semester in order to ensure each student is following proper protocol. They continue to be in use at the present.
“We take it very seriously. Unfortunately, you can’t trust everyone,” Barone said. “Sometimes it’s best to take matters into your own hands, and I applaud Dean Givner for making the change.”