Should Prisoners Be Allowed to Go to College Behind Bars?
The Prison University Project is the only on-site, degree-granting college program in the state’s prison system. There are well over 100 teacher volunteers from schools such as UC-Berkeley, Stanford and San Francisco State. They go through three security checks to get into the prison. And then they hold classes in a nondescript trailer overlooking the prison’s baseball field
Phillip Senegal and valedictorian Felix Lucero earned associate of arts degrees in 2009 at a ceremony in San Quentin state prison, where they are inmates. The college program is an extension of Patten University in Oakland, Calif.
The program started in 1996 with two volunteer instructors. The program grew. But in 2000, its part-time coordinator quit. One of the volunteers, UC-Berkeley graduate student Jody Lewen, thought if nobody took the program over, it would fold. So she agreed to do it, thinking it would only be temporary. That turned into a full-time commitment.
Lewen decided she had to create an independent non-profit to raise funds to keep the program strong and stable. The project operates with no state or federal funds.
Today, 320 inmates are enrolled in the college program that could earn them an associate’s degree granted through a partnership between the Prison University Project and Patten University, based in Oakland, Calif. Two of this year’s five graduates have been paroled.
The question of whether this helps inmates is at the heart of the matter. Are prisoners given a better chance to not end up back in prison if they get educated while they are there? There’s not enough evidence yet, says our story. But anecdotally, one can certainly see the positives.
We don’t know enough about rehabilitation for prisoners but we do know that locking them up and not giving them enough to keep themselves occupied is not a recipe for success on the outside.
Pet therapy is another way to give prisoners some responsibility and keep their anger at bay. Check this vid out from a prison in
Phillip Senegal and valedictorian Felix Lucero earned associate of arts degrees in 2009 at a ceremony in San Quentin state prison, where they are inmates. The college program is an extension of Patten University in Oakland, Calif.
The program started in 1996 with two volunteer instructors. The program grew. But in 2000, its part-time coordinator quit. One of the volunteers, UC-Berkeley graduate student Jody Lewen, thought if nobody took the program over, it would fold. So she agreed to do it, thinking it would only be temporary. That turned into a full-time commitment.
Lewen decided she had to create an independent non-profit to raise funds to keep the program strong and stable. The project operates with no state or federal funds.
Today, 320 inmates are enrolled in the college program that could earn them an associate’s degree granted through a partnership between the Prison University Project and Patten University, based in Oakland, Calif. Two of this year’s five graduates have been paroled.
The question of whether this helps inmates is at the heart of the matter. Are prisoners given a better chance to not end up back in prison if they get educated while they are there? There’s not enough evidence yet, says our story. But anecdotally, one can certainly see the positives.
We don’t know enough about rehabilitation for prisoners but we do know that locking them up and not giving them enough to keep themselves occupied is not a recipe for success on the outside.
Pet therapy is another way to give prisoners some responsibility and keep their anger at bay. Check this vid out from a prison in