today's eugene register-guard features a great front-page story on michelle inderbitzin's inside-out prison exchange class. michelle brought 15 of her oregon state university students to join 15 oregon state penitentiary students for a course on crime, justice, and public policy. michelle has been posting about the experience at publiccriminology throughout the quarter (including, for example, some memorable poetry from an inside student). yes, the start-up costs seem daunting -- in terms of training, administration, permissions from deans and department chairs, travel, and security. for both inside students and outside students, however, i can't imagine a more meaningful or powerful vehicle for teaching sociological criminology.
Friday, March 9, 2007
good pub for pubcrim at oregon state
today's eugene register-guard features a great front-page story on michelle inderbitzin's inside-out prison exchange class. michelle brought 15 of her oregon state university students to join 15 oregon state penitentiary students for a course on crime, justice, and public policy. michelle has been posting about the experience at publiccriminology throughout the quarter (including, for example, some memorable poetry from an inside student). yes, the start-up costs seem daunting -- in terms of training, administration, permissions from deans and department chairs, travel, and security. for both inside students and outside students, however, i can't imagine a more meaningful or powerful vehicle for teaching sociological criminology.
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Michelle & Students--A very personal Thank You to each of you for being brave enough, open enough and non-judgmental enough to participate in this class. My husband was in class with you and had a wonderful time. Several of our friends were your classmates, also. Each of them has been excited to share with us on a weekly basis how class has been going. They've enjoyed having "outsiders" to talk with and to "match wits" with. Mostly, though, it has meant a great deal to them to have people come in who did not think badly of them. Many of them have loved-ones who come to visit regularly, but some have absolutely no one left in the entire world--literally. Unless you've experienced the "inside" life quite intimately, you cannot possibly realize the deep appreciation these guys feel for your willingness to join them as equals over the past several weeks.
Thank you from all of us who practice unconditional love for those that society so quickly shuns.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this comment. The class was an amazing experience for all of us -- a pure pleasure.
I think we are all sorry that the experience had to end, but please know that our classmates inside touched the heart and soul of every one of the outside students and their teacher (me). We'll miss them. We leave the class with a lot of love for our new friends inside; they will never be forgotten.
To Doug's wife: My name is Jillian and I was one of the outside students in the class with your husband. I just wanted to let you know that this class meant as much to all of us as it did to them. They were able to give us a perspective that no one else could. After only ten weeks with them and then having to say goodbye I can tell you honestly I don't think I have ever cried as much as I did. I felt like I made 15 friends and I didn't feel I should have to give them up. So I just wanted to let you know that as much as we meant to your husband and the other inside students they meant that much to us too. I will miss them all greatly. Jillian
(By the way tell your husband hi he was one of my favorites in class and one of the inside students I will miss the most. I got to talk with him a lot and I already miss him. So please tell him hi and keep us updated on how he is doing.)
Hi Doug's Wife. Thank you so very much for your comment. I appreciate your thoughts and cannot put into words what the class has meant to me and always will. Doug is an amazing person and I feel greatly blessed to have met him and all of my inside classmates.
I truly wish that our time together did not have to end and I will miss them more than I could have imagined; but knowing that in our hearts we will always be friends is a wonderful thing and something that I will always hold on to.
Please say hello to him for me and ask him to pass my thoughts along - I know he is cellies with Bob and that many of the others live close by.
THANK YOU! Please keep in touch so we can stay updated on how they all are.
~ Caytie
Thanks again to each and every one of you. I know there is an agreement not to have contact with one another once the class ends, so I will definitely tell Doug, Bob, Tom and all the other guys that they are in your thoughts and hearts. I'm hoping every one of the guys will take another class like this in the future--for the challenge, for the self-esteem boost & for the connection(s) to the outside. This is a wonderful program--I hope to see it spread like wildfire throughout our country.
~~Susan~~
P.S. Many of your names are familiar within our household as we've heard so many fun stories over the weeks! ;)
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