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Inmates and IUPUI Students Thrive in Exchange

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webpic.jpgThis summer IUPUI students and inmates at the Plainfield Reentry Educational Facility (P.R.E.F.) came together to learn about social movements in a class held at the Westside facility. The course, taught by Professors Susan Brin Hyatt (Liberal Arts - Anthropology) and Roger Jarjoura (SPEA - Criminal Justice),  was a first for Indiana and part of the”Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program,” a national, experiential learning model meant to bring university students together with inmates for courses taught behind prison walls. The students, all men and seven each from the inside and outside the prison system, came together twice weekly to gain a deeper understanding of the criminal justice system and of ways to create social change through the marriage of theoretical knowledge and practical experience.

At the program’s closing ceremony on August 1st attending by families, facility employees, other prisoners, and IUPUI faculty and staff, both students and the program faculty reported on the life-changing impact of the course. Outside student Clint wrote, “The Inside-Out program has given me the motivation and knowledge that is necessary to give back to our local community.” Inside student Tyrone said, “I’ve learned to be understanding of others, learning how groups can get together and make a change.” Hyatt and Jarjoura hope to make the class an annual occurance and to bring it to other facilities in the state of Indiana.

Learn more about the Inside-Out Program
Read the story in the Indianapolis Star
Watch the coverage on WISH TV

Photo: Inside and outside students at the closing ceremony.

Tags: News · frontpage

Published on: August 03, 2007