RWC Professor Marilyn Simon, who coordinates the Criminal Justice Program here, has always believed that it is important to have students in the program visit some Ohio prisons in order to truly understand the conditions and lifestyle of a prisoner. At the end of Autumn Quarter, on December 2, 2009, Professor Simon took her students on what she stated was a “genuine eye-opener” field trip to Lebanon Correctional and Warren County Correctional facilities.
Starting their day at Lebanon Correctional, the class had the opportunity to experience a few memorable things. Simon described Lebanon Correctional to be “traditionally structured under one roof, loud and smelly, compared to Warren, which was more of a campus style living.”
At Lebanon Correctional the class got to have a Q&A with three inmates. “The students were not shy to be straight forward during their interviews,” said Simon.
She explained how the inmates talked openly about the separation between races within the prison, admitted to conflicts in gangs, and how many of the inmates claimed to be wrongly accused of wrongdoing.
One of the inmates told his story of owning a bar and getting caught selling drugs out of his establishment. This same inmate thrived on the idea of opening another bar when his time was up.
There were other interesting opportunities at the prison. For example, Warren County Correctional has a canine training program. This program gives the inmates responsibilities of caring for the dogs and teaching them basic commands. This is a great way for an inmate to be held accountable by maintaining some stability and some degree of normalcy.
There is also a program named OPI (Ohio Prison Industries), which is in all prisons in Ohio and is designed for inmates on good behavior. At Warren County Correctional Institute the specific program provides work for inmates in manufacturing binders, desks, chairs and many other items for schools such as UC or even the government. These types of opportunities really impressed Professor Simon and the students.
Departing Lebanon Correctional, everyone received a souvenir license plate reading “VISIT.” The significance was comical because the word was intended to show that the RWC students were not there for an extended stay, as the prisoners were. Another great bonus of the field trip was that they got to get their photo directly in front of the building. Professor Simon said that on previous visits they have had to take the picture all the way out by the road.
Overall, Simon termed the “eye-opening” experience a success. The students left with many things to think about while wrapping up their Criminal Justice class.
Along with visiting the prisons, the Student Activities Committee provided a grant for the students to have lunch at a Chinese buffet after their visit. Professor Simon was thoroughly pleased and thankful for the grant.