On January 29th,
I along with fourteen other OU students, traveled the Mabel Basset Correctional
Center, located in McLoud, OK for our first Inside/Out class session.
Back in the fall, I
received an email one afternoon from Professor of Sociology, Dr. Susan Sharp,
that a group of OU students would be participating in the University’s first
ever Inside/Out prison exchange program. Once a week, students would meet with
and take a sociology course along prisoners.
“Wait. Class with
prisoners?” I thought to myself. However, I didn’t need much convincing; within
about three seconds after reading the announcement, I replied back with a “sign
me up”.
Luckily, I got one
of the last seats left. Later that week, I met with Dr. Sharp to discuss the
course expectations. Originally, the course was to take place at the Norman
Department of Corrections. The Sheriff canceled the course the day after
Christmas for reasons unknown to me; however, Dr. Sharp quickly made other
arrangements for us to meet with the women prisoners of Mabel Bassett. I was
happy with the last minute change.
Over the rest of
the winter break, I began to wonder more and more what the class was going to
be like. I realized I’ve never had any actual exposure to life on the inside. I
mean, I’ve never been to prison, so the real question is, what can I base my
expectations on? I began to wonder if all we really know about prison is what
we see in movies and TV. Naturally, I asked myself, “Is it going to be like Orange is the New Black?”
The truth is, most people
have no idea what it’s like on the inside… and how can they? Prison is a
controversial, touchy subject that isn’t at the top of everyone’s list to talk
about. My intentions with this blog are to hopefully clear up some
misconceptions about prison life and what the inmates who live inside are like.
Considering the
sensitivity of the subject matter, the true identities of the inmates participating
in the Inside/Out program will be kept confidential throughout this blog.
The course focuses
on how race, class and gender, sexual identity, etc., construct the social,
political, and economic structures of every day life. We were told that each
week, both students and inmates would complete the same readings and writing
assignments. Like many other college courses, group work, group projects, and
discussions will be a major part of the course.
What is unique
about this class is, of course, the weekly interaction between students and
inmates that I will continuously blog about throughout this semester.
