After a successful and inspiring four semesters, the Center for Prison Education pilot program at Cheshire Correctional is up for re-approval. After faculty assessment, the proposed five year expansion plan was approved by the Educational Policy Committee last week; it now faces an all-faculty vote on March 1. Those involved in the program have every reason to be confident and proud. To ensure its passage, I am asking you, the student body, to lend your voice to this critical cause.

As outlined in its mission statement, the goal of the CPE is: “To advance Wesleyan’s commitment to civic engagement by offering college courses to incarcerated individuals, in order both to enrich the lives of those who are systematically denied access to educational opportunities and to enhance Wesleyan’s academic community.”

For the past two years, the most meaningful work that I have done has been within prison walls. As a workshop leader and tutor, I have found community, inspiration, and insight among a peer group that I otherwise would have never known. I entered Wesleyan eager to push my boundaries and challenge my assumptions, but looking back over my four years at this University, I never could have imagined the remarkable outcome of this pursuit.

The Wesleyan students at Cheshire prove daily their commitment to the program and to their education. They are committed to protecting and promoting the group before their own interests. When decisions are being made, they never hesitate to consider how these decisions might affect other Wesleyan students and future inmates who might seek to enroll in Wesleyan’s Center for Prison Education. They are curious, they are respectful, and they are committed. Their enthusiasm is inspiring. They have found an immensely positive focus on talent, compassion and teamwork that might otherwise be wasted or lost altogether.  I share this to affirm that what is being accomplished encompasses, yet goes far beyond service learning and civic engagement. This program, quite simply, is changing lives.

The five-year proposal includes enrolling new cohorts at Cheshire and expanding to York Correctional, the women’s facility, in 2012.  The inmates, once admitted, enroll in two courses a semester, taught by Wesleyan faculty who receive a stipend for their work. All of the money to run the program is raised privately and does not come from the University. Students are involved in the program as writing tutors and teaching assistants. Students also volunteer at three correctional facilities as workshop leaders, college prep tutors, and classroom assistants.
You can find out more at: www.wesleyan.edu/cpe.

It is an exceptional program, one that students founded, and one that students, alumni, professors, and the students at Cheshire are committed to seeing through.

If you care, let your professors know: send them an email, stop by their office hours, write them a letter, or catch them after class. This is one of few student initiatives to become part of the structure, and indeed mission, of the University. Help us make sure that the momentous student support is not overlooked or undersold. Encourage your professors to vote in support of the program at the faculty meeting on March 1.