On April 28, 2011, John Ely, Professor of Criminology at St. Mary’s University, brought a Sociology class to San Quentin for a dialogue with members of the T.R.U.S.T. Fellows. The purpose of the visit was to create an honest and rich dialogue between students and prisoners. The students learned about members of the TRUST, men who have been incarcerated for a number of years and consequently taken courses and self-help programs, transforming their liabilities into assets. The students gained an understanding of who these men are and what they have done with and for themselves while they have been incarcerated. The TRUST Fellows gained an understanding of 2011 university students, their views on the incarcerated and on the justice system and questions they have about the prison system and the people within it. At the end of the day , it was obvious that the students and the ‘men in blue’ have much in common. Following are some of the students’ reflections on their visit:
Visiting San Quentin was life changing for me. I have never been to a prison, so it was a lot to take in. I thought it was interesting how the prisoners were very open about their experiences, and how they were incarcerated in the first place. I was not expecting them to be as friendly as they were, and it gave me a better perspective on things and how one act can change your life forever. I feel that they have changed since they were incarcerated, just from what they told us. How one guy, started out as level four and now he is a level two. The Trust Program is something that should be offered in every prison, I think that in such a negative environment there needs to be some positive, and the trust program is obviously helping them at San Quentin. The prisoners seemed genuinely happy, but the one pattern that I noticed was that a good handful said that they have been away from home for too long and that is where they want to go if they get paroled. Within that happiness, they do want to go home and make a better life for themselves than they had before they were incarcerated.
One story in particular was a guy who was a straight A student and then had a tragic accident when his brother died. He then he blamed school for everything, he became involved with a gang and sadly, there was a gang murder that he took part in. This goes to show how one event in your life can change who you are, and sometimes not for the better. However, I never knew that not all prisoners are nonchalant about what they have done and that they resent and feel bad since the day they committed the crime. At the same time they seem to have come to terms with the crime they committed; knowing that there is nothing they can do to take back what they did or to erase that crime.
The Trust Program overall, was an eye-opening experience. I thought differently of prisoners and that they are people just like me striving to be the best that they can, given the circumstances. Over time, if the Trust Program spreads to other prisons, I think more prisoners will become like the people I met at San Quentin; nice, sincere people who are paying their dues for something that they had done. They are in prison for a reason, but are now working through their issues they once had and are becoming better people. After my experience at San Quentin, I realized how much I benefited from it. I gained more understanding about how the prison system worked, let alone a prisoner’s day-to-day life. Having insight on someone else’s world is very valuable and being able to converse with the people in the Trust Program was valuable to me. During our group conversation, at one point, I forgot that I was at San Quentin with prisoners; this alone made me feel that I was in a safe environment and with people that were there to give their outlook on life as well as their life now. When I was about to leave, I realized that I could not just walk out to the car and be free, that I was in a prison and my freedom was based on other people’s decisions (the guard’s); I had to wait for someone’s permission to leave San Quentin. I was able to get a glimpse of what it is like to be a prisoner. This learning experience was incredible and being related to someone who is incarcerated, I now believe if someone wants to change and be a better person, even though they were at one time not in a good place, they have the ability to change their habits and tendencies; and having a Trust Program reinforces a positive environment for those who want to do so.
Visiting San Quentin was life changing for me. I have never been to a prison, so it was a lot to take in. I thought it was interesting how the prisoners were very open about their experiences, and how they were incarcerated in the first place. I was not expecting them to be as friendly as they were, and it gave me a better perspective on things and how one act can change your life forever. I feel that they have changed since they were incarcerated, just from what they told us. How one guy, started out as level four and now he is a level two. The Trust Program is something that should be offered in every prison, I think that in such a negative environment there needs to be some positive, and the trust program is obviously helping them at San Quentin. The prisoners seemed genuinely happy, but the one pattern that I noticed was that a good handful said that they have been away from home for too long and that is where they want to go if they get paroled. Within that happiness, they do want to go home and make a better life for themselves than they had before they were incarcerated.
One story in particular was a guy who was a straight A student and then had a tragic accident when his brother died. He then he blamed school for everything, he became involved with a gang and sadly, there was a gang murder that he took part in. This goes to show how one event in your life can change who you are, and sometimes not for the better. However, I never knew that not all prisoners are nonchalant about what they have done and that they resent and feel bad since the day they committed the crime. At the same time they seem to have come to terms with the crime they committed; knowing that there is nothing they can do to take back what they did or to erase that crime.
The Trust Program overall, was an eye-opening experience. I thought differently of prisoners and that they are people just like me striving to be the best that they can, given the circumstances. Over time, if the Trust Program spreads to other prisons, I think more prisoners will become like the people I met at San Quentin; nice, sincere people who are paying their dues for something that they had done. They are in prison for a reason, but are now working through their issues they once had and are becoming better people. After my experience at San Quentin, I realized how much I benefited from it. I gained more understanding about how the prison system worked, let alone a prisoner’s day-to-day life. Having insight on someone else’s world is very valuable and being able to converse with the people in the Trust Program was valuable to me. During our group conversation, at one point, I forgot that I was at San Quentin with prisoners; this alone made me feel that I was in a safe environment and with people that were there to give their outlook on life as well as their life now. When I was about to leave, I realized that I could not just walk out to the car and be free, that I was in a prison and my freedom was based on other people’s decisions (the guard’s); I had to wait for someone’s permission to leave San Quentin. I was able to get a glimpse of what it is like to be a prisoner. This learning experience was incredible and being related to someone who is incarcerated, I now believe if someone wants to change and be a better person, even though they were at one time not in a good place, they have the ability to change their habits and tendencies; and having a Trust Program reinforces a positive environment for those who want to do so.
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