Students break through stereotypes, barriers in Inside-Out class
Students at East Carolina University and men who are incarcerated at Greene Correctional Institution took a class together this fall that not only taught them about the criminal justice system, but also more about each other.
Students gathered in groups in a visitation room turned classroom at Greene Correctional Institution.
Every Tuesday night, 15 ECU students boarded a bus at Christenbury Gym for the 25-minute trip to Greene Correctional, a 616-capacity minimum custody facility. There ECU students were scanned by officers and metal detectors and processed into a visitation room that became a classroom, where they were joined by 15 resident students. All students went by their first names or a nickname. No cell phones, smart watches or laptops were allowed, only books and handouts.
The name of the class, Inside-Out, refers to where students are — incarcerated “inside” or living “outside” at ECU.
The course is the first of its kind in the UNC System. Another through Warren Wilson College, a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, is at a women’s prison in western North Carolina.
Dr. Michelle Malkin, assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, completed an intensive one-week, 50-hour training required to teach the course.
Based at Temple University, the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program started in 1997 as a way to bring together campus-based students with incarcerated students for a semester-long course in a prison, jail or other correctional setting. The innovative educational program is now offered through more than 160 universities with sponsored courses at over 200 prisons and jails, according to the website.
Malkin worked over a year with the N.C. Department of Adult Corrections (NCDAC) on a location, secured funding for transporting ECU students on an ECU Transit bus and created the curriculum for the course.
“The inside students thought, ‘We’re going to teach these people what it’s like to be institutionalized,’ and the outside students thought, ‘We’re going to teach them about the world.’ And instead they taught each other about everything,” Malkin said. “The biggest thing that shocked them all was how similar they felt on things, how connected they were, how there was never a time where it was obvious it was all the outside students or all the inside students who felt a certain way. That just didn’t happen.”
Tehya, an ECU senior, said she was nervous and not sure what to expect when she started the class.
“I had this idea that these men were going to be mean and tough, but it was far from that,” she said. “They were always ready to come in and learn, converse with you, get to know us outside students. This class became more than just a class; it became a friendship.”
Tehya is majoring in criminal justice with a minor in biology. The class opened her eyes to the needs of prisoners and areas that she can help improve in her career after graduation, she said.
“The biggest thing I learned is that the prison system needs serious help. For example, there needs to be a shift from a punitive method of punishment to a more rehabilitative method to ensure inmates don’t end up back in the same place,” she said. “In the future I plan to use this class to educate people on the justice system, help them to see what’s going on outside of what the media portrays.”
Mitch, an inside student, said the class inspired him to learn more about the criminal justice system and help with changes that are needed in prison.
“I got to share ideas and conversations with the outside students,” he said. “Inside-Out means to me a change is in the making. I wish it could have lasted longer. Maybe the inside students can start a weekly meeting. It has been great to be the first.”
Coursework focused on readings, weekly reflections and project-based, active learning which culminated in a final group project and presentation.
Inside-Out
Student reflections on the class were included in a program commemorating the final project and certificate ceremony. Here are some of their thoughts:
- Inside-Out has not only served as a unique class experience but has impacted my entire perception and understanding of the criminal justice system. I came into this class fully intending to pursue criminal prosecution following law school. This class has impacted me so much that I no longer am sure that I could pursue that career path while maintaining my personal morals. — Emma
- Something I will take from Inside-Out is that we all go through the same things. Our lives just go different ways. Inside-Out changes your view on prisons and people that are incarcerated. — Avery
- I learned a lot about myself that I had not thought I would during Inside-Out. It has also changed me. I opened up a lot more than I thought I would. — Blue
- I will be taking with me the friendships I’ve made as well as learning about topics I had no idea about, such as voting rights after reentry and collateral consequences. This class has changed me by not being as judgmental as I have been in the past with inside and outside students. — Brian
- The experience of giving the outside students a glimpse into our lives and showing we are good people who made bad decisions but can change is something I will take from this class. — Eazy
- It is crazy to see so many similarities between the inside and outside students. A lot of the time the only difference is being incarcerated. — Hyson
- After being incarcerated without any solid chances of finding a way to stay out of prison, along came this class. Will it provoke a wave of support for developing ways to make a community safe, along with incorporating ex-offenders back into society? I hope so! — Frank
- The inside students have taught me to always think before my actions and to never allow someone to peer pressure me into doing something I do not want to do. Inside-Out has changed me in multiple ways by helping me realize how grateful and thankful I should be. Not everyone is able to experience the same opportunities or be given the same opportunities as me like being able to see your family and friends, vote, or even own their own property. — Lillie
ECU students work alongside students from Greene Correctional Institution on a final project this fall.
“For me, it was about giving the students prompts and things where they had to think more critically and to apply the knowledge. We would spend about 10 minutes recapping what was in readings, and then it was all about application,” Malkin said.
One example came the week before November’s general election in a class exercise on voter disenfranchisement, where some students were allowed to vote but others couldn’t. In North Carolina, people convicted of a felony lose the right to vote until they complete their sentence, which includes probation, post-release supervision or parole.
After the class, outside students encouraged classmates who didn’t plan to vote to do so, Malkin said. “By learning, by doing, they will remember that. For our students, it helped them realize the importance of voting,” she said.
Early in the semester, the students reviewed statistics and demographics of people who are incarcerated.
“One of the inside students said, ‘Can you say that again?’ They could not believe it. They were writing everything down. They had no idea about the system and what it looks like other than from their own point of view. And it just opened their eyes,” Malkin said. “The outside students had heard these things over and over but what it meant until we were there, it was totally different.”
The Inside-Out class has been a valuable experience for participants, said Dr. Brooke Wheeler, NCDAC superintendent of education services in the rehabilitative and correctional services division, who attended the culminating activity and closing ceremony. Greene Correctional is a designated reentry facility that offers programs and services to help offenders nearing their release dates transition back into communities.
“For the inside students, it helps them remember that they are people who are worthy of life and an education. It gives them a positive way to engage in meaningful activities while incarcerated. It also helps inside students to help young people and to provide some insight based on their own hindsight, which gives them an improved self-concept and often improved self-esteem,” Wheeler said.
An ECU student discussion leader tapes project goals on a wall.
“For the outside students, they receive a perspective that is rarely available to the general population and particularly to the younger college generation,” she said. “Not only do they see the perspective from the point of incarceration and those who are incarcerated, but my experience has been that they expand their worldview of others who are considered a very marginalized population as valuable, unlike the typical worldview. They learn to see their fellow inside students as humans and as valuable resources of wisdom, despite any negative choices or choices that were made in their lives. This is extremely valuable for their liberal arts education, for a world perspective and for their futures, especially if they plan to work in the carceral system.”
Wheeler said she is grateful to ECU for providing the program within NCDAC.
“I am hopeful that this opportunity will continue for other cohorts and that perhaps we can even add on to it to create a degree program or some other type of meaningful educational opportunities,” she said.
ECU plans to offer the special topics class again this fall. It will be taught by Dr. Alison Cox, assistant professor of criminal justice and criminology, who shadowed Malkin throughout the course.
The last day of class was bittersweet for students, who were emotional and proud to be part of the first class but who are not allowed to contact each other once the class ends. All students selected for the course go through an application and interview process, including signing a contract to follow class rules and regulations. More than half of the inside students already had college degrees or some college; all are high school graduates.
Inside students said they didn’t want to stop learning. “It would be great if it were part of a bigger curriculum and they had more opportunity to get credits and go to school and get another degree if they already have one or get a degree if they don’t,” Malkin said.
“This will be a class these students remember for the rest of their lives,” she said. “The inside students will remember it, but especially the outside students. It was such a unique experience for them to go from an us-them mentality, especially in the first week, to an us mentality.”
Students gather after the last class at Greene Correctional Institution. (Contributed photo)