University of Cincinnati students taking class to see realities of prison system
Local media interview students who take classes once a week within the walls of the prison system
WLWT reporter Lindsay Stone visited the University of Cincinnati campus and the River City Correctional Center to get a better understanding of the "Inside-Outside" program, led by UC’s J.Z. Bennett.
In the segment, Stone speaks to both UC students and inmates about their experiences with this type of educational training.
Once a week, UC students travel to correctional facilities as part of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, where they and incarcerated individuals discuss criminal justice topics such as sentencing, parole, life after prison and recidivism in a classroom setting.
"I think that's the power of Inside-Outside," to break down the walls that separate us to talk about dialogue across profound social differences," Bennett stated in the WLWT segment.
Bennett earned his doctorate in criminal justice at Temple University (where the program originated in 1997) and incorporated the program at UC when he came on board at the School of Criminal Justice — within the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services — in 2022.
The program was also incorporated into the philosophy curriculum within the university’s College of Arts and Sciences in the spring 2023 semester and is lead by faculty there.
Read more about the Inside-Outside Program.
Featured image at top by UC Marketing + Comm/Andrew Higley.
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