Who We Are
Activity Inside
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How To Start a Chapter
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California Prison Rules and Regulations
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The Claremont Colleges Chapter of the Women and Criminal Justice Network is a student-run organization that works to support the mission and goals of WCJN at the Claremont Colleges. The chapter aims to raise consciousness at the Claremont Colleges about prison-related issues; to plan and promote and initiate student activism around these issues; and to sponsor, organize and/or support campaigns around prison-related issues and public education.
The chapter sponsors events and carries out projects in the California Institution for Women (CIW) and on the campuses of the Claremont Colleges. Incorporating the network’s aim of creating positive change by bringing people on the outside together with people on the “inside” for crossover events, students attend monthly visits to CIW to meet with a group of incarcerated women, ages 18-30, who are members of the Young Adult Networking Group (YANG). Additionally, the chapter plans and executes projects that address the needs and interests that women at CIW have expressed. The group welcomes all members of the Claremont Colleges community to participate, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff.
The college chapter invites its members and any interested individuals to attend monthly meetings at the California Institution for Women (CIW) with the Young Adult Networking Group (YANG). The visits are organized to build relationships with women inside through conversation and group activities and to provide resources and support. Students from other colleges and universities in the area who have a serious interest in Criminal Justice or who are members of affiliated organizations are also invited to participate.
One example of an event at CIW was a writing seminar led by Minnie Bruce Pratt, a well known writer, poet, and activist who was a visiting professor at the Claremont Colleges. YANG members and students from the Claremont Colleges participated.
Ideas for future meetings include bringing other professors from the Claremont Colleges to give lectures; organizing a discussion with a legal scholar about the rights of formerly incarcerated individuals; sponsoring a seminar on how to find and apply for a job with a career counselor; having an improv or game night; having film screenings and discussions; reading and discussing short stories; having a discussion about feminism; and collaborating on a community service project.
On campus, the chapter aims to raise awareness and understanding of issues related to women in the criminal justice system. The chapter has hosted weekly film screenings, sponsored speakers, and posted educational fliers across the campuses. In working to educate others, we also educate ourselves. Members are encouraged to research specific policies, new bills and recently released reports to ensure we are informed and to use the information as a basis for activism.
The chapter has also done work to support other organizations, including fundraising for Get On the Bus, a WCJN-affiliated program [link] that brings children to visit their parents in prison for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Future plans for fundraising include organizing a benefit concert and selling t-shirts with statistics about women’s prisons.
Resource Booklet: This year, chapter members produced a resource booklet for YANG members. The booklet is a list of resources to help those soon to be released in California to have a successful transition from prison to the world outside. The booklet includes names and contact information for organizations which offer transitional housing, medical services, employment, job training, and education to formerly incarcerated women. The booklet also includes information on how to write a resume and cover letter and interviewing tips.
Chapter members took on the resource booklet project in response to conversations with YANG members. During our meetings in the prison YANG members would often ask students to help them find resources to prepare for their release. There is no internet access inside the prison, which prevents the women from having access to the information they need. However, the students have easy access to the internet and research skills to find the resources the YANG members requested. Chapter members decided to compile a comprehensive list of resources that could be given to all the women in YANG. YANG members were thrilled with the result, and the chapter would like to make copies of the booklet for all YANG members, and ideally, for all women at CIW who are about to be paroled.
Organization By-Laws: An Outline of Who We Are and What We Do.
Name:
Women and Criminal Justice Network: Claremont University Consortium Chapter
Purpose:
Mission statement:
"Women and Criminal Justice promotes public policy reforms, alternatives to incarceration and gender-responsive programming to address the needs of incarcerated women and their children in California. We provide opportunities for those on the 'outside' to be in conversation with women on the 'inside'. Our policy priorities are informed by the experiences of and our experiences with incarcerated women." (This is the adapted mission statement of our parent organization)
Additionally, this organization aims to raise consciousness about prison-related issues at the Claremont Colleges; to plan, promote and instigate student activism; “and to sponsor, organize, and/or support campaigns on these issues, including public education”
Membership:
Membership is restricted to students, faculty and staff of all schools that make up the CUC. Any of the above persons can come to meetings. Membership shall not be determined on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, social class, disabilities or gender.
There are three levels of membership:
Core group: Members of the core group will also be members of the Women & Criminal Justice Network, and will attend WCJN meetings when possible. They also will be the leaders and chair persons of the CUC chapter.
The second level of membership includes those interested in planning and communications.
The third level of membership includes those who are interested in coming to events and those who would like to stay informed about the group’s activities.
Definition of Core Group:
The following are the initially proposed core group chairs, which are subject to change as needed. Chairs may lead and/or form committees and enlist group members as needed to carry out supporting work. Chairs will be chosen and appointed by core group members each semester.
Fundraising Chair -- Plans fundraisers to support group’s activities and to support campaigns or issues selected by the group; investigates possible issues/campaigns for group to support; leads campus fundraising efforts to support the annual Get on the Bus campaign. Works with event chair to plan events and sponsored activities. Serves as Treasurer.
Communications chair -- Conducts poster campaigns, oversees publicity and campus-wide communications, does media outreach, informs members and students of current activities, and conducts publicity to expand membership. May compile information for a weekly update of organization activities and current events. Maintains contact list, sends out minutes of meetings, and consults with other chairs to set agenda.
Prison Visitation and Communications Chair -- Organizes prison visits, oversees necessary paperwork, communicates with representatives from the Yong Adult Networking Group (YANG) and any other relevant groups, and prepares participants for visits and activities.
Political Action Events Chair -- Identifies current issues and updates members and the student body of current legislative and political issues relating to the prisons and parole campaigns. Maintains awareness of related organizations’ activities. Oversees organizing of political actions as determined by the group. Compiles regular updates of current political events and issues.
Events Chair – Oversees planning, including securing venues, completing necessary paperwork, arranging for refreshments, etc
Faculty Advisors:
There will be one or two regular faculty advisors from the CUC.
Meetings:
The group shall meet as needed.
The core group will meet weekly.
Core group members shall attend the monthly meetings of the parent organization if possible.
The group will sponsor approximately three events each semester.
This group shall also sponsor regular trips to women’s prisons in support of the mission statement.
Business:
At least 50% of the core group must be present to conduct business at any time.
Failure:
If the group fails, all proceeds will go to Scripps Associated Students (SAS).
Amendments:
To amend the constitution a majority vote of the core members is needed.
Ratification:
This constitution must be signed by all members of the Spring 2006 core group to be ratified.
As one of the “crossover events” in November of 205, the larger network sponsored a daylong conversation at CIW for women ages 18-25 years old and about 15 students from the Claremont Colleges. Plans for the event originated from requests of the women on the inside to have the opportunity to interact and have conversations with women on the outside. After the conversation the students were given a tour of the prison because the women felt it would help the students understand life in prison.
This experience impacted both parties in different ways. The women in CIW started a club called the Young Adult Networking Group (YANG), which began to meet weekly. Several students who attended the crossover event began to attend the monthly network meetings. Additionally, in the spring of 2006, Network member Susan Castagnetto taught a course at Pomona College called “Women, Crime and Punishment.” Several students from the class and the network began meeting weekly, along with two professors and network members, to discuss the establishment of a chapter of Women and Criminal Justice Network at the Claremont Colleges. In the initial months following the establishment of the club, the by-laws were written and the club sponsored several film screenings. From an initial group of 5 active members, the chapter has grown to have 15 active members and a large email list of over 100 students. The chapter meets weekly to plan campus activity and projects.
Form a Chapter
- Find a group of interested students and at least one faculty advisor, if not more. It only takes a few dedicated people to get a group going. Prepare a flyer about your planning meeting, and ask professors to announce the details in their classes. If you have a student e-mail list, announce it via the list. Tell other organizations about your plans. Post flyers. Tell your friends!
- At your first planning meeting, discuss what you hope to accomplish. What type of activities would you like to organize and sponsor? Is campus funding available to plan events? Do you want to work on your campus or in a prison or both? Do some students already know about prison-related issues on your campus?
- Find out if there a prison near you, or other criminal justice-related facilities, halfway houses, organizations that work with incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people, and who the contact person (or relevant prison administrator) is.
- Write your bylaws. Use ours or create your own.
- Schedule weekly or bi-monthly meetings. Use these meetings as an opportunity to discuss prison-related news and issues, plan on-campus events, make fundraising goals, and plan your partnership with the prison or other facility.
Visiting a Local Prison
- If you want to work in or regularly visit a prison you will need to contact and build a relationship with the prison administration. One way to begin is by working with an outside organization that already has a relationship with the prison. It may also be easier to begin by setting up a prison tour. Your faculty advisor can help make the necessary contacts.
- If it seems feasible to make regular visits to the prison, find out what the possibilities are for meeting with groups inside. One possibility is to meet with an already established group that already has a staff member as a contact and a pre-determined meeting time. If this isn’t possible, you will need to invite certain members of the prison population and set a meeting time that does not interfere or conflict with their schedules.
- Organize a crossover event, where people from your college can visit the prison to have a conversation with people inside. Crossover events are a wonderful way to challenge stereotypes and raise immediate awareness of what prisons are like and the issues people inside prisons face by listening to those most affected by them. Crossovers also will motivate many to become chapter members. There is likely to be a great deal of interest in the opportunity to go into a prison for the first time, but also some trepidation; it may be useful to have a discussion session before the visit, and it is also important to have a debriefing session after the visit.
- Find out what the prerequisites and rules are for prison visits. You will need to know how to get cleared for entrance and what you can wear, bring, and do inside the prison. It is best to have a single person take responsibility for arranging clearances; your faculty advisor may be the best person to do this.
- After the visit, be sure to have a discussion of what you learned and what the “next step” should be.
Using Campus Resources:
College campuses offer a wealth of resources that can be used to raise awareness of prison issues and support women in prison. Other college chapters should try to use resources available to them on campus to carry out their projects. Examples include bringing professors and professionals from campus to a prison to give lectures and workshops, bringing information from the campus career center to the prison, and using the internet to find information and resources for women in prison who do not have internet access.
Creating Projects through Conversations and Collaboration:
The Claremont Colleges Chapter of the Women and Criminal Justice Network follows the Network’s strategy of crossing over as a means to produce positive change. Other college chapters should follow this strategy, as well. College activism should be informed by the needs and views of the women inside the prison. The Crossovers are an opportunity for women from the outside to have conversations with women inside. These conversations are meant to lead to a “next step” in strategizing for change. The plans should involve both those inside and those outside. Moreover, the plans are created during a conversation between both groups, encouraging the formation of a partnership.
Resources for locating a prison near you:
Federal Prisons
Alabama:
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Idaho
Illinois
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Iowa
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New Mexico
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Ohio
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South Carolina
South Dakota , Juvenile
Texas
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Utah
Vermont
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Washington
Washington DC
West Virginia
Wisconsin
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Contact Claremont Colleges Chapter leaders:
Adrian Hodos, co-founder and co-Leader: ahodos@scrippscollege.edu
Hannah Segal, co-Leader: hsegal@scrippscollege.edu
Alex, student leader, apauley@scrippscollege.edu
Susan Castagnetto, faculty advisor: Scastagn@scrippscollege.edu
Erin Runions, faculty advisor: erin.runions@pomona.edu
