Prison Officials Unimpressed

19 Inmate Scholars Earn Degrees From Wayne
By Dorothy Saunders

In spite of the dreary, rainy evening, there was a beehive of activity inside the massive, dull red building with tall, narrow slits for windows. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, and people chatted in groups in the vestibule.

It was a college graduation, a memorable occasion for, friends and relatives- but somewhat less so for the graduates themselves.

For after all the pomp and circumstance, congratulations and picture-taking, the 19 men who received their degrees from Wayne State University last Thursday night would have to return to their respective cell blocks.

They were inmates at Jackson Prison, the first to complete their Bachelor of General Studies inside the walls through Wayne's College of Lifelong .Learning, Jackson Module. They face anywhere from a few months to a lifetime of incarceration.

The prisoner-graduates had hoped to join the 4,300 Wayne students who received their diplomas last week at Cobo Hall, but although several guards volunteered their time for the trip and an anonymous benefactor offered to foot the expenses, prison officials said no.

And despite the obviously heroic effort required to complete a college degree under such circumstances, the graduates will receive no new privileges or reduction of sentence for their trouble-only a one-line notation on their records.

Still, the inmate scholars were not without hope or appreciation. "We had a choice of being slaves and working in a factory," as one put it, "or working to benefit ourselves in school."

Graduate Terry Morrow expressed hope that his degree would "help to open some doors that otherwise may be closed to an ex-convict in a free society." He had studied for three years before coming to Jackson, and has another year and a half of time to serve before he is eligible for release.

Graduate Ron Irwin added that he took the program "to help offset the psychology that society has about us, and to help myself after I get out."

Until 1974, the only higher education available to Jackson inmates was an associate degree program from Jackson Community College. But then, with the help of a few professors at Wayne's College of Lifelong Learning, including Gloria House, Charles Thornton, Jim Bray, Andre Furtado, and others, prisoners finally gained access to a third and fourth-year program. A special state educational grant was arranged to allow some inmates to take advantage of the course offerings, and others were able to use the Veterans' Educational Bill.

Although this first graduating class was small indeed, some classes at the Prison have 75 to 100 students. But Wayne is still able to reach only a small fraction of the thousands of inmates at Jackson- for this program, only those who already have two years of college credit.

Not surprisingly, the frustrations of studying in the regimented and repressive atmosphere of a prison are many. One inmate, Harvey Towlen, wrote his graduation thesis on "The Impossibility of Doing a Paper in Prison." Terry Morrow regrets that there are no mechanisms for graduate inmates to pass on their knowledge to others.

Both speakers at last week's graduation, Morrow and J.C. Jones -chosen by their colleagues to represent the Class of '76 - made pleas for increased understanding and consideration from the society outside the walls. "We are not animals," they insisted, pointing out that regardless of the social stigma attached to ex-cons, they remain people with feelings, hopes, dreams, dignity - and, obviously, the courage to carry on in a positive way under the most adverse circumstances.

Nevertheless, prison officials gave no explanation for their refusal to allow the graduates to travel to Detroit for the regular Wayne Commencement - even after eight guards volunteered their services and the anonymous citizen offered to pay not only for the guards' time and transportation, but for a reception.

And many inmates achieved little more than personal satisfaction from their degrees. Prison officials have offered no "good time," no extended privileges, no greater access to the canteen, no additional time outside the cells when not in class.

Many college graduates on the outside are frustrated because they can't find work, or if they can, it is work outside their major field. These are miniscule obstacles compared to those faced by the Jackson graduates, who must wait upon the whims of the powers that be, from the Warden to the courts and the Governor, before they can re-enter society and try to resume a normal life.

Dr. James Metzen, Director of Treatment at Marquette Prison, has reported good results with "positive reinforcement of constructive behavior", as opposed to punishment tor negative behavior. Melzen was talking about hard-core criminals, incorrigibles, not college graduates.

If a college degree counts for so much on the outside, doesn't an inmate who earns one deserve more "positive reinforcement" than a one-line entry on his record?

If our leaders in government and in the community are as sincere as they say they are about wanting to "rehabilitate" prisoners, then surely the responsible, productive, and disciplined efforts of these 19 inmate scholars demand a more equitable response from them.

Dorothy Saunders is a free-lance writer who lives in Detroit.

People interested in the Jackson inmate scholars may write the Wayne State University College of Lifelong Learning, Jackson Module, in care of Gloria House, Second Floor, 2978 West Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202.