We’re sitting in on a very different kind of college class taking place in an unusual setting. There are 20 students in a class which looks at the criminal justice system, and how it can be improved.
They’re all California Lutheran University students. But 11 of them travel to the Juvenile Justice Facility in Oxnard to attend the class. The other nine students live here because they are incarcerated.
"It's a new perspective on not only myself, but classmates, the individuals that I'm housed with, and the justice system in all...understanding the courts, victimization aspects, rehabilitation aspects," said ML, one of the incarcerated students in the program. (We're only using the initials of the incarcerated students because of their age.)
The class is part of the international Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, intended to create understanding and collaboration and help those who are incarcerated work towards a new start by furthering their education.
"Inside-Out is this dynamic program in which we bring justice-impacted students with traditional CLU students, and they take a college course together," said Dr. Schannae Lucas, Chair of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at CLU.
"Our belief is that we create this opportunity for social change to take place in nontraditional spaces," said Lucas. "This is my fifth time teaching it, and my first time bringing it to the juvenile facility."
The teens and young adults at the Oxnard Juvenile Justice Facility are between 14 and 25 years old. They’re here because they've been charged with or convicted of serious felony offenses.
There’s a high school in the facility, so those who haven’t completed it can get a degree. To get into the Inside-Out program, which is a college credit class, the incarcerated student must have a high school diploma or GED.
"One of the primary focuses of what we're trying to do here is to keep the youth from continuing on into the adult (criminal) system," said John Tormey, Division Manager with the Ventura County Probation Agency. "Once people get into the adult system, it's much more difficult to get them out of it."
"We are bringing community-based organizations and the community in to work with them. We have mentors. This is a really great time to try to impact their lives and make meaningful change in them," said Tormey. He added that the hope is that the high school program, and now the college class, will help steer these young adults in a better direction.
Cal Lutheran students from the outside say the class is an eye-opener. Carmen Martinez wants to be a lawyer.
"It's so amazing. It's so impactful," said Martinez. "Taking this class has allowed me to realize I want to go into the criminal defense attorney side, and I do want to work with juveniles, so they can get fair treatment, because juveniles and adults get treated differently."
"I had a picture in my head of what it would be like, and who the people would be," said Kelly Alexander, another one of the outside students.
"It was nothing like what you see on TV. The kids next to me looked like kids in my other classes, and their personalities are similar to my friends," said Alexander. "You just realize the labels people have don't mean anything."
"I haven't really decided what I'm going to do for a career," said JR, one of the inside Cal Lutheran students. "Maybe I'll become a firefighter. But, following the Inside-Out class, I do plan on taking the mindset from this that I can continue growing," said JR, who is one of the inside Cal Lutheran students.
ML is 18 years old. He just earned his high school diploma. He admits that taking the college class was a bit overwhelming at first, but he's trying to get his life moving in a positive direction.
"Right now, I'm enrolled in college full time at Oxnard College. My major is psychology and social science. My plan is to become a youth advocate, a mentor for my community. I want to come back into facilities like the one I'm in now, and be able to be a voice for them. I want to let them know that they're not alone, and that there is a way out."
Editor's note: KCLU's license is held by California Lutheran University.
