The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted daily lives, and the Cornell Prison Education Program is regrouping to support our students, teachers, and staff under the new conditions. Amid emerging cases of COVID-19 in NYS prisons, including three incarcerated people and at least 33 correctional staff, we need to double down on our efforts to stay connected with our students in prison. The prison system suspended family visits and programs (including college) ten days ago, and everyone's movement within the prison is increasingly circumscribed. There is no "social distancing" in prison, and incarcerated people carry the added burden of worrying about friends and family whom they cannot see.
Today we joined several other college-in-prison initiatives from around the state to send a letter to the acting commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, as well as several others, asserting the importance of our relationships and communication with our students during this time of isolation. Read the letter here.
CPEP suspended in-person teaching on March 12th, the same day we were boosting CPEP on social media for "Cornell Giving Day." It was a day of cheers and tears: One minute we were celebrating our wonderful supporters in the community, and the next minute we were drafting a memo to our students essentially saying that we were not sure when we would be able to return to see them again. Read more about our Giving Day success here. We are grateful to everyone who was involved.
Before COVID-19, there was an emerging trend toward departments of corrections encouraging remote/electronic instruction, video calls with family, etc., in order to cut down on the effort (and cost) of in-person visits to the prison. We strongly oppose this tendency to further isolate and abandon our students in prison by substituting machines for the few human visitors that are allowed inside prison walls. However, during the current forced hiatus, we will use whatever tools we can to stay connected with our students on the inside. In the short term, we are printing out a memo to our students each week, and sending them updates on our attempts to keep classes and lines of communication open during this public health crisis.
Thanks for your continued interest in, and support for, CPEP's important mission!
Rob Scott, Exec. Director
Cornell Prison Education Program
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted daily lives, and the Cornell Prison Education Program is regrouping to support our students, teachers, and staff under the new conditions. Amid emerging cases of COVID-19 in NYS prisons, including three incarcerated people and at least 33 correctional staff, we need to double down on our efforts to stay connected with our students in prison. The prison system suspended family visits and programs (including college) ten days ago, and everyone's movement within the prison is increasingly circumscribed. There is no "social distancing" in prison, and incarcerated people carry the added burden of worrying about friends and family whom they cannot see.
