Building Justice From the Inside Out: Behind the Scenes of Rosie’s Riveters

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

The national Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program is designed to bring together “Outside” (undergraduate) and “Inside” (incarcerated) students to study as peers inside a correctional facility. We were students in an Inside-Out class at St. John’s University at Rose M. Singer Center--nicknamed “Rosie’s”--the female jail on Rikers Island (NYC). In our sessions we explored crime and justice issues through critical race and feminist perspectives. A course requirement is a collaborative group project. One Inside student suggested we create our own newspaper to give us a voice on issues discussed in class. Working in small groups, we chose topics that interested us and applied individual skills to produce essays and editorials, political cartoons, a crossword puzzle, advertisements, and an Inside-Out application for incarcerated students. Challenges included content decisions and pairing Inside and Outside writers, learning new software, funding, editing material to fit limited space, meeting a tight deadline, and generally working across jail and university boundaries. Surpassing obstacles, our class demonstrated Rosie’s “can do spirit” and produced a quality newspaper that was distributed within the jail and across campus. Our paper allowed all students to voice their opinions and to inform the general public on key criminal justice-related topics.

Authors

• Brianna Billotti, St. John's University

• Christina Boccio, St. John's University

• Jessica Lawrence, St. John's University

• Ashley Lucien, St. John's University

• Fiona Travers, St. John's University