New University of Regina class going behind bars

A new class being offered at the University of Regina for the winter semester will take an English course, and students, to inmates at the Regina Correctional Centre.

It’s a 300-level class and it’s called Prison Writing Exchange. It will see eight university students go into the jail to do some reading and writing workshops with 16 inmates.

Jason Demers, the assistant professor offering the class, explained the idea behind it.

“I think that people will bust down stereotypes and start to think in more complex ways about why people are incarcerated, and hopefully if we’re thinking about people as future policymakers and leaders, we’ll start making some decisions that start to change that path,” Demers said.

He said there are stereotypes and biases that could be broken down on both sides.

“When we look at what’s the most intimidating place that you can think of, a lot of us think of prison. And we think that people who are intimidating are these people who are incarcerated who, perhaps, have different tattoos and are big and so on,” said Demers.

“And when you’re actually looking at building bridges, well, for somebody who’s incarcerated, a university campus might be a really alienating and intimidating place. University students might seem to be completely different and not them and so on.”

Demers said those offering the course want to think about the bridges that can be built between the education and correctional systems.

He cited several studies and programs out of the U.S. and Eastern Canada that have had positive results in providing education to inmates — some showing big reductions in reoffending rates and employment rates post-incarceration. But because this is just one English class, Demers isn’t expecting such dramatic results.

The inmates who take part in the class won’t get university credit, but they will get a certificate of completion for the course.

This will be the first time the class is offered at the University of Regina, but similar programs have been offered elsewhere; Demers participated in one when he was in university in Kingston, Ont. He said it helped break down his own preconceived notions of what jail was and who the inmates were.

“You don’t think that you’re biased, you don’t think that you walk through the world with stereotypes, but as soon as you meet people who you don’t generally have the opportunity to meet, you see that they’re very different than the people who you expected to meet in the first place,” he said.

There will be a process for those students who want to take the course. They’ll have to apply and go through criminal record and vulnerable sector checks. Demers said the students will also be assessed to make sure they can handle going into the jail and won’t be “irked” by it, or that they aren’t just seeking thrills.

An information night for students interested in the class will be held Sept. 18, 1:30 p.m., in Room 349 of the Administration and Humanities building at the University of Regina.