Ithaca College

Maya Schenwar will be visiting campus to give a talk based on her new book, Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better. The talk will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 7:00 p.m. in School of Business 111 (the Carl Sgrecci Lecture Hall).

Using true stories of those behind bars and of the families — including her own — whose loved ones are incarcerated, she argues compellingly that our broken punishment system needs a major overhaul. With 2.3 million men, women, and teens currently behind bars, families and communities — especially poor communities of color — are often shattered.

But Schenwar doesn't simply offer this bleak scenario. Instead, she shares positive accounts of local initiatives in restorative justice. Using mentoring, accountability, and respect instead of isolation and contempt to treat people found guilty of crimes, they're successfully minimizing individual and societal problems that would otherwise lead people to despair, crime, and long-term or cyclical incarceration.

Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, calls Locked Down, Locked Out “highly persuasive and difficult to put down. I turned the last page feeling nothing less than inspired.”

Schenwar will also discuss her work as editor of one of the nation’s most influential independent media outlets, TruthOut.org, which offers in-depth investigative reporting, critical analysis, and creative ideas to spark action; it accepts no advertising or corporate backing.

After her talk, Schenwar will engage in a Q&A with the audience and then sign books. The event is sponsored by the Park Center for Independent Media and is free and open to all.

Individuals requiring accommodation are asked to contact Brandy Hawley, bhawley@ithaca.edu, 607-274-3590, as much in advance as possible.

Calendar listing here.