San Quentin sits alongside the Bay like a castle, a penitentiary full of history and legend. It is symbolic of a bloody past – once home to warriors and beasts alike who met in combat and insurrection.
The Bastille by the Bay and the Gloomy Citadel of Despair are just a couple of names of this illustrious prison. Every bloody and withered stone of San Quentin has withstood the elements of time but those mythic warriors and tall tales are no more. The culture has morphed into a place of progressive rehabilitation, now home to numerous pro-social programs – a place where the “lifer” population can utilize a variety of curricula to support the rehabilitation process.
One of the cornerstone pro-social programs is the Prison University Project (PUP), also known as Patten College led by Dr. Jodi Lewen, has huge enrollments and provides prisoners with the opportunity to become serious students. Professors from prestigious universities in the Bay Area like Cal-Berkeley and Stanford volunteer their time to provide quality education. In addition, PUP provides a study hall featuring college professors and graduate students who volunteer their time for the students. The no-nonsense Amy Roza and Kara Urion support the students and volunteers by ensuring that they have a variety of educational tools at their disposal to facilitate the rehabilitation process. Important critical thinking skills are developed. The ability to understand reasoning, set goals and to think beyond pre-conceived limits are all trademark skills the students learn at PUP. Unlike the other college programs that are found throughout other prisons in the state, PUP provides students with the opportunity to be exposed to other viewpoints and it fosters a sense of community.
Utilizing skills learned in the classroom at PUP gives prisoners at San Quentin a leg up. Boasting self-esteem, learning valuable life skills, and being surrounded by a community of citizens who actually care about a prisoner’s life are all part of what PUP does best. The prisoners at San Quentin are lucky to have the opportunity to attend classes at PUP…this one is thankful. I hope that in the future PUP can serve as a model to bring change throughout CDCR.
