EJP student William Sutherland and instructor Amy Young work together at the keyboard during a music workshop Amy offered at Danville Correctional Center in August 2026. | | |
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We're fortunate to keep two cameras, which are owned by the University of Illinois, on site at Danville Correctional Center, one for still photos and the other for videos. In this regard we are much more fortunate than many college-in-prison programs that have never been able to take photos of their incarcerated students or the prison setting.
We can't use the cameras whenever we like; we must request permission in advance from prison administration. We reserve these requests for special occasions, a few times each year. After taking any photos, we turn the memory card over to the prison's Internal Affairs Department so its staff can review the photos. They look for things such as a student wearing non-regulation dress or anything that hints at gang affiliation and delete such photos. Sometimes we must wait months to have a memory card returned.
When we receive permission to take a card out of the prison, it's a moment for celebration. Many loved ones of EJP students look forward to our posting photos of their incarcerated friends and families on the EJP website, on social media, or in this newsletter. (Students sign a release at the beginning of each academic year and we honor the wishes of those who do not want their photos published or do not wish to be identified in photos.)
Having the ability to represent our students is important to us, as it helps us to fulfill our mission of demonstrating the positive impacts of higher education in prison. It's not enough simply to offer University of Illinois courses or to create a vibrant learning community at the prison; we also charge ourselves to make the case that programs such as EJP are vital and transformative, for students, instructors, institutions like the U of I, and society as a whole. Photos are valuable aids to that purpose.
I'm trained as an architectural historian and aware of how powerful graphic representations can be. Several year ago, some EJP students and I created a handout we titled "Guidelines for Representing Students in Higher Education in Prison" to guide EJP's use of photos and serve as a starting point for discussions in other programs. It continues to inform our photographic practices within EJP.
You can find photos of EJP students on our flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/people/11503798@N07/
Videos are available on EJP's vimeo page: https://vimeo.com/user11297827
Enjoy browsing!
Take Care,
Rebecca Ginsburg
EJP Director
p.s. Last week's issue failed to identify the photographer, EJP intern Jasmine Doyle. Typically, photos from Danville are taken by me or Shaelyn Smith, EJP's academic director.
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Author Talk: 911, What's Your Emergency?
Mon Oct 26 - today!
4:30-6pm
In person
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The Education Justice Project is honored to host Rebecca Neusteter, executive director of U Chicago's Urban Labs, for a conversation about her new book 911, What’s Your Emergency?: The Promise and Peril of Crisis Response.
911 is largely promoted as a tool to save lives. Yet, too often it puts people’s safety in jeopardy, especially in communities of color.
Neusteter’s research is an urgent call to action that challenges us to transform America’s overburdened 911 system and make it safe, just, and equitable for all.
Indivduals planning to attend the event are welcome to pick up a free copy of her book in the EJP office or at today's event.
If you have any questions or concerns, or need any accommodations to fully participate, please reach out to events@educationjustice.net.
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EJP Accepting Applications
Deadline: Nov 15
Info Tables: Oct 26, Oct 28
Zoom Info Sessions: Oct 27, Nov 11
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EJP is accepting applications until November 15, 2026 from individuals interested in contributing to EJP's college-in-prison program at Danville Correctional Center, our Prison to Gown Pathway, and Policy & Research team in Spring 2027. We are also accepting applications from undergraduate and graduate students who wish to intern with EJP in Spring 2027.
For those interested in teaching a for-credit course at the prison, we are recruiting for instructors for the 2027-28 academic year. For-credit instructors are compensated; other positions are not.
You can learn more from the flyer below, which provides detailed information about upcoming EJP info tables and information sessions held in person or via Zoom. Please RSVP for the info sessions in advance and feel free to stop by the info tables to chat with EJP members at your convenience.
Oct 26 - Law College 1st floor, 11:30 - 1:30
Oct 28 - School of Social Work foyer, 11 - 1
If you have any questions or concerns, or need any accommodations to fully participate, please reach out to events@educationjustice.net.
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Prison Abolition Discussion
Mon Nov 2
5 - 6pm
Via Zoom
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We hold occasional discussions about prison abolition via Zoom. All are welcome to participate, learn, and share.
Our Nov. 2 discussion is intended for individuals who already have a basic understanding of abolition and wish to explore some of its nuances, though those new to the subject are also welcome to attend. We'll consider the arguments that African-American philosopher Tommie Shelby makes in his 2022 book, The Idea of Prison Abolition. In it, he engages Angela Davis' Are Prisons Obsolete? and ultimately finds himself more convinced by the reformist than the abolitionist agenda.
Come to learn more and to explore your own commitments.
It's not required, but if you want to read some short excerpts from the book prior to our meeting, see the link below.
If you have any questions or concerns, or need any accommodations to fully participate, please reach out to events@educationjustice.net.
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RIPPLE Effect - Thanksgiving
Mon Nov 9
5:30 - 7pm
In person
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RIPPLE Effect stands for Reaching Inside Prisons with Purpose and Love. During these events, attendees write cards to loved ones and community members who are currently incarcerated. Stationery and food are provided. Anyone is welcome to attend.
We request an RSVP, but it's not necessary. Upcoming RIPPLEs are scheduled for:
- Monday, November 9, 2026; 5:30-7:00 pm CT (Thanksgiving cards)
- Tuesday, December 15, 2026; 5:30-7:00 pm CT (holiday cards)
These events are held at Bethel AME Church,401 E. Park Street in Champaign, IL. There is easy street and lot parking.
EJP is grateful for the support of Bethel AME Church and the Urbana-Champaign Quaker Meeting for making RIPPLE gatherings possible!
If you have any questions or concerns, or need any accommodations to fully participate, please reach out to events@educationjustice.net.
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Author Talk: The Deserving
Mon Nov 16
12 -1pm, Law School
4 - 6pm, Campus YMCA
In Person
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Elizabeth Vartkessian works with criminal defense teams as a mitigation specialist. She isn't part of the Innocence Project; her clients are often legally guilty, and often of terrible crimes. Rather, her job is to spend hundreds of hours per case talking to the parents, siblings, teachers, and neighbors of a defendant, situating their crimes in context. The hope is to lesson their sentence and possibly avoid the death penalty.
Vartkessian's latest book, The Deserving: What the Lives of the Condemned Reveal About American Justice, offers sensitive life narratives of individuals who have been convicted of serious crimes. It raises questions about society's responsibilities for its most marginalized members.
EJP is hosting two campus events on Mon Nov. 16 with Liz Vartkessian. The first, at the law college, is co-hosted with the Criminal Law Society and the Public Interest Law Foundation. The second is in Murphy Lounge at the Campus YMCA from 4 - 6 and co-hosted with the Humanities Research Institute. Food served at both. The second event will include a discussion panel featuring the author and EJP alumni. Liz is also speaking to EJP students at Danville prison the following day.
All are welcome to attend and to read The Deserving in advance. It is a powerful and sobering book. Free copies are available at the EJP offices.
If you have any questions or concerns, or need any accommodations to fully participate, please reach out to events@educationjustice.net.
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EJP Lunch
Wed Nov 18
12 -1pm
Hybrid
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Researchers estimate that about 5% of people held in US prisons are innocent of the charges of which they were convicted.
How can that be? And what can people who have been wrongly incarcerated do to redress their situation?
Many EJP students have claimed innocence. Few have been exonerated and released on those grounds.
Our November lunch will feature Prison to Gown Pathway director Chrissy Ferre, who formerly worked with UIS's Innocence Project. Chrissy, who is not a lawyer, will provide an overview on innocence claims. Please join to learn more, and bring your questions!
At the link below you can also sign up for our last lunch of the year:
Thurs Dec 10 - After lunch we'll host an open house + RIPPLE (Reaching Inside Prisons with Purpose and Love) card-writing session.
If you have any questions or concerns, or need any accommodations to fully participate, please reach out to events@educationjustice.net.
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Alumni Discussion
Monday Nov 30
5 - 6 pm
Via Zoom
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Our November alumni discussion is intended for EJP donors, at any level.
Alumni discussions provide sensitive and nuanced insight into the range of prison and reentry experiences. It's a panel format, alumni responding to questions, so feel free to bring your queries about incarceration, EJP's program at DCC, reentry, and related topics.
Our five current alumni fellows are featured above. From L, Emmett Sanders, Steve Scotti, Spankey Davis, Michael Harrell, and Raylan Gilford.
You can RSVP for the Nov. 30 discussion and future ones via the RSVP link below.
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday Dec 8, 5 - 6pm
(more discussions are coming in 2027!)
If you have any questions or concerns, or need any accommodations to fully participate, please reach out to events@educationjustice.net.
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Crime & Punishment
Thur Dec 3
4:30 - 6 pm
Hybrid
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The Education Justice Project and the Cline Center for Advanced Social Research are co-hosting a discussion of the fourth episode of the documentary "Crime and Punishment in America," which centers "modern systems, 21st-century mass incarceration, and the ongoing search for the meaning of justice."
The series will air from November 16-19th on PBS and is available to stream for four weeks following that on PBS digital platforms. Attendees are invited to view episode 4 prior to our discussion, which will feature formerly incarcerated individuals sharing their perspectives on the documentary.
Join via Zoom or in person at the EJP offices, 1001 S. Wright Street. Light refreshments served.
You can find more information about the series, directed by Lynn Novick, here:
If you have any questions or concerns, or need any accommodations to fully participate, please reach out to events@educationjustice.net.
| | Some EJP positions can be held virtually, some are hybrid, and some (those based at Danville Prison) require that an individual be able to regularly visit the prison. Our preference is always to hire local individuals and we especially seek candidates who have personal experience of incarceration. Click on the links below to see complete job descriptions. Most positions based at the prison are part-time. |
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EDUCATION JUSTICE PROJECT
University of Illinois
1001 S. Wright St
Champaign, IL 61820
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| The mission of the Education Justice Project is to create a model college-in-prison program that demonstrates the positive impacts of higher education upon incarcerated people, their families, the neighborhoods from which they come, the host institution, and society as a whole. | | | | |
