On Feb. 1, I received an advertisement for an event sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs that would allegedly alleviate some of the injustices in the criminal justice system.
After all, the email noted that it would be a “thought-provoking dialogue that will leave participants wondering about the word ‘justice’ in criminal justice.” I attended this event on Feb. 16, but in the end I was dissatisfied with what appeared to be an outright brainwashing of inmates, and felt like a middle school student after going to one of those “make the right choices” assemblies.
Almost everything those inmates and ex-inmates said was scripted. I could almost guess what their response to the audience’s questions was going to be. Instead of critiquing the criminal justice system, in every answer each inmate enthusiastically praised the system for “correcting” them.
Even more disheartening was the convenient fact that each inmate was a “born again believer.” A man sitting in the very back of the room asked the inmates if they were, and without hesitation each inmate raised his or her hand. It seemed as if each inmate knew that question was coming and how to answer it. It makes me wonder if there is some kind of religious requirement in order to participate in Operation Get Smart.
Ultimately, throughout the entire event, there was not even a glimpse into the injustices of the justice system. All that attendees were presented were scripted answers that praised the system given by brainwashed inmates.
— Chadwick Devlin, fourth-year criminology student