Physics for Freedom: Opening the Cosmos for Those Inside

Abstract

Physics for Freedom: Opening the Cosmos for Those Inside Alexandra Latshaw Photo of San Quentin Prison from the San Quentin Prison Newspaper San Quentin inmate Aly Tamboura recounts answer- ing his mother and close friend in the visiting room. -Yes, I am taking Physics in prison. Tamboura recalls the experience of learning a new language of science: “I am learning the same language used by nearly all of the well known scientists like Newton, Einstein and Galileo… Who would have thought that the thousands of calculations the brain makes when running to catch a fly ball on a baseball field could be jotted down on a chalkboard in a lan- guage I can understand?” (Tamboura, 2008). San Quentin State Prison is located on the north waterfront of San Francisco Bay in Marin County. The all male prison is famous for its many notable inmates from Charles Manson to Merle Haggard, high profile media events like Johnny Cash concerts, and its grisly role as exclusive site for California state executions. Designated by The New York Times as the largest death row in the western hemisphere (Nieves, 2011) it is also the only prison in California to offer inmates college level classes inside. The Prison University Project (PUP) is a non profit organization that, collaborating with Patten Universi- ty in Oakland, offers college courses to inmates at San Quentin. PUP started in 1996 following the enactment of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which denies prisoners federal Pell Grants during incarceration. Written by then-Senator Joseph Biden and signed into law by President Clinton in 1994, the bill led to the demise of nearly all of the country’s more than 300 prison higher education programs (Henry, 2011, Marks, 1997). Students at San Quentin Prison (an official exten- sion site of Patten University) earn their Associate degree in about three and a half years, typically taking two courses per semester in addition to working full time prison jobs ranging from landscaping to laundry. The program is tuition free. Over 300 inmates are cur- rently enrolled and any prisoner classified as part of the general population with a record of good behav- ior is eligible to participate. The general population is roughly 1,800 men (Sheff, 2004) and includes those serving time for murder. This group does not include those on death row. Figure 1. Serving for a three-strikes conviction, Jonathan Wilson graduates from the Prison University Project at age 46. B erkeley S cientific J ournal • S ave or D estroy • S pring 2012 • V olume 16 • I ssue 2 • 1 B S J You’re taking Physics in prison?