102 I Academics Insight to Life Behind Bars Introduction to Criminal Justice class visits Arkansas Department of Correction Cummins Unit Captain Lauren Rosenblatt from the United States Air Force Legal Office at Little Rock Air Force Base speaks at the Harding Criminal Justice Association induction ceremony Sept. 24. HCJA Alpha Theta Omega was an association devoted to promoting professionalism in all areas of criminal justice. Savannah Lee est1990 Department of Behavioral Sciences 3 majors I 12 faculty I 63 courses est.1994 Department of Computer Science 3 majors I 6 faculty I 24 courses est.2006 Department of Engineering & Physics 5 majors I 10 facu lty I 71 courses The criminal justice program gave students experience in multiple.aspects of the criminal justice world. Part of this effort was the annual trip to an Arkansas correctional facility to learn about correctional facility administration. The fall 2012 group toured the Cummins Facility, located 28 miles south of Pine Bluff, Ark. In addition to touring the facility, students were able to interview a panel of inmates being housed in the facility. "It is very enlightening for the students to see where the inmates live," Criminal Justice Program Director Dr. B.J. Houston said. "It's enlightening for them to listen to the inmates accounts of what they had done to be in prison for life and what life in prison is like day to day." The trip was integral to showing students what prison life was like. Many students were intrigued by the opportunity to see the reality of what life was like inside the walls of a correctional facility. "The trip showed me how rough the real world is outside of the Harding bubble," junior Bryan Bean said. "It helped me want to keep those kind of guys off the street." Bean planned to go to graduate school after graduation, in hopes of one day becoming a sheriff or joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Junior Brad Clark said the differences between media portrayals of crime and prison and the reality became apparent to him during the field trip. "Before this trip, everything I knew about life in prison I learned from movies or television," Clark said. "Obviously I knew life in prison was rough, but this trip made me realize just how terrible being sentenced to life in prison would be. Getting to talk to real inmates on the panel and hearing their perspective on life was a really good experience, but also a little scary to be honest. The trip made me appreciate the environment we have here at Harding and how blessed I am to be surrounded by Christian people." Most students viewed the trip as an ey~pening experience and were able to gain a new perspective on life in prison. "I learned that just like there is this Harding bubble we all like to say we live in here, these inmates live in a bubble all of their own," senior Sarah Jane Manning said. "I learned that just as God sees so much more potential in each and every one of us outside of the prison walls, He also sees that same potential in those inside the walls. This trip helped me want to bring a little more balance to the scales of justice." The criminal justice program tried to offer students as much experience in the field as possible, opening their eyes to the realities while also allowing them to learn about God's grace through the process. Payton Hurst
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