Krispy Kreme fundraiser raises money for Prison Justice Club events

Group advocates for better prisoner care

Hoping to raise enough funds to host their future events on Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus, members of the Prison Justice club decided to sell Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the campus’ main atrium.

Some might wonder why a school club is dedicated to improving the wellbeing of people inside the correctional system, but the Prison Justice club members remind us that, even though these people have done things against the law, they are still human beings. They still have rights as people, and it’s not up to us to judge them as being less deserving of justice.

“Generally, the club promotes awareness of issues that happen in prison,” says Kira Hogarth-Davis, a criminology student and member of the Prison Justice club. “[Prisons] are closed institutions, so people don’t see a lot of what’s going on. It’s good to help create some transparency for human rights.”

There are a variety of problems that prisoners have, which the club is trying to bring awareness to. “Mental health is a huge thing,” says Hogarth-Davis. “There’s a lot of drugs and stuff that get in prisons.”

Hogarth-Davis claims that the purpose of prisons is turning out to be more about punishing inmates rather than rehabilitating them into society. “There’s been a lot of issues around it being more punitive than rehabilitative,” she says.

“What a lot of people don’t understand is that a lot of prisoners end up back out in the community. What we’re doing is locking them up and punishing them. They’re coming back into the community and they’re not exactly the people we want them to be.”

This increasing perception of prisoners as people who deserves to be punished rather than rehabilitated reinforces the mindset of prisoners being less than human.

“People are human beings,” says Veronica Goodwin, a psychology student and the secretary of the Prison Justice club. “We treat them as if they’re sub-human. I know that we’re having a fun fundraiser, but that’s the core point.”

The Prison Justice club has even noticed a shift in focus for Kwantlen’s criminology department, and it’s not something the club is happy about.

“Our entire program is changing into pretty much a job training facility now,” says Goodwin. “We don’t even learn about critical theories. Everything is about how to become a police officer, how to become a corrections guard. You’re priming people for jobs and institutions without telling them about the injustices that go on.”

The Prison Justice club wants there to be more of a focus on the human connection side of the criminology department. If you want to be a police officer or lawyer, you’ll certainly learn how to pass your exams. However, they believe there should be more options for people who really want to help others.

“There are one or two good classes, but the majority is focused on the people who want to be police officers or lawyers and that sort of thing,” says Nicole Regnier, a criminology student. “You really need to learn more about human connection and that sort of thing.”

The Prison Justice club spent a good portion of the day selling Krispy Kreme donuts to students in order to raise money for their events. They were happy with the support they received—some students donated money without even buying anything for themselves.

Jan. 8, 2016 Correction: The article originally stated that the club was raising money for the Correctional Mental Health Care conference in July, however the funds were being raised to support the group’s future events at KPU’s Surrey campus. The article has been updated to reflect this correction, and The Runner regrets the error.