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The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, April 20, 2011-11 SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS Revolving Prison Doors Judge Greg Mathis If you, like me, believe that prisons should be able to punish offenders while still preparing them for a produc tive, crime free life once they are released, then you must also believe that prisons are failing. And they're not just failing: they are costing the larger society billions of dol lars that could be put to much better use. Annual prison spending has risen from $10 billion to $52 billion over the last thir ty years. Recent data from the Pew Center on the States shows that the additional money is clearly not going to prisoner rehabilitation efforts. More than 40 percent of inmates eventually return to prison, most of them with in three years. The recidi vism rate hasn't changed much in a decade and is a strong sign that prisons aren't doing the best job they can to prepare offenders for life outside of prison. States around the coun try are grappling with fiscal uncertainty and are forced to cut programs that serve the poor and elderly in order to balance their budgets. These tactics, however, do not take into consideration the needs of the people, nor do they protect the long-term finan cial health of the state. What does? Investing in education. Many, if not the majority, of prison inmates did not graduate high school. By catching students before they fall through the cracks and reducing the number of dropouts will, over time, reduce the prison population and save the states money. Sending low-level drug offenders to rehab instead of prison will also help. It's less expensive to rehabilitate an addict than it is to incarcerate them. Going this route allows states to help those who need it and reduce their prison costs at the same time. Critics would say that this approach is soft on crime. No one is saying that criminals should not be pun ished. It's just more benefi cial to everyone involved if we punish them smartly. To be fair, this strategy is not going to save money overnight. The goal is to cre ate a plan that is sustainable, one that will bring huge returns over the long term. Reducing prison costs by reducing incarceration rates saves money so governments don't have to cut services like Medicaid and Medicare that the most vulnerable in our communities rely upon. SSU AKAs Celebrate Alpha Kappa Alpha Week Gamma Upsilon Chapter celebrated its annual Alpha Kappa Alpha Week April 3-8, 2011, on the cam pus of Savannah State University. Focusing on the mission of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Service to all Mankind, the theme of the week was RO.I.S.E. (Presenting Others Instead Of Self-Elevation). All activities during the week placed emphasis on the sorority’s international pro gram service initiatives as well as the chapter’s local program initiatives, and were open for all students to attend. The week began with Sunday worship service at Happy Home Missionary Baptist Church, Bishop K. McNeal, Pastor. Church attendance was encouraged to promote sisterhood and seek spiritual guidance in order to effectively continue our outreach mission of ren dering service in our com munity. The chapter gave a monetary contribution for the afterschool program of Happy Home Missionary Baptist Church. The chapter concluded Sunday’s activities with a movie night showing of For Colored Girls. This video was selected for viewing to uphold social justice/women’s empower ment in order to lessen the occurrences of domestic vio lence and date rape. DJ-“CJ” Cranked the Atrium on Monday with a mixture of R&B and Hip Hop music. Entering the cafeteria, students swayed and rocked as chapter mem bers passed out information on diabetes awareness in terms of eating balanced meals, daily exercise, and regular medical check-ups to include a blood glucose test. Meanwhile, cookies, brownies, and cupcakes were available for purchase. Chapter members pre sented a fifteen minute skit entitled Defeating One Bully at a Time, to approximately 50 students at the Charles Ellis Montessori Academy. This presentation focused on the sorority’s International Program Initiative on Social Justice. Tuesday’s activities concluded with approximate ly one and a half hours of African dance instruction by the Ayoluwa African Dance Theatre, Inc. Dancing sup ports the sorority’s Health Initiative Focusing on scholastic achievement, our mid-week (Wednesday) activity was a graduate school information session, jointly hosted by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. This event was held in the King-Frazier Ballroom. The presenter was Regina Bradley. Thursday spotlighted three vibrant male contest ants competing for the title of Mr. AKA in the 3rd annu al Mr. Alpha Kappa Alpha Elite Scholarship Pageant. This pageant is the financial arm of Gamma Upsilon Chapter which provides the funds to implement local and international service proj ects. The winning contestant receives a $1,000 academic scholarship. Dominique Arnold was crowned the 2011 Mr. AKA. First runner- up was Asia Lawrence, and the second place runner-up was Delfino Mack. Judges for this pageant were Ebony King, Taqwaa Saleem, Tiffany Fletcher, and Micah Washington. Other 2011 chapter awards were: The Scholastic Achievement Award recipient Valencia Barnwell, Soror of the Year Award recipient Donisha Rowe, and the Sisterhood Award recipient Donisha Rowe. The week long activi ties concluded Friday with a cookout in the campus park. Hotdogs, grilled chicken, hamburgers, chips and drinks were provided to the students as they fellowshipped and enjoyed the lunch break. We are POISED for service and look forward to next year’s Alpha Kappa Alpha week celebration as we continue to reach in exer cising self-discipline and having self-identity; reach up to be led spiritually and to have balance; and, reach out on a mission to render serv ice to all mankind in our community. Chinnetta Buford, President Bridget Stephens, Ivy Leaf Reporter Patricia Clark, Graduate Advisor. Thanks for Reading The Savannah Tribune, “Ga.’s Best Weekly!” Visit us online at: www.savannahtribune.com Click on “Get Updates” UGA Undergraduate Selected for 2011 Student Freedom Ride JoyEllen Freeman, a sophomore in the University of Georgia Honors Program, is one of 40 college students selected to participate in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride, a civil rights history bus tour sponsored by PBS’s American Experience history series. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides, the May 6-16 trip kicks off in Washington, D.C. and covers eight Southern states. Freeman and other stu dents on the tour will document their experiences through blogs, online videos and social media. They will visit histori cally significant sites and meet some of the original Freedom Riders. “Participating in the 2011 Student Freedom Ride is a chance for me to perpetuate a legacy and retell a story that changed America forever,” said Freeman, who is from Alpharetta. “The 2011 Student Freedom Ride is a way to remind America that ordinary college students played a role in transforming the racial inequality in our country. It is through their sacrifice that we are able to enjoy the freedom of today.” Freeman researches and writes content for the online archive’s companion website that focuses on Georgia’s civil rights movement. At the recent Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities Symposium, she presented another project on the life and music of pianist prodigy Thomas “Blind Tom” Bethune, who was bom into slavery in Georgia, in the context of race relations in the 19th century. “JoyEllen is a perfect choice for this very special program,” said David. S. Williams, asso ciate provost and director of UGA’s Honors Program. “She is well-versed in the back ground and history of the civil rights movement through her undergraduate research experi ences, and she is utterly dedi cated to the interests of equali ty and justice.” The 40 student participants were selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants based on their essays on why they wanted to participate, their thoughts on the role of social media and technology in civic engagement today and their extracurricular activities. Freeman, who is pursuing bachelor’s degrees in English and English education, holds a Foundation Fellowship at UGA—the university’s most prestigious academic scholar ship. The 2011 Student Freedom Ride is being held in conjunc tion with the broadcast pre miere of Stanley Nelson’s film, Freedom Riders. The film, which is partially based on Ray Arsenault’s book, Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice, will air May 16 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS. Nelson and Arsenault will accompany the students on the bus tour. Television’s most- watched history series, American Experience has been honored with every major broadcast award, including 24 Emmy Awards, four duPont- Columbia Awards and 14 George Foster Peabody Awards, administered by the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more information about the 2011 Student Freedom Ride, see http ://www.pbs. org/freedom- riders. Professional Armstrong Atlantic State University Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia invites applications for the following position: Instructor of English - Composition, Literature and Journalism Instructor of English - Technical Writing Secretary to the Vice President Staff Assistant for Learning Support and 62+ Programs Telecommunications Administrator Please visit our website, https://jobs.armstrong.edu, for position details and application instructions. Georgia is an open records law state. AA/EOE arver Mattie Bing Skidawa\ Road Branch Shari ce Wilson-Sinalls Main Office M, L. Kins Jr. Blvd. OjDCB DDCBGXPDCBB Even If you have never used a bank account, the people who introduced Prestige Banking and Second Chance Checking to the Savannah community are ready to serve you. Everyone is Welcome- Two great locations to serve you 701M. I. King, ir. Blvd. 7110 Skidaway Road