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Speaks Out
April 15, 1999
Should the government invest more money in the construction of
new prisons to alleviate overcrowding? Or should it invest more
money in education to
prevent people from entering
a life of crime? What would
be your solutions?
"If we were to refocus our money into education instead of
building so many prisons, we would solve a lot of problems. More
money definitely needs to go into education. Also, we need to amend
the Three Strikes law. Too many people are going to prison Â
for life  for crimes that are not serious crimes. That is one
of the major causes of overcrowding in prisons."
LaKisha Jamison
Third-year
Political science
"From what I understand, most criminals in jail committed
victimless crimes, such as drug abuse. I think we should
decriminalize drugs; that would free up a lot of space. Building
more prisons or releasing murderers or rapists to make room for
drug addicts is silly."
Nathan Wright
First-year
Computer science
"The problem starts at the basis of society. People don’t get
the education, the background to get a job; there are a lot of
problems with poverty. If you really want to address the problem,
you have to start at the roots instead of taking care of the
problem once the damage is done. I also think it’s very important
to have rehabilitation for criminals to provide them with something
to do once they’re out."
Yves Rubin
Associate professor
Chemistry
"We should invest money in other programs, such as education.
Keeping kids in school prevents them from making problems. We
should probably build more prisons for the current overcrowding,
but there should be money for other programs, such as
rehabilitation."
Tiffany Vu
First-year
Biology
"We certainly should invest more money into upgrading our
schools, but will it make a difference unless there is a
fundamental shift in the home? The real core of the prison problem
goes back to the type of training people receive in their homes. It
can’t only come from schools. That’s leaving it up to teachers to
solve everything."
Richard McBride
Doctoral candidate
Buddhist studies
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© 1999 ASUCLA Communications Board