When we convened for the fall semester in 2019, OSA leaders Kevin Ballou, Donnell Walker and Jenna Thomas began building our campus chapter of OSA―a team that now includes 15 core team members and many supporters. Our goal was, and continues to be, to make Cleveland State more accessible to people with criminal records. Throughout the past year, Cleveland State's OSA chapter set themselves to the task of organizing a powerful Ban the Box campaign. For context, "Ban the Box" campaigns on campuses across the country advocate for the removal of criminal record disclosures from admissions applications―and that's what the CSU OSA chapter set out to do…
Let them Go! Virtual Show
The Coalition to Stop the Inhumanity at the Cuyahoga County Jail led by member organization OSA held the “Let them Go!” fundraiser on Friday, May 22nd at 7 pm featuring a variety of talented local musicians including Kyle Kidd & Pete Saudek, Mikey Silas, and Teezy From The Clair as well as speakers David Okpara and Azzurra Crispino, both of whom have been personally impacted by the injustice system…
"Invest in Ed, Divest from Prisons" Report
INTRODUCING . . .
THE “INVEST IN ED, DIVEST FROM PRISONS” REPORT (CLICK HERE)
AND THE ED4ALL CONVENING (OCTOBER 19TH – 20TH 2019)
“Invest in Ed, Divest from Prisons: How shrinking incarceration can save higher education” is not just a list of statistics showing how our education system and our prison system leave black, brown, and poor students behind; it’s a document with stories from people seeing the system break day by day; it’s also our first step toward a concrete vision of how we can transform Ohio’s public institutions. In it you will find specific ways we can move funds into higher education away from mass incarceration…