I think one of the most concrete things that I have done with the Remedy Project has been filing the letters with David, Edie, Hannah, and others. I think a lot of times I can get kind of swept into writing the letters, communicating with David, and checking off the box on click-up. While it’s great to be able to do this remotely (especially since I’m planning on going abroad next semester), it’s easy to lose sight of the work we’re actually doing and remedies can be real solutions.
I didn’t realize how much work there was on the administrative side until I actually had to sit down and do it. The BP-9’s (think it was a 9 although it could have been a 10) was particularly intimidating because I actually had to hand write everything. It really made me realize how privileged I am to be able to use a computer to write these remedies because I am able to go back and fix my mistakes with relatively little effort.
If I were actually trying to do this in prison, I would only have one chance to write my remedy or else I would have to go back and request another form (and we have already seen how much trouble some run into with requesting forms). I would have to be even more careful about making sure that my pen made it through to the last page (if I was even aware that it had to be legible on all four pages). I would have to be slow and careful because each remedy I wrote would have to be legible. What takes me about two hours to do on my computer could very easily take a whole day.
Not to mention that we have the whole internet at our fingertips. I’m not really sure how accessible the program statements are that we use in our arguments to incarcerated people. I get to google for program statements that fit my case. I can copy-paste quotes to make sure that those reading the remedies know exactly what I’m talking about and see exactly where they went wrong. If I were in prison, I wouldn’t necessarily have access to these program statements (at least not with the same level of freedom as I do now). When writing my remedy, it would be far more difficult to make an effective argument.
It was also so nice to get to see everyone in person. While it’s great to be remote, sometimes it can feel a bit like me against the world. Getting the chance to finally meet and interact with all the amazing people I had trained with last year was so different than seeing each other over Zoom. I really hope that’s something that we can continue in the future. It really started to feel like this was a communal experience rather than just a personal choice, which was extremely powerful for me. It seems like it’s such a small thing, but I think it really makes such a large difference.
I think one of the most concrete things that I have done with the Remedy Project has been filing the letters with David, Edie, Hannah, and others. I think a lot of times I can get kind of swept into writing the letters, communicating with David, and checking off the box on click-up. While it’s great to be able to do this remotely (especially since I’m planning on going abroad next semester), it’s easy to lose sight of the work we’re actually doing and remedies can be real solutions.
I didn’t realize how much work there was on the administrative side until I actually had to sit down and do it. The BP-9’s (think it was a 9 although it could have been a 10) was particularly intimidating because I actually had to hand write everything. It really made me realize how privileged I am to be able to use a computer to write these remedies because I am able to go back and fix my mistakes with relatively little effort.
If I were actually trying to do this in prison, I would only have one chance to write my remedy or else I would have to go back and request another form (and we have already seen how much trouble some run into with requesting forms). I would have to be even more careful about making sure that my pen made it through to the last page (if I was even aware that it had to be legible on all four pages). I would have to be slow and careful because each remedy I wrote would have to be legible. What takes me about two hours to do on my computer could very easily take a whole day.
Not to mention that we have the whole internet at our fingertips. I’m not really sure how accessible the program statements are that we use in our arguments to incarcerated people. I get to google for program statements that fit my case. I can copy-paste quotes to make sure that those reading the remedies know exactly what I’m talking about and see exactly where they went wrong. If I were in prison, I wouldn’t necessarily have access to these program statements (at least not with the same level of freedom as I do now). When writing my remedy, it would be far more difficult to make an effective argument.
It was also so nice to get to see everyone in person. While it’s great to be remote, sometimes it can feel a bit like me against the world. Getting the chance to finally meet and interact with all the amazing people I had trained with last year was so different than seeing each other over Zoom. I really hope that’s something that we can continue in the future. It really started to feel like this was a communal experience rather than just a personal choice, which was extremely powerful for me. It seems like it’s such a small thing, but I think it really makes such a large difference.
