The LBCC Justice Scholars club is aimed in supporting formerly incarcerated students and gives the opportunity to embrace their past instead of feeling like they have to hide it.
Colleges and universities like Compton College and Cal State Long Beach have programs like these to help formerly incarcerated students on their campus.
With the help of Professor Annahita Mahdavi, the club’s advisor and sponsor, the club began to form in 2016 and was officially proposed to the administration in 2017.
“My proposal was to bring to the administration attention that this movement is happening in all colleges around the country because there are students who are formerly incarcerated and they are a special population,” Mahdavi said.
Formerly incarcerated students have benefited from the opportunities the club offers such as job fairs, scholarships, and trips to universities.
Club Senate member, Denise Walker, feels welcome when amongst fellow club members.
“I can come here and be amongst people that you know we all have something in common. It lets me know that we are here to advocate for people who are like me and stand up for people who are like me because I too didn’t speak too much about my past. I didn’t feel comfortable letting people know about my history,” Walker said.
“They do need special attention, their special needs is so many things. If someone has been inside the jails for a long time, they need to learn how to navigate the college system, how to navigate the financial aid, how to navigate the resources.”
Before joining the club, club president and formerly incarcerated student Anthony Yracheta, felt as if he had to hide his past.
“In general, it makes me feel more welcome, it makes me feel more valid. Before it was kinda something I felt like I had to hide. That’s kinda like the thing you get like oh you are a bad person because you went to jail so you kinda wanna always hide that but this club brings it out and helps you own it,” Yracheta said
The club is currently doing a sock and blanket drive, donations will go to The Midnight Mission in Downtown Los Angeles, the drive will run until March 31.
The club currently meets at PCC in QQ105, the club is hoping to have a center, similar to the Veteran Student Services office, where they can store all their resources in one area, such as designated counselors for academic and financial aid services as well as workshops to advise students on legal aspects such as expungements.