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An excellent article... very informative... if nobody takes the initiative to travel outside their comfort zone, to pick out the troubles of the world and try to make an impact, try to change what they can, then what happens? We need people like Caitlin Waugh to show that you can cross boundaries ...can attempt to be informed--so you are able to alter a bad situation.

Camila
11/20/05

Before the age of 18, I had five felonies and two misdemeanors on my record, which may quite possibly be the most embarrassing piece of information that I could ever release about myself.
I spent two months in Oak Hill, a juvenile detention center in Washington, DC. After those two months, I was given a choice. Either I could stay at Oak Hill until I turned 18, or I could spend what I was told would be a few months in a lock-down residential treatment facility in Syracuse, UT. I was told: If I chose to go for treatment in Utah, I would have my entire record wiped clean--- if I graduated from the treatment center on a good note. I was not stupid: thus chose Utah.
Those 'few months' turned into two years spent in three different institutions. First, a six week detox program, then 11 months at the lock-down residential treatment center in Utah, and then-- finally--- 12 months at a thereputic boarding school, which was basically a residential treatment center with a different title!
Due to my experiences, I have grown very familiar with jail systems, and those facilities that share the 'jail' theme. I was very impressed with this article. I think that it depicts familiar stereotypes perfectly. Whenthe writer was on the bus, she was called an little innocent girl; she was asked if she was sure she wanted to go to the Ludlow Jail. Her response to this was priceless: pretty much just 'smile and nod'. I can relate with this stereotype: I was a 'little white girl', seemingly innocent, except with some very dark secrets.
I am appalled with the way that the detention centers, both juvenile, and adult are run in this country. Being torn away from the world is enough punishment without the powdered eggs for breakfast, and the constant fear--- of being forced to 'watch your back'... It is time for a change in this country, and it needs to begin with the way our correctional facilities are run! We need to change our the education system. If we changed the way we educate people, we could decrease the number of people in our prisons.

Sara
11/14/05

I have to say I was skeptical when I began reading your article. What flashed into my head was "oh no, another upper-middle class white girl takes a vacation to observe those less fortunate than her, as if they were zoo animals on display." I apologize, that cynicism must have sprung from too many years studying at an elite, liberal institution.
I learned a great deal from this article. Not only are you well educated on many specifics regarding the US prison system as an institution, but you also certainly did your homework regarding this particular jail. It takes guts to travel to such a destination, one which is outside your current world and comfort circle. It takes courage and sensitivity to ask the right questions and receive answers, rather than simply observe. You may have felt like a tourist, but we need intelligent, analytical tourists who are willing to report their findings to the outside world. Otherwise, how would the rest of us learn about plights that are not our own?
I, for one, don't have all that many friends who have been in jail, I certainly don't know anyone who has been to Ludlow, and this is not an adventure I would have undertaken myself. I learned a lot from the text not only because it was interesting and informative, but also because it jolted me out of my cynical middle class white girl haze.

Emerald
11/04.05

hello .first off i used to live in chicopee mass and i was in incarcerated for a year and a half in the ludlow jail from 92 to 94 and it was not a good experience but at the same time i learned alot from other inmates on"not going back ".i did but at a different jail a few years later but now im in no trouble and time just took its course and i grew up .im 31 now and the worst is over .im glad to read your article and i will reply again to give you more input on what i went through while i was there . people need to be involved or at least educate themsleves on what goes on in prison and how people get themselves there and the families that suffer .

Michael
8/14/05

This was a very well written and informative article. Thank you for the experience.

Corilynn Mullen
4/15/05

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Read the story, Ludlow County Jail: 2 to 4 Visiting Hours .