Quoted Text

Go to jail, get a free college education?

    It was interesting to read about programs funded to give prisoners a chance to earn college credit, even degrees, while incarcerated [Jan. 30 Gazette].
    I have worked with the juvenile prison population in the past, so I know that many individuals are simply looking for some encouragement and the hope that they can attempt college and succeed, leading to a more productive life. And I have seen, firsthand, the results of this encouragement and revitalized outlook on life.
    The only thing that digs at me about these programs is that taxpayers, or at least others, are footing the bill while I, who am not in prison, had to pay my own way. I’ll be paying my school loans until I’m 60.

    DAVE HART
    Cohoes