Newsroom Archive for 06/10, 2010

College Leaders Program Class of 2010
Day 12—Wednesday, June 9
Reported by: Chris Diming, Christopher Newport University

It was 7:15 a.m., and normally the CLP class would still be asleep, myself included. We were out of our beds, because today we were to visit Southside and the city of Danville. An especially exciting portion of the trip was a planned visit to a medium-security prison. After traveling for a couple hours through the Piedmont, we finally arrived at the interestingly-named rural town of Tightsqueeze for our tour of the Green Rock Correctional Facility. Protected by metal fences, razor wire and cliffs, it presents an intimidating image to those along the main road. The prison seemed to quickly grow larger as our enormous vehicle made its way towards the parking lot, and soon we were greeted by the sight of many correctional officers standing off to the side and a loan jumpsuit-clad individual peering timidly behind a slightly open door. Ignoring the latter individual, we made our way into the facility’s enterence where we registered, walked through a thorough metal detector, and experienced an even more thorough frisking by officers. Upon leaving the “visitor center” and walking through the sally ports, we found ourselves in a large room described by one of our guides as a visitation room. Garishly decorated with a colorful mural of a balloon, it contrasted with the prison’s grim image as a depository for convicted criminals. For a few minutes, we listened to some background information about the facility, and soon we were led out of the room into the main outdoor recreation area. Catcalls filled the air as our group walked quickly along the periphery, trying in vain to ignore the inmates attempting to attract our attention from behind a large metal fence. Luckily enough the walk was only about a minute or less, and we soon found ourselves in a kitchen (interestingly enough catered by a company that also caters for some colleges). We walked through the classrooms next and ended up in Green Rock’s high-security section, where the “troublemakers” who were not well-behaved during captivity were held. This was an especially interesting experience, because we were listening to a corrections officer lecture while also seeing the “troublemakers” looking down on us from their rooms on the second floor and, yes, trying to get attention. After viewing an empty, yet well-kept, cell, we returned to the visitation room, asked our guide some last-minute questions, and left the prison for a delicious lunch at Frank’s Pizza.

We couldn’t stay long though, and soon we were on our way to the next stop, an office for a uranium mining company attempting to begin working on a nearby farm. The presentation was very interesting and succeeded in sparking a spirited debate once we left the building. We arrived in Danville shortly thereafter to hear a speech on the city’s economic conditions from a prominent local businessman, who gave us much interesting background information on the area’s current economic crisis and how they are trying to shore up their fragile economy. He was also kind enough to offer us refreshments, which I remain very grateful for due to the long drive. We left as soon as the speech was over, and the mayor was kind enough to take us on a tour of the city before we left. It was good seeing the beginnings of renewed economic progress in Danville. Once we made it back to UVa, we proceeded to recuperate from the long day’s travels.

As someone with relatives residing in Southside, this trip was quite meaningful to me. I can remember the turmoil of the 1990's when the area’s industries finally collapsed, and coming back to the area on a bus was very surreal and slightly depressing, yet inspiring. Danville is indeed experiencing some economic growth, and with luck, skill and tenacity it will recover in good time, hopefully improving the rest of Southside as well. I am still thinking about Southside as I write this, and I hope to assist it and its people in the future.