Reflections Magazine Issue #70 - Fall 2009 | Page 25

Alumni Feature

To illustrate that point, one night on duty Hephner was called out to a parking lot bar fight in
progress involving about 20 people. When he
pulled into the parking lot, it was more like 50
people, and most had been drinking.
“What’s the right thing to do here?” he said.
“I turned on the overhead lights, pull into the
parking lot and walk into the crowd. Obviously
everyone stops fighting, but are you going to
try to arrest 20 or 30 people? And they’re drunk
people. I said, ‘How about we make a deal?
Anybody that’s still in the parking lot in three
minutes is volunteering to go to jail.’ I’ve never
seen a parking lot clear out that fast in my life.
You carry a lot of tools in your car and on you,
but your mind, your brain, is still the best one.”
Though he enjoys his current position with the
HPD, he said completing the Homeland Security program has him thinking about the future.
“My immediate goal is to advance in administration,” said Hephner, who is interested in possibly
pursuing opportunities at the federal level some
day. “The education I received at Siena Heights
has opened a lot of doors for me. ... I’m holding
more of the cards now than I was before.”

Captive Audience
Sister Pat Schnapp Sees the Value
of Learning—Even in Prison
What is Woman?
That is a question one might not want to ask in
an all-male state prison. But Sister Pat Schnapp
not only asked it, she conducted a 12-week
literature course on the topic.
Schnapp, a longtime English faculty member
at Siena Heights University, has been teaching
inmates at Adrian’s Gus Harrison Correctional
Facility for more than 15 years. It may be considered a prison ministry by some, but she genuinely views it as “the highlight of my week.”

Before entering the main prison facility, visitors
go through a vigorous screening process, including the removal of shoes—and socks—just to
make sure. The guards, while cordial, are also
very businesslike. One gets the impression they’d
rather not bother with any outside interruptions.
The slow, methodical walk across the yard to the
other side of the prison draws the curious eyes
of many of its residents. Once in the classroom,
which could pass for an average high school
setting, prisoners stroll in, one by one, carefully
scanning their surroundings before taking a seat.
However, when Schnapp begins her lecture,
the navy blue and orange jumpsuits are sometimes the only reminders this is not a normal
classroom environment. Also added to the mix
on this occasion are three current and former
female Siena students Schnapp “recruited” to
take part in the discussion.
The prisoners—five African-Americans and
one Latino—engaged Schnapp and her students
in the coursework, which this particular week
was the short story “A Jury of Her Peers” by
Susan Glaspell.

“Now you know what a miserable social life I
have,” joked Schnapp, in the irreverent style of
humor that endears her to her students, including the “captive audience” of some half-dozen
prisoners who attended her class.

The debate was thoughtful, the discussion lively.
According to the prisoners, this was not only a
reprieve from the restrictions of their confinement; the class was also an opportunity to better
understand their past mistakes.

Humor aside, along the way there are plenty of
reminders of the setting’s seriousness.

“Me and my wife discuss a lot of this,” said
Roberto, a Latino who said he had problems

with anger issues, especially with women, that
led to his troubles with the law. “I send stories to
her. ... I took (this class) to enhance the communication and the relationship with my wife.”
Rodney, a former Detroit high school basketball standout who, after injuring his knee got into
trouble that landed him in prison, said he will
be released next year. He said before entering
prison he was just 12 credits short of completing
an associate’s degree. Taking Sister Pat’s class, he
said, has inspired him to pursue his education
after he has served his time.
Laurin Tuxbury, a junior social work major who
was one of the three SHU students who participated in the class, said the experience was not
what she expected.
“That bubble (screening process entering the
prison), that’s an intimidating experience,” Tuxbury said. “But not sitting in class with the guys.
I thought (the guards) were scarier.”
“In class (at Siena Heights) Sister Pat would talk
about her experience with (the prisoners),” said
recent SHU graduate Sarah Wyse