About SPEAR

Mission

Students for Prison Education, Abolition and Reform (SPEAR) is a Princeton University-based student organization that educates, advocates, and agitates against the carceral state on Princeton’s campus, in New Jersey, and beyond. Founded in 2012, SPEAR engages in anti-carceral campus activism, legislative advocacy, community education, and direct solidarity with currently and formerly incarcerated peers. SPEAR is committed to centering and uplifting the voices of those directly impacted by the carceral state and all of its intersections with racism, transphobia, classism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, and other systems of oppression and dehumanization. The annual SPEAR conference brings together students, activists, advocates, and academics from across the country for a weekend of lectures, panels, and workshops on Princeton’s campus.

Context

The United States, with only five percent of the world's population, holds nearly one quarter of the world’s incarcerated population.  Since the 1980s, the number of incarcerated Americans has nearly quadrupled - a consequence of "tough on crime" policies and the War on Drugs that have disproportionately affected communities of color. By some estimates, we incarcerate six times more of our black population than South Africa did in the midst of apartheid, have more African Americans under correctional control than than were controlled under slavery 13 years before the Civil War, and disenfranchise almost six million citizens on account of prior convictions. The U.S. is the last country to have juveniles in prison sentenced to life without parole, and is one of the few industrialized countries that still regularly executes its own citizens (unsurprisingly, in a racially inflected way). We hold over 80,000 people daily in conditions of solitary confinement characterized by the UN as torture. Some of those people have been living in parking-lot-sized cages for over 40 years. More than 65 million Americans, or almost one third of adults, have a criminal record. Those with records can be discriminated against, legally, when it comes to getting jobs or applying to schools. Those with felony drug convictions are ineligible for public housing, food stamps, and Pell grants. The list goes on and on. The American carceral reality, if you choose to look at it, is unconscionable.

As students, the future rests in our hands. It is our duty to take action on one of the most egregious civil rights issues of our generation. 

To take action, come to our weekly meetings on Mondays at 8pm at Campus Club or contact our presidents directly.

Contact Us

For general information and inquiries, please contact our co-presidents: Amber Rahman (afrahman@princeton.edu) and Alan Gutierrez (alangutierrez@princeton.edu).

SPEAR currently holds a general meeting on Mondays at 8pm and additional meetings in different committees throughout the week. You can find more information about our meetings on our public Google calendar.

Feel free to contact the co-presidents to learn more: Amber Rahman (afrahman@princeton.edu) and Alan Gutierrez (alangutierrez@princeton.edu).

Learn more about SPEAR’s current projects →

With one in 100 Americans behind bars, mass incarceration is the most important civil rights issue of our time.  Educate yourself about the problem,  the need for educational programs, and other criminal justice reforms.

Read about the need →