On Aug. 30 I wrote a column called “What’s on your schedule?” It covered one of our first year experience (FYE) seminars, taught by Prof. Michael Perlstein. As a follow-up, some of my students have asked me to share information on a special event related to Prof. Perlstein’s class. So I’m turning over today’s blog space to the Venue Team:
After a triumphant Networking Night at Loyola, students from Strategic Event Planning and Management have been working on various projects for their final. One group of students has been working closely with Prof. Perlstein’s freshman seminar class to bring a unique production called Voices of Innocence to Loyola’s campus on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, in Monroe Hall’s Nunemaker Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
Organized by Resurrection After Exoneration (RAE), Voices of Innocence helps RAE raise general public awareness on facts and statistics for exonerees. In Voices of Innocence, four exonerees perform monologues that detail their lives and experiences in their own words. These personal stories expound upon the impact that wrongful incarceration has on an individual and offer the audience a picture of the exonerees as complete individuals, and not just victims. The production also serves as a fundraiser, which helps RAE provide services, such as housing and job assistance, for exonerees.
Louisiana has one of the highest per capita exoneration rates in the nation. When released, exonerees typically only receive a bag of their possessions and $10 from the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections. They have often been denied job training, literacy classes and GED preparation while in jail. Often, exonerees have lost all of their possessions, housing, loved ones and any connection they formerly had to their community.
To date, Voices of Innocence has been performed at several public venues and universities nationwide. Most notably, Voices of Innocence has been performed at Harvard University, Tulane University and the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana.
RAE’s mission for social justice coincides with Loyola’s mission statement, which pledges to cultivate students to be with and for others.
For more information on RAE and VOI, contact Ora Nitkin-Kaner, program manager at (504) 943-1905 or visit RAE’s Web site at www.rae.org.
Tickets for this event will be $5 for students with a valid ID and $7 for general admission. Presale tickets for a discounted price of $3 for students with a valid ID and $5 general admission will be available on sale in Loyola’s Danna Center from noon until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
