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Salvatore Russo
Prof. Ferrara
Rhetoric & Composition
4/8/21
How We’re Priming Some Kids for College - and Others for Prison
By Alice Goffman
On the path through life that American children face in countless different ways, two
institutions anxiously wait for them to reach the age of 18. Once adults, the college and prison
system open their doors for the now-eligible grown-ups. One option is exciting, fun, and
transformative, while the other is traumatizing, hapless, and rigged. Although complete
opposites, they share one aspect in common: an expensive price tag. The tuition for most college
students averages between $40,000 - $60,000 per year while prisons today always pay over
$40,000 of our tax money per inmate (over $80,000,000,000 per year). Not too long ago,
American sociolist, Alice Goffman, noticed these concepts and made a connection passionate
enough to become a TED Talk that educated millions of fellow thought-provokers.
I already had a modest interest and connection to this topic through my Ethics class
during my Junior year of high school which had us read Just Mercy, a book (and now
blockbuster film) all about prison/social justice reform and one falsely convicted gentleman’s
unfortunate story from the perspective of his lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, who has a TED Talk of
his own. Personally, I believe this individual, the book, and fellow verbal presentation inspired
Goffman to speak up about her own realizations in the notebook she kept to conduct urban
ethnology: observing police conduct with minorities and disadvantaged individuals on her walks
near the University of Pennsylvania. Goffman’s appeal to ethos is apparent as she is a recognized
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sociologist who is revealing to the audience what she witnessed outside nearly everyday. There
are no logical fallacies as she has just one slide on the screen with cold-hard facts and statistics
and is only sharing her eyewitness accounts.
The emotion behind these stories revealed some of the unwelcome truths in society and
behind the American social justice system in a raw way - striking a chord with the audience.
Filled with social justice proponents, scholars, and everyday intellectuals - the room frequently
burst into applause as she explained how she wanted to amend the travesties she witnessed
around her neighborhood. Given the fact that not one, but countless stories impacted Alice as she
walked through the streets everyday, it’s hard not to form a connection to what is being shared
with you. Hearing the five examples she was able to tell us with tears in her eyes, I immediately
wanted to see our volatile and erroneous government sign reform for all these issues. It’s
devastating that it’s not so simple. Because of this stark reality and with all that being said, her
speech wound up as a great way to connect with the audience’s pathos and conjure listeners to be
a future advocate for change.
In terms of data, there isn’t a whole lot to speak of as there is only one slide’s worth of
information. Although sourced and proven facts, they are merely used to generalize the
background behind what is really happening as numbers behind the madness. Logically, it’s
fortunate that it is not difficult to follow along with what Goffman is trying to convey; our
inherent human rights are something that have been around since our country’s inception and are
written for us in the Bill of Rights. Why can’t we uphold such simple measures the correct and
just way? The logic is imbued within her stories and hope for rehabilitation:
Why are we not providing support to young kids facing these challenges? She says. Why
are we offering only handcuffs, jail time and this fugitive existence? Can we imagine
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something better? Can we imagine a criminal justice system that prioritizes recovery,
prevention, civic inclusion, rather than punishment? A criminal justice system that
acknowledges the legacy of exclusion that poor people of color in the U.S. have faced
and that does not promote and perpetuate those exclusions? And finally, a criminal justice
system that believes in black young people, rather than treating black young people as the
enemy to be rounded up?
Because of Goffman’s strong message and outlook, we can easily associate ourselves with her
image. Since it is nearly impossible to disagree with how the government oversees what is
currently happening after hearing Goffman, it provides a good example how logos can still be
intrinsic without all the figures.
