By: Jenny Buxhoeveden
A new club at Camden County is underway! The Criminal Justice Society is proud to be in the building stage as a club. Club leader and Professor, Richard Manson, was excited to see that a good amount of students were interested in this field enough to create a club. The Club meeting was held at the Camden County College campus in Camden at 3:30 in Room 400.
Club President, Doug Dickinson, and Vice President, Darrell Jackson, both led the meeting. Jackson anxiously stood in front of the room and greeted the students. Dickinson sat in the back of the room and began to take role, as Jackson was ready to begin the meeting. The club met to discuss their first field trip to the Eastern State Penitentiary on April 29. This penitentiary is the first prison built in America and was open from 1829 to 1970. The students were excited to walk the grounds of the oldest prison in the United States. “We are leaving here at 9 o’ clock SHARP,” Darrell said loudly, “and we will be home by 2 o’ clock.”
After debating for a few minutes, Dickinson counted that 21 students, including Manson, were attending the field trip. Somewhat shocked and excited by this outcome, he picked up his cell phone to figure out the details on their transportation to Eastern State. The cost of the bus came to $200, which was cutting close to their budget. The students discussed ways they could help stay under budget and found that a cheap lunch for the trip would be the solution. Jackson reminded the group to meet by the cafeteria at 8:30 and not to be late.
As the meeting was coming to an end, Manson made an announcement that on the April 22, a guest speaker would be visiting. He explained that the guest speaker was Mr. Katz who was head of the public defenders office in Camden. He hoped the students would attend next weeks meeting with an open-mind to learn more about Criminal Justice. Manson said with great enthusiasm, “Be there, or be square!”